| Buccaneer 18 | |
| Insignia: | File:Buccaneer Logo 2012.JPG |
| Insignia Size: | 120px |
| Line Drawing: | File:Buccaneer dinghy line drawing.pdf |
| Image Boat: | File:Buccaneer sailboat racing.png |
| Designer: | Rod Macalpine-Downie and Dick Gibbs |
| Location: | United States |
| Year: | 1966 |
| No Built: | 5,000 |
| Builder: | Chrysler Corporation Texas Marine Industries Wellcraft Marine Corporation Gloucester Yachts Cardinal Yachts Nickels Boatworks WindRider LLC |
| Role: | One-design racer |
| Draft: | 3.83feet with centerboard down |
| Displacement: | 5000NaN0 |
| Hull Type: | Monohull |
| Construction: | Fiberglass |
| Loa: | 18feet |
| Lwl: | 16.67feet |
| Beam: | 6feet |
| Keel Type: | centerboard |
| Rudder Type: | transom-mounted rudder |
| Rig Type: | Bermuda rig |
| Sailplan: | Fractional rigged sloop |
| Sailarea Main: | 114square feet |
| Sailarea Headsail: | 61square feet |
| Sailarea Spin: | 178square feet |
| Sailarea Total: | 175square feet |
| D-Pn: | 87.9 |
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]
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]
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 5000NaN0 and has positive flotation for safety.[1] [4] [5]
The boat has a draft of 3.83feet with the centerboard extended and 7inches with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.[1]
For sailing the design may be equipped with a spinnaker of 178square feet. 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]
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]