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18ft Buccaneer  Year - 1976   Sail # - 1918   Builder - Chrysler

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 I started sailing a Buccaneer 18 in 2005 in a borrowed boat that had been well cared for but wasn't being sailed anymore. I was getting back into dinghy sailing after 12 years of sailing a bigger boat and couldn't make up my mind what kind to get so the loan of a Bucc for a season was a great opportunity. I retired in 2004 and my wife and I live with our daughter and son in law. My daughter is my crew so she had a say in what boat we eventually bought.

We sail on Belwood Lake near Fergus in Ontario. The lake is about 7 miles long but is quite narrow and the racing area is fairly small. There is a small active racing fleet with the most popular boats being Y-Flyers, Wayfarers and CL16s plus quite a few Cats that are rarely sailed.. The Y-Flyers are the biggest fleet and luckily have exactly the same PY as a Buccaneer (87) so we get some close racing.

The first season convinced us that we had lucked out by borrowing the Bucc because she was exactly what we wanted. She is a powerful boat with a long waterline that gives a smooth ride compared with shorter dinghies. She also has lots of room for family cruising which was a consideration with 4 grandsons at home. On the negative side, she is at least 100lb heavier than I would have liked - I am used to being able to launch with a dolly - and I would have preferred a trapeze. Also the water leak problems with the Chrysler boats is a problem that had to be fixed. We nearly bought a 505 but eventually decided the Bucc was a better compromise.

I also discovered one of the real benefits of owning a Bucc is the marvelous people in the class association There is a wonderful spirit among the members and the Yahoo group is a great source of information. There seems to be only one other actively sailed Bucc in Ontario and that is in Mississauga. However the class seems to be growing and many of the regattas are within striking distance south of the border.

I bought the Bucc in August 2005 and I immediately set about making some of the improvements that I had heard about via the class association. When I examined the boat closely I found that I had acquired a real gem. Considering she is 30 years old she is in pristine condition. 
The hull has been painted but appears sound with no soft spots etc.
The decks have polished up beautifully and there are very few dings or stress cracks.
The foam in the bow and side tanks is bone dry - I dug some pieces out to examine it.
The mast is low step but the first owner fitted a well designed hinge in the mast at deck level so I don't plan to raise the mast step - see photos.
When I took the centerboard trunk cap off I found the wood underneath to be in perfect condition.

So far, I have done or plan to do the following

Convert the jib to a furling wire luff system
Install a powerful jib luff tackle.
Make the front and rear hatch covers watertight.
Seal every hole I can find into the buoyancy area.
Fit better plugs in the holes at the back of the centreboard trunk
Change the bailers to Anderson.
Replace the fiberglass skin over the front foam - it is peeling off
Stiffen the hull around the shroud plates to allow more rig tension.
Support the bottom of the mast tabernacle off the keel - again in the interest of stiffness.
Fit proper sealed ports in place of the rubber bungs.
Stiffen the centerboard trunk with aluminum angle under the cap.
Fix the gooseneck
Install a cunningham, clew outhaul, centerboard tackle and a more powerful vang.
Shorten the shrouds so that I can get some mast rake and tune up the rig.
Buy new sails - the jib is falling apart and the main is 30 years old!
Replace the rudder - this was forced on me because we broke the Chrysler rudder and head just after buying the boat!
Make a whisker pole
Paint the hull.
Replace the centerboard gasket.
Install a trapeze system - to be used in non-sanctioned racing.

The following will not be done for now. 

Install a spinnaker snout. The Y-Flyers don't use their spinnakers so I won't bother for now
Move the jib tracks onto the seats - I know this will make a difference to racing but tracks on the seats are a pain (literally) for cruising. I may fit new tracks and keep the outboard ones for cruising.
Install a top centerboard hanger - my board is a tight fit in the trunk and I couldn't get anything down the side of it.

Just ordered a new Nickels - now what?

On the way back from crewing in the Hobelman regatta in Chicago in September 2005 I called in at Nickels Boat Works and was really impressed with the standard of construction of new Buccs.  I came away having convinced myself to buy a new boat even though I had only owned the Chrysler for a month. The plan now is to continue to improve the Chrysler and own both for a while with the option of selling the Chrysler within the club so there will then be two Buccs on Belwood Lake.

Click On The Thumbnails

First Sail		Family Boat		Mast Hinge		Mast Hinge
New Jib Forestay Fitting		New Rudder Gudgeons		Cockpit After Cleaning		New Bailers
Centerboard Trunk Cap		Cap Removed		Centerboard Trunk  Stiffening		New Front Hatches
Cockpit Looking Aft

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