The Salcombe Yawl was probably first built in 1931, inspired by the local fishing vessels. Still being raced at the Salcombe Yacht Club on the Salcombe Estuary, a tidal river with tree-lined creeks and mud banks. The Salcombe Estuary runs over seven miles from Kingsbridge (South Devon, England) in the north; to the mouth of the estuary, where the town of Salcombe lies on the western side of the estuary.
The Salcombe Yawl is clinker built of mahogany planks, with wooden spars and varnished decks, 16 feet in length. A class association has specifications for new Salcombe Yawls.