Its offshore credentials aren’t theoretical. At age 72, Monk Farnham sailed one single-handed across the Atlantic and later repeated the voyage, with the crossing recorded in the Guinness World Record Book. The design itself holds a Guinness record as a transatlantic single-hander.
Design and Construction
The Shannon 28 measures 28 feet on deck, with a waterline length of 22 feet 11 inches and a beam of 9 feet 6 inches. Displacement is 9,300 pounds, including 3,400 pounds of internal lead ballast.
The full-length keel is cut away slightly aft to improve handling and tacking. An outboard-hung rudder, positioned farther aft, also helps maneuverability.
Shannon built these yachts without compromising construction to reduce costs. The hull-to-deck joint has an internal flange set in adhesive bedding compound and bolted at eight-inch intervals. Fiberglass straps tie the bulkheads through the core, while continuous tabbing secures them in place.
The decks have a balsa wood core, but Shannon’s care when installing deck hardware means leak-related delamination isn’t typical. There is one important caveat: these boats predate the builder’s use of vinylester resins and epoxy barrier coats. If remedial work hasn’t been done, osmotic blistering is a real possibility.
Rig and Handling
The Shannon 28 carries a cutter rig with 470 square feet of sail and a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 17. That gives it respectable light-air performance and helps it remain balanced when shortening sail.
The original cutter rig used a staysail on a club boom, an arrangement Walter Schulz later called basically unusable. His revised “scutter” rig put a 75-percent working jib at the end of the bowsprit and a 150-percent genoa farther aft. Shannon adopted that configuration across the marque from 1995.
Under sail, the cutaway keel and aft-mounted rudder make the boat quite maneuverable, and it is in its element as the wind builds. Auxiliary power comes from a 15-horsepower, two-cylinder Yanmar diesel mounted beneath the cockpit deck. It is marginal for a boat displacing 9,300 pounds, although access for servicing through the cockpit locker and companionway steps is acceptable.
Accommodations and Deck Layout
The most common interior sleeps four. It has a six-and-a-half-foot V-berth forward and opposing saloon settees, each about five feet long. Foot holes through the forward bulkhead allow an adult to stretch out. The standard arrangement places the starboard galley opposite a port head aft, and saloon headroom is six feet.
An optional “C” cruising arrangement moved the head forward and added a double quarter berth to port. One review rated the galley as the best in any 28-foot cruising boat.
On deck, the seven-foot cockpit and wide side decks make movement secure. A large diamond-plate nonskid pattern provides what the same review called the most secure deck surface in this size range.
Known Issues
The principal concern is osmotic blistering, which is likely to appear to some degree unless the hull has been treated. Reviewers say they haven’t seen severe cases, but buyers should inspect the hull gelcoat carefully.
Steering was another unresolved point. Schulz was never satisfied with either the tiller or pedestal steering fitted to the 28s because he felt both interfered with movement around the cockpit. Later custom work addressed the problem in different ways. Hull #47, Truman, for example, received an Edson rack-and-pinion wheel mounted in a transom steering box.
Refits and Ownership
Because Shannon continued offering custom builds into the late 1990s, the condition and equipment of individual boats can vary widely. MKII examples show extensive renewal, including new hull and deck gelcoat, re-gelcoated hulls, new wiring and lighting, fresh-water pressure systems, and new dodgers and biminis.
Truman, Schulz’s own hull #47, received a Mack stack pack with full battens, a Simrad autopilot with remote, and a Raytheon radar and plotter mounted forward in the cockpit.
Owners who keep up with osmosis prevention and steering upgrades have a small, serious offshore yacht with a genuine record pedigree.
The Verdict
The Shannon 28 is a genuinely offshore-minded pocket cruiser with a documented transatlantic record and a builder that refused to cut construction corners. Its modest production run and long period of custom availability mean each surviving example is likely to be individual. The underlying design, however, remains ballast-focused, maneuverable, and well-decked—and it rewards a careful buyer.
Pros
- American-built specifically for serious offshore sailing in a boat under 30 feet
- Full-length cutaway keel and aft rudder provide real maneuverability
- Cutter rig remains balanced when reducing sail, while the later scutter arrangement improves headsail use
- Secure deck with diamond-plate nonskid and wide side decks
- Guinness-recognized record of single-handed Atlantic sailing
Cons
- The 15 hp diesel is marginal for its 9,300 lb displacement
- Pre-vinylester construction makes osmotic blistering likely if untreated
- Schulz criticized the original tiller and pedestal steering arrangements for intruding on cockpit space
