Mercury 18 (Mercury One Design)
Description
The Mercury 18 (often simply called the Mercury or Mercury One Design) is a classic American one-design keelboat designed by Ernest Nunes (of Nunes Brothers Boat Works in Sausalito, California) in 1939 and first built that year, initially in wood for plywood construction (one of the earliest boats specifically designed for plywood) until fiberglass production began in 1952 by W.D. Schock Corp. (who continued building it into the late 20th century). It was created as a family-friendly day racer and daysailer suitable for San Francisco Bay conditions, with a full keel for stability and a masthead sloop rig emphasizing simplicity and responsiveness. Approximately 1,000+ hulls were built across eras, and it remains active in fleets on the West Coast (e.g., San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound) with competitive one-design racing under strict class rules—no spinnaker, strict sail limits, and a focus on skill over equipment.
Construction Details
| Designer | Ernest Nunes |
|---|---|
| Builder | W.D. Schock Corp. (USA) |
| Length | 18.000 ft |
| LOA | 18.000 ft |
| LWL | 13.000 ft |
| Beam | 5.330 ft |
| Displacement | 1100 lb |
| Ballast | 600 lb |
| Max Draft | 3.080 ft |
| Year Built | 1952 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 22 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 6 ft |
| p | 24 ft |
| e | 9 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 ft | 6 ft | 24 ft | 9 ft | - | - | - | - |
Documents
Sails
Mercury 18 (Mercury One Design) - MAINSAIL
| Luff | 21.92 ft - (6681 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 9.08 ft - (2768 mm) |
| Leech | * 23.24 ft - (7084 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 23.43 ft - (7141 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 4 in - (102 mm) |
| Area | * 102.66 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
Mercury 18 (Mercury One Design) - JIBSAIL
| Luff | 14.92 ft - (4548 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 7.67 ft - (2338 mm) |
| Leech | 14.75 ft - (4496 mm) |
| Length Perpendicular | * 7.37 ft - (2246 mm) |
| Area | * 54.94 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
Mercury 18 (Mercury One Design) - SPINNAKER
| Stays | 17.5 ft - (5334 mm) |
|---|---|
| MidGirth | 11 ft - (3353 mm) |
| Foot | 12 ft - (3658 mm) |
| Area | * 178 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.
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