Design and Construction
The Sailart 18 has contemporary fast-boat styling, with pronounced chines and a negatively inclined wave-piercer bow that gives this small cruiser an aggressive, modern profile. The chine slopes upward from the bow and looks almost striking at first glance.
The hull and deck are built as a GRP sandwich using polyester resin and a Divinycell foam core. Buoyancy is built in rather than added. The volume beneath the forward section of the cockpit, extending to the small cabin, is filled with epoxy foam, as is the bow section beneath the berth cushions. As a result, the boat remains on the surface even if it fills with water during a botched gennaker set. Two buoyancy chambers arrange the flooded hull so that it lies horizontally and can be bailed out.
The rudder is a single blade housed in a cassette. It can be caught up and pulled upward in one motion. At the open stern, stainless-steel plates provide mounting points for a swim ladder or motor bracket.
Rig and Handling
The fractional sloop carries 20 m² of sail upwind: a 14 m² mainsail and a 6 m² furling jib, which stows below deck in the anchor locker. Strongly aft-swept spreaders guide the upper shrouds, eliminating the need for a backstay. One lower shroud on each side and the forestay complete the standing rigging, while the mainsail is flared at the head to clear this area.
The builder arranged the deck hardware for single-handed operation, with the downhaul, cunningham, and outhaul grouped around the companionway alongside the foresail sheets. A 3D centreboard on the superstructure tightens the sheet angles.
Offwind, the Sailart 18 can carry either a 25 m² gennaker or a 20 m² Code Zero from a fixed nose, with no retractable pole. The sail can be handled with a top-down furler or retrieval sock.
In YACHT’s test, winds ranged from 12 to 15 knots, with gusts above 20 knots. Three crew on the rail were needed to keep the boat controllable under gennaker, though the 130 kg of ballast provided enough security to fly it without hesitation. The boat logged just over 5 knots upwind and 7 knots or more under gennaker. In one gust, it briefly glided under main and jib, and showed just under 9 knots over the ground.
Cockpit and Accommodation
For an 18-foot hull, the cockpit is surprisingly roomy. Outhaul straps allow the crew to shift their weight well to windward. A very large stern locker is accessed through two watertight hatches in the cockpit floor.
Below, the comfortable cabin sleeps two on a berth measuring 200 centimetres by 161 centimetres at shoulder level. Clearance above the mattress is 79 centimetres, increasing to 126 cm beneath the forward hatch. Opening superstructure windows ventilate the cabin. A piping rail along both deck-hull joints accepts stowage bags, which can be positioned as needed.
Equipment and Power
The optional drive is a 3 HP electric motor weighing 9 kg, autonomously charged by solar panels integrated into the boat. A carbon-fibre boom is available without unnecessary fittings, and the gennaker can be stowed quickly in an optional recovery trumpet.
Verdict
The Sailart 18 is a light, genuinely unsinkable daysailer whose low weight and large sail area provide real speed without demanding a racing programme. Its foam-filled construction and shallow-draught wing keel make it a practical trailer boat for inland and coastal waters. Both the cockpit and cabin use the available 5.30 m length with unusual efficiency.
Pros
- Unsinkable, foam-filled hull lies horizontally when flooded
- Trailerable at 480 kg, with a minimum draft of 0.20 m
- Deck layout arranged for single-handed sailing
- Secure ballast handling in the cockpit
- Strong offwind performance, reaching 7 knots or more under gennaker
Cons
- Requires three crew on the rail to remain controllable under gennaker in strong gusts
- Positioned by the builder as a leisure craft rather than a true racer
