Hunter 18.5
| Development | |
|---|---|
| Designer | Hunter Design Team |
| Location | United States |
| Year | 1987 |
| Builder(s) | Hunter Marine |
| Name | Hunter 18.5 |
| Boat | |
| Displacement | 1,600 lb (726 kg) |
| Draft | 2.00 ft (0.61 m) |
| Hull | |
| Type | Monohull |
| Construction | Fiberglass |
| LOA | 18.42 ft (5.61 m) |
| LWL | 15.50 ft (4.72 m) |
| Beam | 7.08 ft (2.16 m) |
| Engine type | Outboard motor |
| Hull appendages | |
| Keel/board type | wing keel |
| Ballast | 520 lb (236 kg) |
| Rudder(s) | transom-mounted rudder |
| Rig | |
| Rig type | Bermuda rig |
| I foretriangle height | 21.42 ft (6.53 m) |
| J foretriangle base | 6.46 ft (1.97 m) |
| P mainsail luff | 21.00 ft (6.40 m) |
| E mainsail foot | 7.92 ft (2.41 m) |
| Sails | |
| Sailplan | Fractional rigged sloop |
| Mainsail area | 83.16 sq ft (7.726 m2) |
| Jib/genoa area | 69.19 sq ft (6.428 m2) |
| Total sail area | 152.35 sq ft (14.154 m2) |
| Racing | |
| PHRF | 288 (average) |
The Hunter 18.5 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by the Hunter Design Team as a cruising sailboat and first built in 1987.[1][2][3][4]
Production
The design was built by Hunter Marine in the United States between 1987 and 1993, but it is now out of production.[1][5]
Design
The Hunter 18.5 is a small recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a fractional sloop rig with a fully battened mainsail, a raked stem, a reverse transom, a transom-hung kick-up rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed wing keel. It displaces 1,600 lb (726 kg) and carries 520 lb (236 kg) of ballast.[1][3] The boat has a draft of 2.00 ft (0.61 m) with the standard shoal-draft wing keel, allowing ground transportation on the factory standard trailer.[1][3] The boat is optionally fitted with a small 3 to 6 hp (2 to 4 kW) outboard motor for docking and maneuvering. Other factory optional equipment included a portable head, galley alcohol stove, water pump tap, cooler and anchor.[1][3] The design has sleeping accommodation for three people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin and a straight settee in the main cabin on the port side. Cabin headroom is 48 in (122 cm).[1][4] The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 288. It has a hull speed of 5.28 kn (9.78 km/h).[6]
Operational history
In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "in the late 1980s, Hunter Marine expanded their cruising, boat line into smaller sizes. They also redesigned the line with a more 'modern' look. The Hunter 18.5 was one of the first of Hunter's minicruisers to be introduced. Unique features include a very shallow (two-foot draft) keel with both a bulb and 'winglets.' Best features: Headroom of four feet is exceptional for a boat of this size ... Ballast is also highest for the group ... Worst features: The keel is too shallow, and has too small a lateral area, to expect even so-so upwind sailing performance, with or without the winglets (which we suspect are too small to serve any real purpose). The full-length battens make it difficult to 'read' the trim of the mainsail, The flip-up rudder, being deeper than the keel, is thus unprotected and therefore subject to damage or loss if a sudden shoal water situation is encountered and the flip-up mechanism isn't ready for it."[4]
See also
Similar sailboats
- Alacrity 19
- Buccaneer 200
- Cal 20
- Catalina 18
- Drascombe Lugger
- Edel 540
- Mistral T-21
- Naiad 18
- Paceship 20
- Sandpiper 565
- Sanibel 18
- San Juan 21
- Siren 17
- Typhoon 18
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Browning, Randy (2018). "Hunter 18.5 sailboat specifications and details". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ↑ Browning, Randy (2018). "Hunter Marine". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Hunter Marine (1987). "Introducing the Hunter 18.5" (PDF). www.marlow-hunter.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Henkel, Steve: The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats, page 37. International Marine/McGraw-Hill, 2010. ISBN 978-0-07-163652-0
- ↑ Hunter Marine. "Previous models". www.marlow-hunter.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ↑ InterVisionSoft LLC (2018). "Sailboat Specifications for Hunter 18.5". Sailing Joy. Archived from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.