Catalina 18 Wing keel

Sailboat specifications

The Catalina 18 is a 18’ (5.49m) cruising sailboat designed by Gerry Douglas (United States). She was built since 2000 (and now discontinued) by Catalina Yachts (United States). The Wing keel version is offered with a short keel fitted with large winglets. This configuration provides an interesting draft / low center of gravity / upwind performance trade-off.

Catalina 18's main features

Model: Catalina 18
Version: Wing keel
Hull type: Monohull
Category: Coastal cruising sailboat
Sailboat builder: Catalina Yachts
Sailboat designer: Gerry Douglas
Country: United States
Construction: Hull and deck: GRP (glass reinforced polyester)
First built hull: 2000
Last built hull: Discontinued
Appendages: Keel : wing keel
Helm: Single tiller
Rudder: Single transom hung rudder
Unsinkable: No
Trailerable: Yes
Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only): N/A €

Catalina 18's main dimensions

Overall length: 20’ 4”6.2 m
Hull length: 18’5.49 m
Waterline length: 16’ 4”4.98 m
Beam (width): 7’ 7”2.31 m
Draft: 2’ 4”0.71 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 1499 lb680 kg
Ballast weight: 425 lb193 kg

Catalina 18's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 173 ft²16.09 m²
Mainsail area: 86 ft²7.99 m²
Genoa area: 87 ft²8.1 m²
I iFore triangle height (from mast foot to fore stay top attachment): 20’6.1 m
J iFore triangle base (from mast foot to bottom of forestay): 6’ 6”1.98 m
P iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head): 20’ 2”6.17 m
E iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew): 8’ 6”2.59 m
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi 7/8
Mast configuration: Deck stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 1
Spreaders angle: Swept-back
Spars construction: Aluminum spars
Standing rigging: 1x19 strand wire continuous

Catalina 18's performances

Upwind sail area to displacement iThe ratio sail area to displacement is obtained by dividing the sail area by the boat's displaced volume to the power two-thirds. The ratio sail area to displacement can be used to compare the relative sail plan of different sailboats no matter what their size. Upwind: under 18 the ratio indicates a cruise oriented sailboat with limited performances especially in light wind, while over 25 it indicates a fast sailboat.: 224 ft²/T20.81 m²/T
Displacement-length ratio (DLR) iThe Displacement Length Ratio (DLR) is a figure that points out the boat's weight compared to its waterline length. The DLR is obtained by dividing the boat's displacement in tons by the cube of one one-hundredth of the waterline length (in feet). The DLR can be used to compare the relative mass of different sailboats no matter what their length: a DLR less than 180 is indicative of a really light sailboat (race boat made for planning), while a DLR greater than 300 is indicative of a heavy cruising sailboat.: 156
Ballast ratio iThe Ballast ratio is an indicator of stability; it is obtained by dividing the boat's displacement by the mass of the ballast. Since the stability depends also of the hull shapes and the position of the center of gravity, only the boats with similar ballast arrangements and hull shapes should be compared. The higher the ballast ratio is, the greater is the stability.: 28 %
Critical hull speed iAs a ship moves in the water, it creates standing waves that oppose its movement. This effect increases dramatically the resistance when the boat reaches a speed-length ratio (speed-length ratio is the ratio between the speed in knots and the square root of the waterline length in feet) of about 1.2 (corresponding to a Froude Number of 0.35) . This very sharp rise in resistance, between speed-length ratio of 1.2 to 1.5, is insurmountable for heavy sailboats and so becomes an apparent barrier. This leads to the concept of "hull speed". The hull speed is obtained by multiplying the square root of the waterline length (in feet) by 1.34.: 5.42 knots