HMS 18

Description

The HMS 18 (Herb Stewart Marine 18) is a rare and highly regarded 18 ft trailerable daysailer/weekender designed in 1973 by Herb Stewart – a Florida naval architect known for fast, lightweight performance boats – and built in very limited numbers (fewer than 50) by Herb Stewart Marine Inc. of Clearwater between 1974 and 1979. With a sleek, low-freeboard hull (18 ft LOA, 7 ft 2 in beam, 1,100 lbs. displacement, 450 lbs. ballast), swing keel (9 in up / 3 ft 9 in down), and a tall fractional sloop rig carrying 180 sq ft upwind on a deck-stepped spar, she is one of the quickest and most exciting small keelboats of the 1970s – routinely hitting 12–14 knots off the wind and posting PHRF ratings in the low 200s even today. Below, the minimalist interior offers two 6 ft 6 in quarter berths, a small V-berth, and a portable head under the companionway – enough for a couple to weekend comfortably. Construction is cold-molded mahogany veneer over stringers with a fiberglass-sheathed deck, giving a stiff, light, and very strong hull that has aged remarkably well. Though production ended when Stewart shifted focus to larger custom yachts, the surviving HMS 18s are cherished by a small but passionate group of owners in Florida and the Carolinas who still race them hard and swear they outperform almost every modern sport boat under 20 ft.