Cape Dory’s motto was “A Standard of Value,” and the 27 lives up to that plain promise. She’s fun to sail, affordable to own, and safe at sea, with a simple layout and manageable sail plan.
Design and Construction
The Cape Dory 27 measures 27 feet 1 inch overall, with a 20-foot waterline. She displaces 7,500 pounds and carries 3,000 pounds of lead ballast in a full-keel hull drawing just 4 feet.
Cape Dory Yachts built its sailboat hulls with moderately heavy, solid-fiberglass hand layups of mat and woven roving set in polyester resin. The 27’s deck is also solid fiberglass rather than a cored sandwich.
The lead ballast is an internal casting encapsulated within the hollow keel molding. Cape Dory filled the surrounding voids with a polyester slurry and heavily glassed over the assembly. This solid, unembellished structure underpins the boat’s reputation for sturdiness and safety offshore.
Alberg’s conservative full-keel profile and attached rudder favor predictable manners over racing sparkle. Even so, the Cape Dory 27 can deliver surprising speed off the wind.
Rig and Handling
The masthead sloop rig carries 365 square feet of sail. For a full-keel boat, the Cape Dory 27 handles remarkably well. Testers found that she balances perfectly upwind with very little weather helm when reefed at the right time.
Off the wind, she scoots right along and can pass much larger, heavier boats, reaching very surprising speeds in heavier air. The stock Barlow size 16 non-tailing winches are adequate when sailing with a crew, but they’re a recognized limitation for singlehanding. Period reviewers recommended adding self-tailing winches for sailors who plan to sail alone.
Engine and Systems
The most popular engine is the single-cylinder Yanmar YSM8, a famously reliable 8-horsepower diesel. An 8-gallon fuel tank provides a steaming range of about 100 miles at a fuel-consumption rate of a third of a gallon per hour.
The electrical plant is deliberately basic: a 12-volt system with separate house and starting batteries. A simple breaker board controls the cabin lights, running lights, anchor light, and VHF. There’s no complex networked architecture to fail—just the essentials, plainly arranged. That restraint suits the boat’s character and helps keep ownership affordable.
Cockpit and Accommodations
The Cape Dory 27 trades some interior volume for a large cockpit, which is well suited to daysailing with friends aboard.
Below, the accommodations include a large V-berth and two single bunks amidships, one to port and one to starboard. The portside bunk doubles as a settee. A longtime owner writing in Cruising World found that, although there’s sleeping space for four, three people are a more realistic overnight crew because the empty bunk ends up holding everyone’s gear.
The lack of a quarter berth is no hardship. It leaves a great deal of storage beneath the cockpit for ground tackle, sails, and other cruising clutter. The cabin is simple rather than lavish, in keeping with the boat’s honest purpose.
The Verdict
The Cape Dory 27 is a small Alberg cruiser for sailors who value predictability and seaworthiness more than interior square footage. She’s easy to handle, genuinely capable off the wind, and built with structural seriousness that’s rare in her size class.
The principal compromises are modest accommodations and manual winches. Both are limitations a careful owner can plan around.
Pros
- Straightforward, bluewater-capable full-keel design built without compromise
- Remarkable handling for a full-keel boat, with little weather helm when properly reefed
- Surprising off-wind speed that can outpace larger, heavier boats
- Solid-fiberglass hull and encapsulated lead ballast for offshore sturdiness
- Large cockpit and extensive under-cockpit storage in place of a quarter berth
- Simple, reliable 12-volt systems and a widely serviced Yanmar YSM8 diesel
Cons
- Interior space is sacrificed to the cockpit, making overnight stays tight for four
- Stock non-tailing winches limit singlehanded sail handling
- Modest 8-horsepower engine and a 100-mile steaming range under diesel
