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)
