The Buccaneer 18 prototype was first shown in 1967 at Yachting’s “One of a Kind” Regatta, where it placed second.  It was initially built by Chrysler Marine, a division of the Chrysler Corporation who completed just over 4,000 boats until 1980.  This one-design class has had many builders over the years so it was also sold as the Gloucester 18 for a short time.

Due to its hull design, the Buccaneer planes in just 8–10 knots of wind — that’s a fairly light breeze, making it exciting to sail in conditions that would leave other boats plodding along. A popular forward-thinking feature in the 1960’s was the spinnaker launch tube — a built-in chute in the bow that lets the crew deploy and douse the spinnaker quickly without the sail going in the water.  These attractive features make the Buccaneer popular still today and the geographic spread from Alaska to the Carolinas speaks to how adaptable the boat is to different sailing environments.

Although the Buccaneer is not building new boats at this time, and is in fact searching for a new builder, sailors can still get parts from its most recent builder, Nickels Boat Works. The Buccaneer 18 Class Association continues to hold many annual regattas and maintains the class constitution and race rules.