The Santa Barbara Sea Shell Association sails Sea Shells and U.S. Sabots only.

The Sea Shell

The Sea Shell design, an 8-foot pram similar in design to the El Toro or the Optimist, was designed to be built out of a single sheet of plywood. They are 8 feet long and about 4 in the beam, have centerboards, a mainsail (no jib) and are stable and easy to learn in. Being a centerboard boat, they will tip over, but most skippers consider this just rite of passage - in fact, at the end of the year almost everyone, including many parents, earn their official "Dunker's Award" T-shirt for having "dumped" during a race! Sea Shells, unlike Sabots, cannot be easily righted once swamped; while they will not sink, they float too low once filled with water to effectively bail. Righting a swamped Sea Shell and getting the skipper back underway is the job of the Safety Boat.

Sea Shells have been hand-built by local craftsmen and sold from one family to another as young sailors graduated into bigger boats or left the Association. On any given Sunday you will see boats dating back to the 1960s and 1970s alongside brand-new boats. (Boat number 264, the Gaelle, was christened in 2003 and we certainly welcome the addition to the fleet!)

The US Sabot

In 1990, following the death of long-time Sea Shell builder-craftsman Charlie Eldridge, the Association decided to extend support to a commercially available sailboat, similar to the Sea Shell. In 1991 the Association selected the US Sabot by Catalina as an additional one-design class racer to be raced by Sea Shell skippers. The Sabot is essentially a fiberglass version of the Sea Shell: lighter, more nimble, and faster than its wooden cousin, yet similar enough to make an easy transition from the more stable Sea Shell. If they swamp (and they will!) they can be righted and bailed by the skipper, who can then resume sailing. Sabots can be purchased new from Catalina dealers, or from a graduating family.