BoatsSpacesailer 18

Spacesailer 18

Masthead Sloop · Fin w/transom Hung Rudder · First built 1976

A Kim Swarbrick-designed masthead sloop with over 100 units built under license in Montana for coastal day sailing

Designed by Kim Swarbrick, built by Swarbrick Brothers (Au) Laurie Simms.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Fin w/transom Hung Rudder

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

TrailerableBeam 2.08 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 748 kg of hull, so roughly 1,350 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Shoal draftDraws 1.07 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
LivelySea-kindly

Her light displacement on a beamy beam gives 12 — a quick, lively motion that feels every wave.

Comfort ratio 12
CoastalBluewater

At 2.31 she sits above the 2.0 line — beamy for her weight, and happiest coastal.

Capsize screening 2.31
LightHeavy

174 — light for her waterline, so she is easily driven and quick to accelerate.

Displacement / length 174
EasygoingPowered-up

13.8 — modest power for her weight; easygoing rather than lively, and happier with a breeze.

Sail area / displacement 13.8
TenderStiff

30% of her weight is ballast — on the tender side; she'll heel readily and want a reef sooner.

Ballast 30%

Light and lively — happiest day-sailing and coastal-hopping in settled weather.

  • Narrower than ~77% of boats her size on file

Compared with 280 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
30.3%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Masthead Sloop
Ratios
SA / displacement
13.8
Displacement / length
174.2
Comfort ratio
11.8
Capsize screening
2.31
Hull speed
5.4 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
395
Hull
Hull type
Fin w/transom hung rudder
Construction
Fiberglass
Ballast type
Cast Iron
Production
Years built
First built 1976
Designer
Kim Swarbrick
Builder
Swarbrick Brothers (AU) Laurie Simms

Boats like this, on the water

Nobody has filmed this one — but these are close.

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Bavaria Yachts 6066.50 mSame hull family1.0 m longerA lightweight 6.5-meter fractional sloop with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for spirited coastal sailing
J Boats Tillotson Pearson J/226.86 mSame hull family1.4 m longerA high-performance fractional sloop with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio designed for competitive one-design racing
Borge Bringsvaerd Bb116.18 mSame hull family0.7 m longerA Norwegian-built classic with an active class association that has raced continuously since the 1960s
Marieholm Boats S-206.00 mSame hull family0.5 m longerA short-run 1970s fractional sloop with a fin keel and transom-hung rudder, designed for coastal agility
Birdyfish S4.20 mSame hull family1.3 m shorterA 4.2-metre foiling monohull with a 100kg displacement and a high-performance Marconi cat rig
Galion 226.71 mSame hull family1.2 m longerDesigned by Ian Hannay, this fractional sloop proved her mettle by winning both the Round the Island and JOG races in 1968

The family

Related models

The designs closest to hers — usually the rest of the builder's range, sometimes the same hull sold under another name.

Keep looking

Nothing filmed of this one yet

Two ways to keep looking — both search what the fleet has actually recorded.

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