Its wave-piercer bow and upward-sloping chine look almost aggressive at first glance, but the engineering beneath them emphasizes stability and recoverability rather than racing.
Design and Construction
The Sailart 18-2 is 5.30 m long and 2.30 m wide, with draught ranging from 0.20 to 1.30 m. It weighs 480 kg, just under half a tonne, including 130 kilos of ballast—27 percent of its total weight.
The hull and deck are built as a sandwich of glass-reinforced plastic and polyester resin over a Divinycell foam core. Epoxy foam fills the space beneath the forward section of the cockpit extending to the small cabin, as well as the bow section beneath the berth cushions.
Together with two buoyancy chambers, this foam-filled volume makes the 18-2 unsinkable. If the boat fills during a botched gennaker set, she remains on the surface and lies horizontally in the water, allowing the crew to bail her out and lift her.
The single rudder blade sits in a cassette that catches it and can be raised in one motion. According to the builder, this arrangement means only one blade is required. A 3D centreboard attached to the superstructure varies the sheet angle for narrow windward tracks.
At the open stern, two stainless-steel plates on each side accept the swim ladder and motor bracket. Two watertight cockpit hatches give access to a very large stern locker measuring about two metres wide, more than a metre long, and 35 cm high.
Rig and Sail Handling
The fractional sloop rig has strongly aft-swept spreaders on the upper shrouds, eliminating the need for a backstay. A lower shroud on each side and the forestay complete the standing rigging. The mainsail flares at the head, where a backstay would only foul it, while the furling-jib system is housed below deck in the anchor locker.
The downhaul, Cunningham, and outhaul are arranged around the companionway alongside the foresail sheets. Outhaul straps in the wide cockpit make it easy for the crew to shift their weight to windward.
Upwind sail area is 20 square metres: 14 in the mainsail and 6 in the furling jib. The 25-square-metre gennaker has no retractable pole and can be stowed in an optional recovery trumpet.
Performance Under Sail
During testing, the log rose to just over 5 knots upwind, already notable for a 5.30 m hull. Under gennaker, the boat readily reached 7 knots and more. GPS showed just under 9 knots over the ground on a reach, even though the crew hadn’t driven her hard. With half as much wind, she still logged more than 6 knots. She could also glide briefly under mainsail and jib alone when dropping in a gust.
Her behavior in light air and gusts says more about the design than the headline speeds. In 12 to 15 knots of wind, with gusts above 20, the testers needed three people on the rail to keep her controllable under gennaker. Even so, the 130 kilos of ballast gave them enough security to carry the sail without hesitation in those gusts.
For a boat measuring just 5.30 m by 2.30 m, that performance supports the builder’s description of a “fast leisure craft,” even if she isn’t intended as a racer.
Accommodation
Below, the berth measures 200 by 161 centimetres at shoulder height and is comfortable for two. Headroom is 79 centimetres above the berth and 126 centimetres beneath the hatch in the forward footwell.
The superstructure windows open for ventilation. A piping rail along both deck-hull joints accepts stowage bags, which the crew can position as needed.
This is straightforward weekending accommodation rather than a cruising apartment. Still, the opening windows and configurable storage suit the boat’s day-sailing and overnight-leisure brief.
Verdict
The Sailart 18-2 is a focused small cruiser: foam-filled and unsinkable, quick on a reach, and straightforward to de-power or handle aground thanks to her lifting rudder. Her watertight cockpit lockers provide access to practical storage.
She trades regatta pretensions for a recoverable platform that a couple can sail hard without fear of sinking.
Pros
- Unsinkable construction, with epoxy-foam-filled spaces and two buoyancy chambers; lies horizontally when flooded
- Quick in a breeze: more than 7 knots under gennaker, nearly 9 knots over the ground during testing, and able to glide under mainsail and jib alone
- Single cassette rudder lifts in one motion
- Furling jib system housed below deck
- No backstay required
- Berth accommodates two
- Opening superstructure windows and a configurable stowage-bag rail
Cons
- Requires three people on the rail to manage the gennaker in 20-knot gusts
- No retractable gennaker pole
- Gennaker recovery trumpet is optional
- Limited cabin headroom—79 cm above the berth—restricts comfortable use to short stays
