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Seller's Description

One of the last Catalina 27 Sloops built, A perfect option for sailers looking to navigate the beautiful shallow depths in areas such as right here in the Florida Keys & Bahamas.

Take advantage of the 3.5’ wing keel as well as the custom swim platform paired with the telescope swim ladder which, makes a world of difference getting in and out of the water!

Sit back and relax in the cockpit while the on board auto helm helps to keep you on course!

Equipped with a Mackpack/Lazy Jack rigged main sail, allowing for effortless lowering and raising directly from the cockpit.

The Universal M18 14 HP 3200rpm 2 cylinder diesel, based on the design of the Kubota Z-600 engine block and has 1,350 hours recorded.

Fitted with a Hurth HBW-50 marine transmission, one of 2,400 built between 1983-1988.

Storage comes in surplus with multiple custom built shelves, storage, and a overhead hatch in the head in order to create additional space.

Matching navy blue padded custom fit cushions included, Designated for the cockpit area as well as in the sun pad area at the bow.

Specs

Designers
Robert Finch
Frank V. Butler
Builders
Cooper Enterprises Inc.
Russell Marine, Essex
Catalina Yachts
Eric Birch, Essex
Association
Catalina 27-270 Association
# Built
6662
Hull
Monohull
Keel
Fin
Rudder
Spade
Construction
FG
Also Known As
Jaguar 27

Dimensions

Length Overall
26 10 / 8.2 m
Waterline Length
21 9 / 6.6 m
Beam
8 9 / 2.7 m
Draft
3 4 / 1 m 4 0 / 1.2 m
Displacement
6,850 lb / 3,107 kg
Ballast
2,700 lb / 1,225 kg (Lead)

Rig and Sails

Type
Sloop
Reported Sail Area
342′² / 31.8 m²
Total Sail Area
342′² / 31.8 m²
Mainsail
Sail Area
150′² / 14 m²
P
28 8 / 8.7 m
E
10 5 / 3.2 m
Air Draft
38 3 / 11.7 m
Foresail
Sail Area
191′² / 17.8 m²
I
33 11 / 10.4 m
J
11 3 / 3.4 m
Forestay Length
35 9 / 10.9 m

Auxilary Power

Make
Atomic 4 Inboard / Outboard, Various
Model
?
HP
?
Fuel Type
?
Fuel Capacity
15 gal / 57 l
Engine Hours
?

Accomodations

Water Capacity
18 gal / 68 l
Holding Tank Capacity
?
Headroom
6 0 / 1.9 m
Cabins
?

Calculations

Hull Speed
6.6 kn
Classic: 6.25 kn

Hull Speed

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Formula

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

A more accurate formula devised by Dave Gerr in The Propeller Handbook replaces the Speed/Length ratio constant of 1.34 with a calculation based on the Displacement/Length ratio.

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio.311
Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

6.56 knots
Classic formula: 6.25 knots
Sail Area/Displacement
15.2
<16: under powered

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

Formula

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64)2/3

  • SA: Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
  • D: Displacement in pounds.
15.17
<16: under powered
16-20: good performance
>20: high performance
Ballast/Displacement
39.4
<40: less stiff, less powerful

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Formula

Ballast / Displacement * 100

39.43
<40: less stiff, less powerful
>40: stiffer, more powerful
Displacement/Length
297.1
200-300: moderate

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

Formula

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

  • D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
  • LWL: Waterline length in feet
297.12
<100: ultralight
100-200: light
200-300: moderate
300-400: heavy
>400: very heavy
Comfort Ratio
24.8
20-30: coastal cruiser

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Formula

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam1.33)

  • D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
  • LWL: Waterline length in feet
  • LOA: Length overall in feet
  • Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet
24.84
<20: lightweight racing boat
20-30: coastal cruiser
30-40: moderate bluewater cruising boat
40-50: heavy bluewater boat
>50: extremely heavy bluewater boat
Capsize Screening
1.9
<2.0: better suited for ocean passages

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

Formula

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

  • Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet
  • D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
1.86
<2: better suited for ocean passages
>2: better suited for coastal cruising

Notes

From BlueWaterBoats.org:

Launched in 1971, the Catalina 27 has been a popular favourite, enjoying the kind of commercial success that’s led to one of the longest and largest production runs of its era spanning 22 years and 6,600 boats. From the outset she was designed to be affordable (some have even said cheap) for weekend excursions, club racing and coastal cruising – offshore work was always outside of the design scope. Yet despite this there has been at least one circumnavigation demonstrating that this vessel, with the right preparation and skills, can be an ocean passage maker. We’ve included this boat here more for its popularity than its inherent seaworthiness.

History

The Catalina 27 was conceived in a 1970 design partnership between Robert Finch, and the founder of Catalina Yachts, Frank Butler. Butler built an incredible number of 27s at his boat factory in Southern California using modern boatbuilding processes that are not too different to methods employed today. Initial production started in 1971. She had a incredibly spacious interior and she was affordably priced at a time when cruising sailboats had captured the public imagination. These factors helped the boat find immediate success, in fact in the first three years 1,500 boats popped off the production line – that’s ten per week.

Early models were only available with outboard engines, an inboard option of an Atomic 4 engine was added in 1973, which later expanded to other engine varieties in successive years. The outboard engine option was later phased out in 1989. For shallow waters, a shoal draft winged-keel version was introduced in 1979. And popular among club racers, there was a version with a taller, more efficient, high aspect ratio rig which added 24 sq.ft. of canvas.

Production spread also to Canada and the UK. Cooper Enterprises in British Columbia, at the time one of the largest Canadian boatbuilders, produced well over a thousand boats under license for the Canadian domestic market and are a common sight around BC waterways today. While across the pond in the UK, the boat was built under license from as early as 1971 under the brand name Jaguar for UK and European markets. These were produced in Essex by Eric Birch Yachts (from 1971) and Russell Marine (from 1975) with the hulls molded by Seamaster Boats.

In 1979 a young 28 year old Patrick Childress set off in his shoal draft Catalina 27, Juggernaut, on a successful 3 year single-handed circumnavigation which included a 6400-mile, 53-day passage of the Indian Ocean.

After an unprecedented 22 years of production resulting in 6,600 boats, production finally ceased in 1991. Catalina succeeded the long lasting design with an all-new water-ballasted and trailerable weekender, the Catalina 270.

Configuration

The Catalina 27 is a fin-keeler with a raked spade rudder hanging about as far aft as possible, pushed along by a masthead sloop rig that’s tall and efficient. The hull shape is shallow and beamy which is great for initial stiffness to the wind but reduces liveable volume below the waterline. Butler made up for this by drawing deep topsides and a high cabin top all while keeping the design sleek to the eye. The result gives this 27-footer class leading interior headroom and space.

Interior

Below deck can best be described as light and spacious, this boat offers so much accommodation that many are willing to forgo her flaws. The companionway and hatch is wide which poses a water ingress hazard at sea but is responsible for her spacious feel in the cabin while at anchor. There’s technically berths for six in the standard aft-galley layout – two in the forepeak and the port side settee will really only fit kids or very short adults, while the starboard settee converts to a cozy double berth, and finally there’s a starboard seagoing quarterberth. The galley with its two burner stove is located on port below the companionway while the head is located just aft of the forepeak on starboard and is comfortably sized. Opposite the head is a locker, but note, as is typical of boats this size, locker and stowage space is in short supply.

Construction

Construction was pretty light. The hull is of solid fiberglass and much thinner than typical offshore counterparts, particularly above the waterline where small impacts that would normally lead to just a scratch may result in fractures for the Catalina 27. Early boats, as a cost cutting measure, lacked proper backing plates on deck hardware, stanchions, and rails, which lead to cracked gelcoat and in some cases fiberglass delamination. This was remedied in later boats.

Under Sail

The feel of the helm is very light and she sails responsively, or to quote the ever humorous John Vigor in 20 Small Sailboats to Take you Anywhere, “She handles like a dinghy, which is hardy surprising since that’s what she basically is – a dinghy with grandeur”. She is relatively stiff and holds her canvas well in a breeze. All this makes for a fast boat that’s easily controlled. The downside is seaworthiness. For best results Vigor recommends keeping her cruising weight down, as reduced weight will reduce stresses on the rig and hull at sea.

Note that the Catalina 27 is a beamy boat, and like others, there is a tendency for weather helm on greater angles of heel that will require either reefing the mainsail to maintain balance.

Buyers Notes

More than 6,600 Catalina 27s were made, so there’s plenty to choose from. If you’re on the hunt for a boat to sail protected coastal waters at a good price then she’s a good choice. For offshore work do your research and make sure you’ve modified your boat according to recommendations – probably the most important are enlarging the cockpit drains, reworking the companionway hatch area to help direct water into the cockpit, and uprated rigging including chainplates for the aft lower shrouds.

Some known weaknesses with this boat are listed below:

  • As mentioned, early boats lacked backing plates on hardware, leading to cracks in the gelcoat and in some cases delamination of the GRP.
  • Through-hull fittings were poorly installed and secondary bondings of attachments in some cases were poor.
  • Leaky chain plates have caused bulkheads to deteriorate which in turn has increased the risk of rig failures.
  • Fuel tank installations were poor on early inboard models.
  • The original spreader sockets were made of cast aluminium which tended to crack when overstressed.
  • Through-hull fittings in early boats were simply pipe nipples glassed into the hull and will need swapping out for proper flanged, bolt-through bronze fittings.
  • While heeled, some have reported seawater back flowing into the icebox via the drain. Fit a proper seacock to the through-hull.

Links, References and Further Reading

» The Catalina 27/270 Owners Association
» Twenty Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere by John Vigor, (Ch8, p45-52) an in depth look at the Catalina 27. ISBN:978-0939837328
» Used Boat Notebook, Catalina 27, review by John Kretschmer, SAILING Magazine, Nov 2002, volume 37, no. 3
» Jaguar Owners Association for European Catalinas under the brand name Jaguar
» A biography of Forbes Cooper of Cooper Yachts who built the Canadian Catalina 27s
» Cruising World Magazine’s article on Patrick Childress’ two circumnavigations, first in his Catalina 27 and then in his Valiant 40 two decades later.

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