In 1968 boat designers Rod MacApline-Downie and Dick Gibbs designed the Buccaneer 18. It was a popular sailboat design, but it led to a demand for a lighter, more affordable boat. Three years later, in 1971, MacApline-Downie and Gibbs finished the design on the Mutineer 15. The Mutineer and Buccaneer are very similar in basic design, and include many of the same features. At the time it was designed, the Mutineer had several innovative features, including the roller furling jib, spinnaker rigging, and a foredeck launcher tube.