Design and Construction
The hull and deck are solid fiberglass rather than cored. Below the waterline, the Pyramid 660 has a fin keel and spade rudder.
She displaces 850 pounds and carries 400 pounds of lead ballast, giving her a ballast ratio of 46 percent. Her displacement-length ratio of 65 places her firmly among what reviewers call “ultra light racers.” With a beam of 6.2 feet and a length-to-beam ratio of 3.51, she’s narrow for her length, in keeping with her racing intent.
Carl Schumacher’s influence is evident in a boat that weighs less than many trailered dinghies yet carries a lead keel and fractional sloop rig.
Rig and Handling
The fractional rig is the headline feature. The Pyramid 660 carries more rig than 100% of all similar sailboats, and the review characterizes her as significantly overrigged for her size. Her sail-area-to-displacement ratio is 35.4 with the ISO reference sail, rising to 39.8 with a 135 percent genoa.
That power-to-weight relationship, combined with the ultra-light displacement, explains her 5.7-knot theoretical hull speed as a displacement boat: she is built to plane and accelerate rather than carry ballast through a seaway.
A capsize screening value of 2.61 means she wouldn’t be accepted for ocean races. Her Motion Comfort Ratio of 6.1 also points to a stiff, quick boat that will be uncomfortable in a chop rather than offering a passage-maker’s ride.
The standing and running rigging dimensions are specific and useful for any owner:
- Mainsail, jib-genoa, and spinnaker halyards: 20.4 meters (66.8 feet), 8 mm diameter
- Jib and genoa sheets: 6.6 meters (21.8 feet), 10 mm
- Mainsheet: 16.6 meters (54.5 feet), 10 mm
- Spinnaker sheet: 14.6 meters (47.9 feet), 10 mm
- Cunningham: 3.2 meters, 8 mm
- Kicking strap: 6.4 meters, 8 mm
- Clew outhaul: 6.4 meters, 8 mm
Draft, Loading, and Performance
Draft ranges from about 3.90 to 4.20 feet, depending on load, which is shallow enough for modest marinas. The wetted surface of the bottom is approximately 139 square feet.
Her immersion rate is 390 pounds per inch, so she sits lightly and responds noticeably to crew weight and payload. Combined with the 46 percent ballast ratio, that low immersion rate produces a boat that is easy to trailer, quick to accelerate, and sensitive to loading. Every cooler and battery counts against that 390 pounds per inch.
Ownership and Refits
Only a few hulls were built from 1982 onward, and no production end is stated, so the Pyramid 660 remains a rare sight. Ownership is less about organized refit programs than preserving a lightly built racer.
The solid-glass hull needs no core dryout, while the fractional rig’s known line lengths allow an owner to reorder running rigging without measuring. For an owner content with day sailing and club racing, the boat’s simplicity keeps ongoing costs low.
The Verdict
The Pyramid 660 is a Schumacher oddity: a trailerable ultra-light racer with a fractional rig that outpowers every peer in its class. She rewards sailors who value acceleration and shallow draft over comfort or offshore range. With so few built, any surviving example is also a curiosity.
Pros
- Ultra-light displacement and a 46 percent ballast ratio produce a stiff, quick hull
- Significantly overrigged fractional sloop delivers strong sail-area-to-displacement performance
- Load-dependent draft of 3.9–4.2 feet allows easy marina access
- Solid fiberglass hull and deck have no cored structures to fail
Cons
- Capsize screening value of 2.61 excludes her from ocean races
- Motion Comfort Ratio of 6.1 points to a harsh ride in a seaway
- Only a few were built, limiting spares, class support, and resale liquidity
