Practical Boat Owner – May 2018

Practical Boat Owner • http://www.pbo.co.uk 27

TRAILER-SAILERS

Draught Weight Sail area Sail plan New price* Used price

0.25-1.42m 500kg 16.95m² Gunter ketch £20,540 £10,000-£18,000

0.48m 550kg 15.30m² Gaff sloop £19,815 £9,750-£17,500

0.20-0.91m 250kg 10.96m² Gaff yawl £14,695 £4,000-£10,000

0.23-1.30m 816kg 20.44m² Bermudan sloop £29,662 £4,000-£20,000

0.99m 1,066kg 16.70m² Bermudan sloop n/a £500-£2,500

0.79m 1,031kg 17.20m² Bermudan sloop n/a £500-£1,500

0.30-1.50m 470kg 16.70m² Gaff yawl £18,500 £5,000-£15,000

0.25-1.22m 340kg 12.26m² Gunter yawl £16,845 £7,500-£15,000

0.50-1.10m 1,100kg 29.40m² Gaff sloop n/a £3,000-£8,000

0.48-1.22m 1,000kg 16.5m² Gaff sloop £21,520 £8,500-£17,500

0.22-1.07m 690kg 18.49m² Bermudan sloop n/a £1,000-£3,500

Swift 18

A beamy, hard-chine Micro-Cup look-alike

designed by John Charnley (later to found

Discovery Yachts).

After building 200 boats, production

passed to Honnor Marine in Devon who

redesigned many aspects, including the

cabin top, to create the more cruising

orientated 300-series.

Later, the 400-series reverted to a lighter

build with better sailing performance,

ending with a slightly more refined

500-series.

Her wide beam and ample built-in

buoyancy means she is stable and

unsinkable. She is also quite stiff and

pleasingly quick under sail. Below,

though, she’s snug. There are two quarter

berths and a roomy V-berth, but at just 4ft

4in (1.3m), the headroom limits you to

sitting or kneeling. There is just enough

space for a small hob, sink and a portaloo,

Other

boats to

consider

Caprice 19

Coromandel

Fantasie 19

Foxcub 18

Hunter Medina 20

Invader 20

Leisure 17

Mirror Offshore 19

Norfolk Oyster 17

Pippin 20

Pirate 17

Prelude 19

Sailfish 18

Skipper 17

Tamarisk 19

Westerly Nimrod 18

so she is fine for a night aboard after a

pub supper, but she’s not really a

contender for family cruising.

Her rudder lifts and her swing-keel

protrudes just 3in (75mm) when retracted,

making her easy to launch and retrieve

onto a trailer. The mast can also be raised

and lowered single-handedly. Weighing

just over a half-tonne means she can be

towed easily by an average family saloon

on a simple, unbraked two-wheeled trailer.

Left Swift 18 has the

look of a mini racing

yacht about it

David Harding

*Price includes basic specification boat, sails, trailer and outboard motor