#national18 – The National 18 Class has adopted the exciting new Phil Morrison designed hull and production has started with twelve hulls already on order for 2015. News of the new N18 hull design story broke on Afloat.ie just over a year ago when the prototype was first sailed in Cork Harbour by Royal Cork sailors.
A prototype N18 named 'Odyssey' was launched in October 2013 and she has been trialled by upwards of 150 people as she has moved around England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There have been rave reviews. She is sleek, responsive and a joy to sail in all conditions. She is lighter, faster, safer and more comfortable to crew than current 18s. She is easy to launch and bring ashore and capsize recovery is no longer an issue.
The N18 remains the only 3 person centreboard dinghy, and the single trapeze allows a wide range of weight, experience and age to be competitive. She is spacious, and while three is the normal racing crew, two can manage or there is room for the whole family. The N18 Class is thriving and has a long history of competition and bonhomie.
At the AGM in Abersoch in July 2014 the Class voted overwhelmingly to accept the Morrison design as the new National 18. The Class is now delighted to announce the selection of White Formula of Brightlingsea, Essex, UK as our exclusive build partner.
Construction of the tooling for the class moulds has begun with completion expected by the end of 2014. As part of this deal the Class has worked with White Formula to agree attractive pricing for a range of options from bare hull to fully fitted complete boat ready to sail.
Current owners will be able to transfer spars and sails, thereby reducing cost. There is also an enormous range of styling options for anyone wishing to apply a splash of colour.
In the mean time the development team have been working with Phil Morrison to incorporate all the feedback following the Odyssey trials. She has proved absolutely invaluable in getting us to this point and will continue to serve us well. Our thanks again to all of the private contributors and The Boat Yard at Beer who helped deliver the prototype. She will be hitting the campaign trail this winter in the 2014/15 SailJuice series and the Class welcomes any existing or potential members interested in participating as helm or crew.
Moving on to 2015, the first production boat will be launched in early February with a display planned at the RYA Dinghy Show at Alexandra Palace over the weekend 28 Feb/1 Mar. White Formula aim to deliver all currently ordered boats by end of May 2015.
A complete boat with carbon spars, foils and sails will be £15995 inc VAT, a complete hull ready to accept current spars and sails will be £9450, and a bare hull £6240.
The Class is determined to remain inclusive of all the generations of N18s which started with the classic Uffa Ace of 1938, then the Proctor GRP hull of the 1970s and subsequent lighter, faster derivatives.
