BoatsSeagull 18

Seagull 18

Masthead Sloop · Keel/centreboard · First built 1956

An Ian Proctor-designed masthead sloop offered as a kit by Bell Woodworking, featuring a versatile keel-centerboard hull

Designed by Ian Proctor, built by Bell Woodworking.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Keel/Cbrd.

Is it for you?

Character

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

TrailerableBeam 2.06 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 762 kg of hull, so roughly 1,350 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Ramp-launchableAbout 762 kg of hull, with a keel that raises or a draught shallow enough to float off a trailer — she can go back on the trailer at the ramp, not only into the water.Shoal draughtDraws 0.43 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

2.27 — right around the 2.0 line, the edge between coastal and offshore.

Capsize screening 2.27
LightHeavy

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

Displacement / length 146
EasygoingPowered-up

24.4 — a lot of sail for her weight; powered-up and eager, a real performer.

Sail area / displacement 24.4
TenderStiff

21% of her weight is ballast — on the tender side; she'll heel readily and want a reef sooner.

Ballast 21%

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

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

Compared with 440 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
20.8%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Masthead Sloop
Ratios
SA / displacement
24.4
Displacement / length
146.1
Comfort ratio
11.6
Capsize screening
2.27
Hull speed
5.6 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
416
Hull
Hull type
Keel/Cbrd.
Construction
plywood, hard chine
Production
Years built
First built 1956
Units built
400
Designer
Ian Proctor
Builder
Bell Woodworking

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.

Dufour Yachts T66.15 mSame hull family0.5 m longerA lightweight 800kg fractional sloop with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for spirited performance in light air
Who I am and why the sea is part of my life0:56from NAUTICPIOLI
RS 216.40 mSame hull family0.8 m longer
Training Sea Cadet Instructors | RS21 Keelboat Sailing – Welsh Harp1:37from City Sailing
Marshall Marine Corporation Sanderling5.54 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA gaff-rigged catboat based on a 1941 design, featuring a shallow-draft keel-centerboard hull for versatile day sailing
The History of Beneteau Boats11:37from Practical Sailor
Microtonner 195.50 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA high-performance fractional sloop designed by Nestor Volker to the International Micro Class rule for competitive racing
I Met the Man Who Puts Sailboats Inside the São Francisco River | #SAL #4256:23from Hashtag Sal
O'day 23-1 (Lift Top)7.01 mSame hull family1.4 m longerA popular C. Raymond Hunt-designed masthead sloop featuring a unique lift-top coach roof for added cabin headroom
Living on a Sailboat Doesn’t Have to Mean the End of Your Professional Life | #SAL #3583:10from Hashtag Sal
Chrysler Marine 226.71 mSame hull family1.1 m longerA 6.7-metre masthead sloop produced as the C-22 and T-22 Sandpiper, featuring a swing keel for shallow-water access
True Crime Sailing - A Cruising Wife Vanishes in the Bahamasfrom Lady K Sailing

The family

Boats like this

Nearby designs by size, type, and era — worth a look alongside her.

Seamew 22A 6.7-metre swing-keel cruiser launched in 1963, offering a larger, more spacious alternative to the earlier SeagullSkimmar Boats Seagull 12A fractional sloop-rigged centerboard dinghy with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for spirited light-air sailingSeawanhaka Sea BirdA Sparkman & Stephens fractional sloop with a narrow beam and high sail area, designed for nimble performance

Keep looking

Nothing filmed of this one yet

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

Search the fleet for boats like thisAsk the fleet about the Seagull 18

The newsletter

New boats, new stories. Every week, everywhere.

One email from the fleet — boats newly added, videos newly analysed. No noise.

Report an issue