Windrose 18

The Windrose 18 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by W. Shad Turner as a cruiser and first built in 1974.

The Windrose 18 design was developed into the Windrose 5.5 in 1977.

Production
The design was built by Laguna Yachts in the United States, starting in 1974, but it is now out of production.

Design
The Windrose 18 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass. It has a fractional sloop rig, a raked stem, a plumb transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a retractable swing keel. It displaces 1500 lb and carries 400 lb of ballast.

The boat has a draft of 4.00 ft with the keel extended and 1.00 ft with it retracted, allowing operation in shallow water, beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.

The boat is normally fitted with a small 3 to 6 hp outboard motor for docking and maneuvering.

The design has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin and two straight settee berths in the main cabin. The optional galley is located on the starboard side and slides under the cockpit when not in use. The head is located in the bow cabin under the "V"-berth. Cabin headroom is 45 in.

For sailing the design is equipped with a range of jibs and genoas.

The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 288 and a hull speed of 5.3 kn.

In his 2010 book, The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats, author Steve Henkel praised the Windrose 18 as "a showpiece" of Shad Turner's California sailboat design aesthetic, that emphasized "avante garde" modernist styling.