Wave Train records that 712 of these pocket cruisers were launched over an 18-year production span, including two dozen built under license in California. The result was a 27-foot centerboarder with short overhangs and a shoal-draft full keel—a boat that, in one reviewer’s words, sails well, looks handsome, and stays together.
Design and Construction
The solid hull is laminated from mat and woven roving in polyester resin. It was built to heavy scantlings, reaching three-quarters of an inch at the keel, with tabbed bulkheads and glass-reinforced stringers stiffening the structure.
The deck is balsa-cored, with plywood substituted beneath hardware. Period brochures described the original hull-to-deck joint as mechanically and chemically bonded. Leaks from that joint are rare; Practical Sailor notes the absence of complaints about leakage through it. The outward-turned hull-to-deck flange isn’t a detail the survey publication favors, though it does help keep the deck and cockpit drier.
Early boats carried external lead ballast. In 1966, the keel was encapsulated and ballast increased by 350 pounds. The first dozen hulls built in 1961 had bronze centerboards; later boats used steel centerboards sheathed in fiberglass.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The Tartan 27 has a low-aspect masthead rig, with a large mainsail and modest foretriangle. Racing calls for overlapping headsails as large as 176 percent LP.
Her 21-foot-5-inch waterline allows her to sail faster than her length might suggest, particularly on a reach. She heels readily to about 20 degrees before stiffening and is best kept on her feet when working to windward, so reefing early is the wise move.
Balance is one of the design’s hallmarks. In moderate conditions, she can steer herself through adjustments to the centerboard alone, though she develops heavy weather helm when overpowered.
The Atomic 4 reportedly drives the boat at hull speed with the throttle half open. Backing down remains an adventure, however, because the propeller is sheltered within the long-keel aperture. The Farymann diesel is underpowered and prone to vibration.
Accommodations
In the original saloon layout, a small dinette sits to port opposite a midship galley. A somewhat exposed quarterberth lies aft. An unusual icebox overhangs the port settee and has hatches accessible from both the cabin and cockpit.
Forward, there’s a good-sized V-berth, with a very small head behind it. The galley is marginal under way: its stove is fixed, and the outboard sink floods when the boat heels to starboard.
In 1977, Tartan raised the sheerline and lengthened and rounded the cabinhouse to create the 27-2. This version has an aft galley opposite a combined icebox and navigation desk, two long settees, and a larger athwartship head. It’s a more conventional and livable arrangement, though still cramped by modern standards.
Known Issues
The wooden mast step above the keel eventually rots and requires replacement. Several owners associate water leaking around the mast partner with this failure and damage to nearby bulkheads.
The most frequently cited problem is delamination of the balsa-cored deck, particularly around the chainplates. The original build also omitted backing plates beneath deck fittings.
The rudder post has no bearing and wears sloppily against its tube. The tiller-head fitting has been called perhaps the boat’s weakest point. At the centerboard, wear around the pivot can allow the board to drop free on its lifting cable, while the pennant can chafe through its tubing.
Gate valves fitted to brass through-hulls should be replaced with proper seacocks. Some fuel tanks leak, and colored gelcoat topsides have chalked badly with age.
The 27-2’s raised sheer was created without a new hull mold, which required a more vulnerable outward-facing deck joint. That tradeoff is worth knowing about when shopping for the later configuration.
Production, Parts, and Ownership
Critical replacement parts—including centerboards, tanks, hatches, and rudders—are still sold by the builder, considerably easing the ownership calculation.
Production of the original run ceased in 1980. None were produced in 1972 because of a fire. Between 63 and 65 of the redesigned boats were built before that line ended in 1979.
The Verdict
The Tartan 27 is a durable, well-balanced centerboarder that performs beyond what her length might suggest and benefits from continuing factory support for key components. Her weaknesses center on dated deck joints, rot in wood in way of the mast, and a handful of hardware omissions that can be retrofitted, rather than on the fundamental structure.
Pros
- Can steer herself through centerboard trim
- Solid, heavy-scantling hull
- Rare leakage at the original hull-to-deck joint
- Builder still supplies rudders, centerboards, hatches, and tanks
- Long waterline provides surprising speed on a reach
Cons
- Balsa-cored deck can delaminate around the chainplates
- Rudder post lacks a bearing, and the tiller head is weak
- Galley sink floods when heeled to starboard
- Farymann diesel is underpowered and vibrates
