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Precision
18 Standard Equipment
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Precision
18 Design Comments
Precision 18 People go sailing because it is fun,
pure and simple. The problem for today's sailors is that a combination
of high interest rates and increasingly scarce mooring and marina
space have in many instances made boat ownership a lot less simple,
and its fun a lot less pure! This office shares with Precision Boat
Works the firm belief that sailing should still be pure fun, and
that the real key to the fun is in keeping it simple! Nowhere is
it written that in order to enjoy a day on the water a sailor needs
a boat that costs as much to buy as a house, even more to maintain,
and that requires half a football team to sail properly; on the
contrary, as the explosive growth in board sailing has shown, the
purest sailing fun can often best be delivered in very small, simple
packages! It is just this 'small and simple' concept that lies at
the heart of the Precision 18 design requirements; a boat small
enough to be easily trailered behind today's small cars, simple
enough to be inexpensive, but big enough to sleep aboard (out of
the weather) and stable enough to take along the family. And finally,
a boat with the lively performance and good sea manners required
to make sailing her fun! In attempting to fulfill similar requirements,
too many builders have simply taken a successful racing design and
installed a 'cruising' interior. Unfortunately, while the long fine
bow and broad flat transom of this type hull form can be devastatingly
fast when in the hands of a hot racing crew, it can also be dangerously
unstable for a family boat, and is therefore completely unsuited
to cruising applications. This office has recently developed four
different trailerable cruising designs, with over 500 built in just
the past three years. Each was drawn for a different builder and
market target, but all share distinctly full sections above the
waterline forward and only moderately full sections aft. The Precision
18 is our latest design to be developed from this basic hullform
which our experience has proven to provide a reassuring margin of
reserve buoyancy forward, improved ultimate stability and especially
forgiving handling characteristics, all essential elements of any
good cruising design. The long shallow keel, kick-up rudder, and
non-corroding fiberglass centerboard of the Precision 18 are all
high-lift NACA 'wing sections.' The keel allows the board to be
housed completely below the cabin sole and gets the ballast down
low for stability. The board itself weighs only 65 pounds so that
it does not form a major portion of the total ballast, stability
is not dangerously reduced when it is retracted, and it can be raised
easily by a child with no need for a winch. The simple fractional
rig can be raised right on the trailer in minutes. The jib is of
very high aspect ratio for maximum efficiency, but small enough
to be readily trimmed by a young crew. The mainsail can be quickly
'depowered' in puffy conditions, and it is large enough to provide
good performance without the jib when desired -- a big advantage
when in a crowded anchorage or when shorthanded. The cockpit is
full 6' 4" long with coamings high enough to keep the crew securely
inside. Both seats and coamings are precisely angled for maximum
comfort, reflecting our years of careful ergonomic design development.
There is a generous anchor locker forward, a fuel tank storage bin
to port, and a full cockpit locker to starboard. The Precision 18
is designed to be a lively, well-mannered sailboat rather than a
floating vacation home, but the features described are noteworthy
nonetheless. There is ample sitting headroom for 4 and a filler
cushion that drops to form a 6'6" v-berth that is NOT broken up
by the usual awkward mast support post. There are 6' quarter berths
port and starboard, not to mention a 48 quart cooler, provision
for a portable head, and 12-volt battery. A forward hatch provides
ventilation and an emergency exit, and the large companionway and
4 opening cabin windows contribute to the feeling of light and open
space. Carefully controlling construction weight is critical to
both performance and to price, but it cannot be done at the expense
of safety or structural integrity. Thus the hull liner of the Precision
18 is engineered as a structural grid, and tooled to mate precisely
with the hand-laminated hull skin. The mast support beam and chain
plate loads are carried by structural bulkheads and there are rugged
hull stringers to distribute the stresses imposed by trailering.
The external hull/deck joint is bonded both chemically and mechanically,
and the flange is protected with a vinyl rub rail. The Precision
18 has been kept small in size and price, but remains big in both
feathers and performance. She promises to deliver the fun, pure
and simple! |
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