Jabba used many of Ubrikkian’s Bantha II cargo skiffs, mainly for escort duties. When he was entertaining guests aboard his luxury barge, his henchmen would use the skiffs to make swift attacks on the enemy, thus allowing the worm and his guests to view the battle from a safe distance.
Skiffs are able to carry over one hundred tons of cargo. They are used widely throughout ports and warehouse districts, and can be open or enclosed. They’re cargo-carrying capability is usually limited by volume rather than mass, but even so these skiffs can achieve speeds of up to 250 kilometres per hour, flying as high as 50 metres above the surface.
The skiff’s driver stands at the rear of the vehicle, using a very simple control station. In fact even labour droids can control skiffs, they are that simple to operate. The skiffs are propelled by a single repulsorlift engine, and are steered by two driving vanes, located on either side at the back of the hull. The vanes are angled when turning the skiff, and as the vehicle is really meant for slow speeds, the driver has to stand while piloting the vehicle.
The repulsorlift unit is very susceptible to damage. One hit from a hand blaster can disable it. The same goes for the steering vanes. The danger with the repulsorlift unit being damaged is that the skiff can topple easily. This occurs when the weight on board the skiff is shifted too quickly; something that Jabba’s men realised when they fell into the Sarlacc’s mouth. As a result of this, and their lack of manoeuvrability, skiffs do not make good combat vehicles.
When used to transport cargo, the skiffs can be loaded by hand or by the extendable magnetic lifters. The lifters are locked into place with magnetic fasteners, which are themselves held by standard cargo straps. When used as transit vehicles, the vehicles can be fitted with up to sixteen seats, and rain screens can be raised to keep passengers dry. Normally skiffs are used in this manner only on poor worlds, where they are considered luxurious.