The story of Judy, a Skipper 17
Chapter 1 - Early Days
Judy is a Skipper 17, built by Richmond Marine in London, in the late 1960's. We bought her in 1972 after a days trial sailing with her owners on the South Coast. At that time we lived in Caterham, Surrey and needed a trailer sailer that could be towed behind an ordinary family car.
At that time the Skipper 17 weighed about 450 kg and came on a very lightweight dingy type trailer with single central spine and crossbeam. One roller on each side was considered sufficient and the tyres needed to be blown up to about 70 P.S.I. before they assumed a reasonable profile. Despite these apparent shortcomings the trailer never let us down and, over the years, she was towed many miles.
Judy and the author as a young man, on the river Medway about 1974