Alpa A27 Buyer's Guide
Shopping for a used Alpa A27 on the brokerage market means looking at a 27-foot Sparkman & Stephens masthead sloop built by the Italian yard Alpa Cantieri in the mid-1970s. These are compact coastal cruiser-racers with solid fiberglass hulls, balsa-cored decks, and fin keels — boats whose value lies in the design pedigree and manageable size rather than in lavish equipment or offshore credentials. A 26.82-foot overall length with a 23-foot waterline and 9.61-foot beam makes for a trailerable-feeling coastal package that two people can handle without difficulty.
Layouts on the Used Market
No sourced material describes specific interior layouts or variant deck plans for the A27 as it appears in the used market. Buyers should expect the standard 27-foot two-person coastal arrangement implied by the 9.61-foot beam and 23-foot waterline, but no layout note distinguishes one used example from another. The absence of documented variant plans means a viewing should focus on the condition of the as-built interior rather than hunting for a rarer deck mold.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The available tiers carry no commonly fitted, often seen, or owner-upgrade equipment for this model, so no specific gear clusters can be attributed to typical listings. The only equipment detail is the period rigging specification: 27-meter, 8 mm halyards for main, jib, and spinnaker; 8.2-meter, 10 mm jib and genoa sheets; and a 20.4-meter, 10 mm mainsheet. A buyer should treat these as the original dimensions and judge any replacement running rigging against them, since stretched or undersized sheets change trim and safety margins.
What to Inspect
No construction defects, water ingress paths, or recurring structural faults are established for the A27. Inspection should therefore follow normal practice for a 1970s solid-glass hull with balsa-cored deck: confirm the deck core is sound and the hull shows no unrepaired impact damage. Tap the deck with a small mallet to find soft or delaminated balsa sections, and check the hull gelcoat for stress cracks around the keel root.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats are typically found in Switzerland.
- Verify the deck core is dry and free of soft spots
- Check the fin keel union for prior grounding damage
- Confirm rigging matches the 27 m / 8 mm halyard spec
- Inspect the transom-hung rudder bearing for play
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Alpa A27. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 1 row
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 25 | 1 | $216,035 | — |
Where they're listed
Alpa A27 listings appear across 1 country. Switzerland has the most listings with 1.
Country view
1 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | $216,035 | 1 | 0 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
2 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moody 27 | 27.67' | $ 14,889 | 29 | 10 |
| A-Yachts A27You are here | — | $ 216,035 | 1 | 0 |