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Insuring Skipper Snipe: cover and premium
sailing boats and sailing yachts · several countries
Skipper Snipe: danish builder of Snipe racing dinghies. NAMMERT insures a Skipper Snipe regardless of year built or where you bought it, liability, hull, legal expenses and personal accident cover from one house, taken out online in five minutes.
At a glance
Origin
several countries
Class
sailing boats and sailing yachts
Typical sizes
4,6 m
Premium from
from €39 a year for liability
Worth knowing
Skipper Snipe; cover, cost and conditions
Skipper Snipe is the trade name under which the Danish boatbuilder Erling Olsen sold his Snipe dinghies. It all began in an old cow shed in Espergærde, a village just south of Elsinore. Snipe sailing boomed in Denmark in the sixties and seventies, and members of the local sailing club built their own boats. Olsen started in plywood, moved to glassfibre and turned his work into a brand for sailors in Denmark and Sweden. In 1974 he added Alu Mast, making masts and booms for the class. He also designed trailers for carrying the dinghies and helped run the 1980 Snipe European Championship in Espergærde. He died in 2020 at the age of 82.
Our model records list one design from the brand: the Snipe, a sailing dinghy of 4.57 metres built from 1993 to 2000. The Snipe itself is not the yard's own design but an international one-design class drawn by William F. Crosby in 1931: a two-person dinghy with mainsail and jib, run by the class association SCIRA and still sailed at the Pan American Games. In a class like this a builder stands out through build quality, fittings and mast rather than shape, so a Skipper can be compared directly with Snipes from other builders. Nothing in our records reaches into the most recent build years, so the boats listed are at least a quarter of a century old.
An older racing dinghy repays careful checking before purchase. Weigh the hull if you can, since water soaked into the laminate makes a Snipe slow and is hard to remove. Look at the centreboard case for cracks, at the chainplates and the mast step for movement, and at the deck joint along the gunwale. The aluminium mast should be straight and free of corrosion around the spreaders and the gooseneck. Snipes are tuned through mast bend, shroud tension and rake, so a boat that comes with tuning notes and good sails is worth more than its age suggests. Fleets are friendly and help newcomers get the setup right.
Questions and answers
Frequent questions
Is the Snipe Skipper's own design?
No.
The Snipe is an international one-design class drawn by William F.
Crosby in 1931.
Erling Olsen built it in Espergærde under the Skipper name.
Our model records list the Skipper Snipe at 4.57 metres, built from 1993 to 2000.
What links Alu Mast to Skipper Snipe?
For Skipper Snipe: Both go back to Erling Olsen.
Alongside the dinghies he began making masts and booms for the Snipe class in 1974.
The cover that fits
sailing boat insurance
Tariffs, cover and FAQ for sailing boat insurance in detail.
Third-party liability
The foundation for a boat from Skipper Snipe: damage to third parties, worldwide,
from €39 a year for liability.
Hull cover
Partial or full hull cover for a Skipper Snipe, at replacement value with an agreed fixed value.
For the whole class of boat
For Skipper Snipe: What matters for sailing boats and sailing yachts is the same across every
brand; engine output, how a claim is settled, cruising range and theft protection.
The class page lists every point and every brand in this class, Skipper Snipe included.
Insuring sailing boats and sailing yachts, every brand and every condition
Other builders in this class
Nautical information What counts before you cast off, papers, equipment, waters
Licence
Under sail no licence is needed; with an auxiliary engine from 15 hp one is.
Registration
Official number or boat certificate; a flag document for trips abroad.
Waters
Inland lakes, the Baltic and the North Sea; tide, current and shoals belong in the passage plan.
Equipment
Lifejackets, harness and jackstays, lifebuoy, distress signals, reefing system.
Cruising range
Certificate of insurance for foreign harbours; check that racing is covered.
Weather
Reef in time: first reef from Beaufort 5, second from 6, watch the gust forecast.
General guidance, not a complete account;
what governs are the rules of the waters you are on and the manual of your Skipper Snipe.
Current wind force and direction for your waters are shown on the Home.
Series by Skipper Snipe, build years and cover
Snipe is a sailing boat from Skipper Snipe, built from 1993 to 2000.
For the Snipe by Skipper Snipe series there is no list price left.
That is why we work with an agreed value: you state the figure, we agree it,
and in a total loss exactly that amount is paid, with no deduction for wear.
For the Snipe by Skipper Snipe series:
On boats this size the condition of rig and fittings decides.
A dismasting is covered, worn terminals after years are not.
What does a used Skipper Snipe cost?
We hold today’s price ranges by year for 1 models by Skipper Snipe.
The table shows what boats in average condition are worth,
from the oldest to the youngest year on record.
Choose your exact model, year and condition in the calculator.
| Model | Years built | Range today |
|---|---|---|
| Snipe | 1996 to 1997 | €3,500 to €4,600 |
Estimate from our boat records, October 2026.
Not a survey.
Skipper Snipe insured in five minutes.
Boat type, year built, length and value of your Skipper Snipe are all we need.
Work out the premium online or call us: +49 3375 29 12 77.
