Buccaneer 18

Short description: Sailboat class

Buccaneer 18

Development
Designer| Rod Macalpine-Downie and Dick Gibbs
Location| United States
Year| 1966
No. built| 5,000
Builder(s)| Chrysler Corporation
Texas Marine Industries
Wellcraft Marine Corporation
Gloucester Yachts
Cardinal Yachts
Nickels Boatworks
WindRider LLC
Role| One-design racer
Boat
Boat weight| 500 lb (227 kg)
Draft| 3.83 ft (1.17 m) with centerboard down
Hull
Type| Monohull
Construction| Fiberglass
LOA| 18.00 ft (5.49 m)
LWL| 16.67 ft (5.08 m)
Beam| 6.00 ft (1.83 m)
Hull appendages
Keel/board type| centerboard
Rudder(s)| transom-mounted rudder
Rig
Rig type| Bermuda rig
Sails
Sailplan| Fractional rigged sloop
Mainsail area| 114 sq ft (10.6 m2)
Jib/genoa area| 61 sq ft (5.7 m2)
Spinnaker area| 178 sq ft (16.5 m2)
Total sail area| 175 sq ft (16.3 m2)
Racing
D-PN| 87.9

[edit on Wikidata]

The Buccaneer 18, also called the Buccaneer dinghy and the Gloucester 18, is an American planing sailing dinghy that was designed in 1966 by Rod Macalpine-Downie and Dick Gibbs as a one-design racer and day sailer. The prototype was first shown in 1967 at Yachting's "One of a Kind" Regatta, in which it placed second.[1][2][3][4][5]

## Contents

* 1 Production
* 2 Design
* 3 Operational history
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## Production

The design has built by a long line of companies in the United States . About 5,000 boats had been built by the time production ended in 2020.[1][4][5]

The design was initially built by Chrysler Marine, a division of the Chrysler Corporation, in Plano, Texas, starting in 1968. The company completed just over 4,000 boats, during the period 1968-1980. As a result of a government bailout of Chrysler Marine's car manufacturing parent company, the marine division was sold in 1980 to a consortium of six former Chrysler Marine executives who formed Texas Marine International Inc. (Texas Marine Industries), retaining the location in Plano, Texas. Texas Marine built about 700 boats in 1981-1982.[1][6][7]

Wellcraft Marine Corporation's Starwind division built the design from 1982-1984, completing about 250 boats.[1]

From 1985-1986 Gloucester Yachts, part of Lockley Newport Boats, built 59 boats under the name Gloucester 18, before the company went out of business in 1988.[8][9] Cardinal Yachts took over production from 1987-2000, building 28 boats over 13 years.[1]

In 2008 Nickels Boatworks became the official builder. That company merged with WindRider LLC in 2015 and production continued at their Burton, Michigan plant, under the WindRider name until 2020.[5][10]

## Design

The Buccaneer 18 is a recreational sailboat, built predominantly of vinylester resin fiberglass, with wooden trim. It has a fractional sloop rig with foam-filled anodized aluminum spars. The hull has a spooned raked stem, a slightly reverse transom, a transom-hung, kick-up rudder controlled by a tiller and a kick-up centerboard. It displaces 500 lb (227 kg) and has positive flotation for safety.[1][4][5]

The boat has a draft of 3.83 ft (1.17 m) with the centerboard extended and 7 in (18 cm) with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.[1]

For sailing the design may be equipped with a spinnaker of 178 sq ft (16.5 m2). It has adjustable jib fairleads and jib roller furling. A boom vang, jib hauler and spinnaker launching tube are optional. For stowage it has a lazarette and compartment under the covered foredeck.[4]

The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 87.9 and is raced with a minimum crew of two sailors, although it can accommodate six people.[4][5]

## Operational history

Buccaneer sailboats racing

The type is supported by a type club, the Buccaneer 18 Class Association, that regulates the boat design and holds races.[11]

In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood wrote that the, "Buccaneer, originally built by Chrysler, is a big boat with a 7-foot 3-inch cockpit, seating six. The boat was designed to be easy to sail and maintain. The hull is planing, with the wide beam well aft and a lean bow."[4]

## See also

* List of sailing boat types

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Buccaneer 18 sailboat". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/buccaneer-18.
2. ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2020). "J.R. (Rod) Macalpine-Downie 1934 - 1986". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/designer/macalpine-downie-jr-rod.
3. ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Dick Gibbs 1929 - 2009". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/designer/gibbs-dick.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Sherwood, Richard M.: A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition, pages 90-91. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. ISBN:0-395-65239-1
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 WindRider. "Buccaneer 18". windrider.com. https://www.windrider.com/collections/windrider-sailboat/products/buccaneer-18.
6. ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Chrysler Marine 1957 - 1980". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/builder/chrysler-marine.
7. ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Texas Marine International (USA)". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/builder/texas-marine-international-usa.
8. ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Lockley Newport Boats (USA) 1964 - 1988". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/builder/lockley-newport-boats-usa.
9. ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Gloucester 18 sailboat". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/gloucester-18.
10. ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Nickels Boat Works, Inc. (USA)". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/builder/nickels-boat-works-inc-usa.
11. ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Buccaneer 18 Class Association". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/association/buccaneer-18-class-association.

## External links

* Official website archives on Archive.org

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