More 18.5 Advice, Please

[Chris Haraway]

Does anyone know the total weight of the 1988 18.5? Mine has a keel which resembles a bulb, but has small wings on the aft of the bulb? Is this common? How well does this boat perform as a shore sailor (such as San Diego Harbor, Sea of Cortez)? Can it go to Catalina Islands?Thanks for the help.Chris

 

[Jack Everitt]

Winged keel

The 18.5 came with a winged keel which you described. I don't remember the weight but i used a Mazada 4 cyclinder pick-up to pull mine. Sailed inland Ohio lakes so I can't answer for sure about ocean sailing, but I don't think it's a good idea.

 

[Tim Taylor]

H18.5

i recently purchased an'88 H18.5 and while i've not sailed on it yet i was given a fair amount of info about the boat from the former owner. please understand that i'm simply passing on what i was told to you and that i'm in now way claiming that i know this from experience. anyway, here are a few points for you to consider based on what i was told.-where shore sailing and open water are concerned i was warned that this is about as small and light as you can go and still have a decent cabin. i had plans to learn on a local lake and then eventually sail out of Havre de Grace, MD but was warned that i would need to pick my days on the Bay carefully. this is mainly due to my lack of experience and the problems of swells and salt but certain characterists of the boat could cause problems as well. i was made to understand that this model tends to be overpowered easily unless reefed very early (like most Hunters if i've read all of those reviews correctly). it appears that this model was designed for lake/river sailing and to go out on open water might be interesting. on the plus side the blub keel this model uses allows the boat to "skid" leeward to some extent rather than being blown over but all the same.-where weight and towing are concerned the listed displacement is something around 1600# and i can't imagine that little trailer weighs more than a few hundred #. assuming the balance is decent and you store your gear correctly any small SUV or pickup shouldn't have a problem. the former owner pulled my boat w/ a Jeep and said it was fine. on a side note, i believe my extended tongue has been extended but the bulb keel does require either a fairly deep ramp or a sea-going automobile for launch and loading.i hope this helped you if only to give you a few things to think about. if you have any other questions i can answer drop me an email. i'm a rank newbie and you might be experienced to the point where my concerns are not your concerns. no matter what the case i'd be interested in staying in touch w/ another 18.5 owner. cheers. Tim Taylortgom@yahoo.com

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

info

The Hunter 18.5 was built for appx 3-4 years and it only came with the wing keel. Appx. displacement was 1600 pounds but add for the engine and gear. Max engine that I would recommend is of course a 5 hp. The trailer weighed about 450 pounds.This is a good little boat but the hardest thing was getting it onto the trailer. Your trailer is a KWS or Ken's Welding. Check the bearings and of course the attachemnt of the fenders.The guide ons on the trailer were prohibitive in certain cases for getting the boat onto the trailer.Crazy Dave Condon

 

[Ernie Graham]

18.5 advice

I recently purchased a 1989 Hunter 18.5and got it in the water(Lake Hartwell, Ga. a couple of weeks ago. I was fortunate to have a friend with me who is an experienced sailor, I'm still a novice. Launching would have been extremely difficult without the extension tounge. We had a nice day with winds about 8-12 mph. I thought the boat performed extremely well, and more importantly, so did my sailor friend. I've been in boats which would heel suddenly for the first 15 degrees or so and then stiffen (Rhodes 22) andI've been on a Potter 19 in stiff breezes which heeled hardly at all. The Hunter was somewhere in between, which seems perfect to me. The previous owner kept her in Savannah on the ocean, so I know shore sailing can be accomplished, however, he was a very experienced sailor. Also, I've noticed that the mast of the H18.5 is about 3 feet taller than masts of similiar sized boats and that the sail area is greater. So, I agree that reefing early is advisable, and that experience is needed for off-shore ocean sailing.Thanks for letting me share my first sail in my first sailboat. Any ideas, suggestions, tips would be greatly appreciated.