 Class symbol | |
| Boat | |
|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
| Hull | |
| Hull weight | 130 kg |
| LOA | 5480 mm |
| Beam | 2280 mm |
| Rig | |
| Mast length | 8 m |
| Sails | |
| Mainsail area | 12.92 m2 |
| Jib/genoa area | 3.16 m2 |
| Spinnaker area | 15.5 m2, not legal for racing |
| Racing | |
| D-PN | 76.3 |
| RYA PN | 805 |
The Dart 18 is a one-design 18-foot (5.5 m) long glassfibre sailing catamaran. It is designed to be sailed by two people and can achieve speeds of up to 20 knots. This is reflected in its Portsmouth Yardstick of 805[1] and D-PN of 76.3[2]
The Dart 18 was designed and built by Panthercraft, which was formed in 1969
The very first Dart 18, designed and built in Falmouth, Cornwall, is now owned by the National Maritime Museum Cornwall. Up to the present, a number of improvements have been made, but the original concept was preserved through strict class rules. More than 8350 boats have been built up to 2016, which are sailed in more than 16 nations on 4 continents. Since 2012, Windsport International holds the worldwide licence to build the Dart 18. The boats are manufactured since 2005 at Collins Fibreglass Plastics in South Africa and in Europe. The World Championship results can be found here.
The hulls of the Dart 18 are similar to most sailing catamarans, but without centreboards. Instead, the lower part of the hulls have skegs typical for a beach catamaran. The hull material is glassfibre. Both hulls are filled with flotation inserts to preserve buoyancy in case of damage. The inside of each hull can be reached through a hatch cover located at the rear of each hull. The boat is assembled by attaching the main and rear beams to the hulls with spring-loaded retaining clips, and lacing the trampoline to the beams and hulls. The two rudders are removable without tools, retract on impact with the beach, and can be locked in the up position.
The rigging consists of a rotating mast held by a forestay and two shroud wires. The shrouds can be adjusted by simply moving the bolts in the chainplates. The Dart 18 mast does not have spreaders. There is a trapeze for the crew.
The mainsail does not have a boom, has nine full battens, and is controlled by a main sheet with a 7:1 mechanical advantage. The jib sail has two short battens, and is controlled by a jib sheet with a 2:1 mechanical advantage. The main sheet block and both jib sheet blocks have a ratchet and a cleat.
A gennaker sail can be added, but is not legal for racing. This is usually combined with a jib furling system. The boat can also be sailed by one person, without a foresail, with a D-PN of 78.7.[2]
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | |
|---|---|---|---|
1991 -  Great BritainAbersoch |
Great Britain Kim Furniss Sarah Powell |
Great Britain Gareth Owen Steve Cottrell |
 FranceDaniel Peponnet Christian Carabeau |
1995 -  GermanyTravemunde |
 NetherlandsSven Karsenberg Annemarie Kingma |
Great Britain Gareth Owen Will Thompson |
France Erik Matheron Pamela Matheron |
| 1998 Nouméa New Caledonia | Great Britain Gareth Owen Christopher Delves |
 New CaledoniaThierry Lebiez Franck Caromel |
Great Britain David Lloyd Katie Jennings |
1999 -  South AfricaPort Elizabeth |
Great Britain Jon Hutchings Vicki Jennings |
France Hervé le Maux (FRA) Toya Al (NED) |
Great Britain Robert Garcka Marc Howell |
| 2002 - France Marseille |
France Christophe Gazharian Catherine Gazharian |
France Hervé le Maux (FRA) Joanna Jones-Pierce (GBR) |
France Thierry Wibaux Christine Wibaux |
| 2003 - Great Britain Stokes Bay |
France Vincent Bouvier Fanny Merelle |
France Hervé le Maux (FRA) Joanna Jones-Pierce (GBR) |
Great Britain Matt Pullen Deborah Rickard |
2004 -  PortugalLagos |
France Thierry Wibaux Christine Wibaux |
France Vincent Bouvier Fanny Merelle |
Great Britain Dave Roberts Louise Roberts |
| 2006 - South Africa East London |
Great Britain Matt Pullen Deborah Rickard |
Great Britain Gareth Owen Angus Armstrong |
Great Britain David Lloyd Polly Bishop |
2007 -  ItalyTorbole Lake Garda |
Great Britain Dan Norman Melanie Rogers |
Great Britain David Lloyd Cathrin Farthing |
Great Britain Paul Wakelin Emma Curtis |
| 2008 - Netherlands Workum |
France Emmanuel Dode Billy Besson |
Great Britain Dan Norman Melanie Rogers |
Great Britain David Lloyd Cathrin Farthing |
| 2009 Palm Beach Aruba | France Emmanuel Dode Fred Moreau |
Great Britain David Lloyd Joanna Jones-Pierce |
Germany Mathias Huber Dominik Volke |
| 2010 - Great Britain Weymouth |
Great Britain Tom Phipps Richard Glover |
France Emmanuel Dode Fred Moreau |
Great Britain Dan Norman Melanie Rogers |
2011 -  BelgiumKnokke |
Great Britain Alan Kernick Fiona Kernick |
Great Britain Dan Norman Mel Rogers |
France Thierry Wibaux Christine Wibaux |
| 2012 - Italy Punta Ala |
Great Britain Tom Phipps Nikki Boniface |
Great Britain Dave Roberts Louise Roberts |
France Thierry Wibaux Christine Wibaux |
| 2013 - France Carnac |
Dan Norman (GBR) Jessica Day (GBR)
|
Jonathan Pierce (GBR) Ginny Trafford (GBR)
|
Brian Phipps (GBR) Katy Phipps (GBR)
|
| 2014/5 - South Africa Stillbaai Vaal Dam |
South Africa Alan Kernick Fiona Kernick |
South Africa Ben Mienie Lloyd Beyers |
South Africa Chris Clarke Morgan Rusch |
| 2016 - Netherlands Medemblik |
Dan Norman (GBR) Alysha Monkman (GBR)
|
Dave Roberts (GBR) Louise Roberts (GBR)
|
 Michiel Fehr (SUI) Andri Fried (SUI)
|
| 2017 - Germany Scharbeutz [3] |
Dave Roberts (GBR) Louise Roberts (GBR)
|
Jorg Gosche (GER) Arne Gosche (GER)
|
Herve LeMaux (FRA) Joanna Trafford (GBR)
|
| 2018 - Italy Dervio Lake Como |
Alessandro Siviero (ITA) Marco Tramutola (ITA)
|
Michiel Fehr (SUI) Andri Fried (SUI)
|
David Lloyd (GBR) Anne Chaumet - LaGrange (FRA)
|
| 2019 - Thailand Pattaya 52 Boats[4] |
GBR 7835 Dave Roberts (GBR) Louise Roberts (GBR)
|
GBR 7930 Gareth Owen (GBR) Hebe Hemming (GBR)
|
GBR 7945 Daniel Norman (GBR) Alyesha Monkman (GBR)
|
| 2020 - France La Rochelle |
COVID 19 |