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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]
| 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 design was built by Hunter Marine in the United States between 1987 and 1993, but it is now out of production.[1][5]
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]
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]
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