Dart 18
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- Rank: Lubber
- Registered: Jul 02, 2009
- Last visit: Jul 08, 2009
- Posts: 7
Posted: Jul 06, 2009 - 09:32 AM
Anyone have any experience/advice/opinions on a Dart 18 as a beach boat? -
- Rank: Master Chief
- Registered: Jun 20, 2006
- Last visit: Apr 06, 2024
- Posts: 7088
Posted: Jul 06, 2009 - 09:56 AM
yes, they are great boats but need good wind to sail well.
They are designed for the north sea.. and can take heavy air very well.. but the jib is the size of a napkin and as i said.. needs air.
the boardless/skegs are great... -
- Rank: Lubber
- Registered: Jul 07, 2009
- Last visit: Jul 07, 2009
- Posts: 1
Posted: Jul 07, 2009 - 11:03 AM
Yes, the Dart 18 great boat!
Advantages:
- very easy to handle boat.
-- small sail area compared to F18 and Hobie 16, so can be controlled by beginners and in high winds
-- long hulls reduce the chance of "pitch-poling", i.e. capsizing over the front of the leeward hull
-- tacks very well compared to other cats
-- can be righted by 1 100kg, or 2 60kg persons
- fast. Very fast. One of the best compromises between high speed, easy handling, low used price.
- active class with 8000 boats built
- large number of used boats in good shape available in UK, Germany, Netherlands, France
Drawbacks
- future of Dart 18 boat class is unclear
- spare parts not as easily available as for Hobie 16. Make sure that old boats are available in your country, for scavenging expensive parts such as mast and rudders.
- required class-legal parts are obsolete: modern blocks from Harken and Ronstan have improved much since 1979
- shape and material of sails are obsolete. No reacher, no furling jib
- small sail area (see "advantages"), no racer for inshore areas with low wind
- rudders overly complicated, prone to electro-chemical corrosion
Controversial topics:
- the drawbacks of the Dart 18 make selling new boats a challenge. Good representation in UK, Netherlands.
- in Germany, long-standing rivalry between Topcat and Dart 18 camps. (Along the lines of "puddle rocket" vs "british car technology"...). A pity, as the boats are both great, and quite similar.
Here is a handy list of web locations for Dart 18 documentation:
- Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dart_18
- UKIDA website: http://www.dart18.com
- class Assembly and Component Drawings, link to UKIDA Tech Manual
http://www.dart18.com/TechTalkDrawings.htm
- UKIDA technical manual describing trim of boat
http://www.dart18.com/Docs/TechTalk/UKIDA%20Technical%20manual.doc
- Dart 18 Rapid Rope Guide - quick reference for correct rope sizes
http://www.dart18.com/TechTalkRopeGuide.htm
- Dart 18 price guide - use as reference for sail numbers, color scheme, and when a certain boat was produced.
http://www.dart18.com/Priceguide.htm
Markus (Dart 18 #6970)
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