Design and Construction
At 28 feet on deck with a waterline of 22 feet 11 inches and a beam of 9 feet 6 inches, the Shannon 28 carries 9,300 pounds of displacement and 3,400 pounds of internal lead ballast. The hull is a full-length keel, slightly cut away aft for more responsive handling and tacking, with an outboard-hung rudder positioned further aft to aid maneuverability. Shannon built these yachts without compromise for cost, and the hull-to-deck joint uses an internal flange bonded with adhesive bedding compound and bolted on eight-inch centers. Bulkheads are tied in with fiberglass straps through the core and then secured with continuous tabbing. Decks were constructed with a balsa wood core, yet Shannon's care in attaching deck hardware means delamination from leaks is not typical. One caveat: these boats predate the builder's use of vinylester resins and epoxy barrier coats, so osmotic blistering is a real possibility if remedial work was never done.
Rig and Handling
The Shannon 28 is cutter-rigged with a 470 square-foot sail plan and a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 17, which gives respectable light-air performance and lets the boat stay well balanced when shortening sail. The original cutter carried a staysail on a club boom that Walter Schulz later called basically unusable; his scutter rig revision placed a 75-percent working jib on the bowsprit end with a 150-percent genoa set aft, a configuration adopted across the marque from 1995. On the water, the cutaway keel and aft rudder make her quite maneuverable, and she is in her element once the wind builds. The 15-horsepower two-cylinder Yanmar diesel mounted beneath the cockpit deck is marginal for 9,300 pounds, though service access through the cockpit locker and companionway steps is acceptable.
Accommodations
The most common layout sleeps four with a six-and-a-half-foot V-berth forward, opposing settees in the saloon — each about five feet long with foot holes through the forward bulkhead so an adult can stretch out — and a starboard galley with port head aft. Headroom runs six feet in the saloon. An optional "C" cruising arrangement moved the head forward and added a double quarter berth to port. One review rated the galley the best of any 28-foot cruising boat, and the seven-foot cockpit plus wide side decks make deck movement secure. A large diamond-plate nonskid pattern gives what that review called the most secure deck surface in the size range.
Known Issues
The principal concern with the Shannon 28 is osmotic blistering, likely to some degree unless treated. Reviewers note they have not seen severe cases, but a buyer should expect to inspect hull gelcoat carefully. Schulz was never satisfied with the tiller or pedestal steering on the 28s, feeling both infringed on cockpit movement; later custom work such as hull #47 "Truman" moved to an Edson rack-and-pinion wheel in a transom steering box.
Refits and Ownership
Because Shannon offered custom builds into the late 1990s, refit states vary widely. The MKII examples show extensive renewal — 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, Simrad autopilot with remote, and a Raytheon radar and plotter 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 who refused to cut construction corners. Its modest production and custom longevity make each example individual, but the core design — ballast-focused, maneuverable, well-decked — rewards the careful buyer.
Pros
- Built in America specifically for serious offshore sailing under 30 feet
- Full-length cutaway keel and aft rudder give real maneuverability
- Cutter rig balances well when reducing sail; scutter evolution improves headsail use
- Secure deck with diamond-plate nonskid and wide side decks
- Guinness-recognized single-handed Atlantic pedigree
Cons
- 15 hp diesel is marginal for 9,300 lb displacement
- Pre-vinylester construction makes osmotic blistering likely if untreated
- Original tiller/pedestal steering criticized as cockpit-intrusive
