Cross 18
Description
The Cross 18 is a classic American folding trimaran sailboat designed by renowned multihull pioneer Norman Cross in the mid-1980s (plans dated around 1985). It's a plans-only, home-build design emphasizing simplicity, trailerability, and performance for coastal daysailing and racing, with over 50–100 units built (exact numbers undocumented due to amateur construction). Constructed primarily in plywood-epoxy stitch-and-glue method, it features folding amas (outriggers) that rotate 180 degrees to lie alongside the main hull, reducing beam from 18 ft to ~8 ft for trailering. Known for its conservative yet responsive handling, it's a "pioneer" in small trimarans—stable, fast in breezes, and forgiving—but dated compared to modern designs like the W17 or Strike 18.
Construction Details
| Designer | Norman Cross |
|---|---|
| Length | 18.000 ft |
| LOA | 18.000 ft |
| LWL | 16.920 ft |
| Beam | 11.580 ft |
| Displacement | 400 lb |
| Max Draft | 3.500 ft |
| Min Draft | 1.250 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 22 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 7.50 ft |
| p | 20.33 ft |
| e | 9.16 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 ft | 7.50 ft | 20.33 ft | 9.16 ft | - | - | - | - |
Documents
Sails
Cross 18 - MAINSAIL
| Luff | 20.33 ft - (6197 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 9.17 ft - (2795 mm) |
| Leech | * 21.82 ft - (6651 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 22.01 ft - (6709 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 4 in - (102 mm) |
| Area | * 96.16 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator | |
Cross 18 - JIBSAIL
| Luff | 17.33 ft - (5282 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 8.33 ft - (2539 mm) |
| Leech | 16 ft - (4877 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 102.13 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 7.66 ft - (2335 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4.37 ° |
| Area | * 66.34 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator | |
Cross 18 - GENOA
| Luff | * 22.08 ft - (6730 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 12.21 ft - (3722 mm) |
| Leech | * 20.66 ft - (6297 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 11.25 ft - (3429 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4 ° |
| Area | * 124.18 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator | |
Cross 18 - DRIFTER
| Luff | * 22.08 ft - (6730 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 12.72 ft - (3877 mm) |
| Leech | * 19.68 ft - (5998 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perp | * 11.25 ft - (3429 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 8.98 ° |
| Area | * 124.21 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator | |
Cross 18 - ASYMMETRICAL
| Luff | 24 ft - (7315 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 14 ft - (4267 mm) |
| Leech | 21 ft - (6401 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 165 % |
| Area | * 252 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator | |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.