There’s something wonderfully captivating about watching a child sailing their first toy boat, the excitement at seeing their very own little model set sail, the anticipation of the course it will chart and their obvious delight when it safely reaches the the far side of the pond. In an age where computer games and electronic gadgets seem de rigueur it’s refreshing to know that the traditional wooden toy sailing boat is still as popular as ever.

Here at Clockwork Mouse we’re great advocates of traditional play, we pride ourselves on going that little bit further when responding to our customers and, as active members of the Vintage Model Yacht Group, we know a fair bit about all things model yacht…

We offer a comprehensive range of Skipper toy sailing boats and these beautiful, wooden hulled, yachts are widely considered to be the finest traditional toy sailing boats currently available.

The iconic range starts with a delightful little 8″ “Chubby” yacht which, despite being the smallest Skipper model, still boasts adjustable rigging, genuine sailcloth sails and a steel keel. This lovely little yacht is perfect for very small ponds, rock pools and playing with at bathtime!

Next in the Skipper range comes the classic 10″ “Contender” yacht, a little bigger but still perfect as a first toy sailing boat for any child age 36 months +

Larger again is the 12″ “Estuary” yacht, available in a number of different colour schemes including the ever popular “Pirate” version, just perfect for any aspiring young Blackbeards out there…

We’re often asked if this size is too big for a small child, it isn’t, these models aren’t heavy and their larger size inevitably gives them a much better sailing characteristics. Remember – when the model is outdoors at the local pond it always looks much smaller. The larger the model, the easier it is to spot!

Moving on we have the 15″ “Coastal” and the 20″ “Offshore” Skipper Yachts, these are available in either blue or red hulled versions and their larger sizes, again, increase sailing performance.

Finally we have the pride of the Skipper fleet – the beautiful ketch rigged 21″ “Blue Water” pond yacht. Available in three different colour ways – blue, red and black – this classic model is stunning and makes the perfect gift for any budding young skipper from age 3 to 103…

We hope that the above will help you make an informed choice when selecting the perfect yacht for yourself or the lucky recipient, remember we’re always here to help so if you require any additional information please do give us a call on our freephone number – 0800 085 5408.

We are very committed to providing an excellent customer service and it’s always nice to receive unsolicited feedback, here is one such comment, received on April 4th, that we’re rather proud of:

“Having hit a dead end in trying a source a small replacement part for the
sails on my sons toy boat I rang Clockworkmouse to ask if they knew where I
could get one as they stocked the same boat.  Unfortunately the spare I
needed is not routinely sold on but they offered to speak to supplier and
see what they could do. Three days later I not only had the part  but it
was also free of charge.  In this day and age however the thing that really
stood out was the care and attention given to an enquiry which had no
financial gain – Mark was a an absolute pleasure to deal with I am heartily
recommending them to everyone!”

Mr N.L.

London

(In this instance we managed to obtain stocks of the offending part and send the pieces necessary to repair the damaged model with the end result that we’ve one very happy customer who will, in all likelihood, shop with us in the future…:)

To learn more about the sailing boats shown above please visit our shop where you’ll find more detailed descriptions together with additional images of the various models available.

Our prices are always discounted from the recommended retail price, our postage charges are charged at or below cost and, importantly, if an item is shown as available – it means it’s actually here, in stock, and ready for immediate dispatch.

If you’d like to discover more about the history of Skipper Yachts then please take time to read another of our blog posts: Skipper pond yachts.

Another useful site is the Model Boating Lakes Directory – (Please remember that this is an external site and, as such, we have no control over the content).

Happy sailing!

Mark

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