Tartan 27 Yawl Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The hull is a very solid laminate of 5/16- to 3/4-inch-thick woven roving and mat, and the deck is balsa-cored with plywood substituted at hard points. The outward-turning hull-to-deck flange is secured with screws that also hold a teak rubrail; while not the joint Practical Sailor recommends, it does not have a reputation for leaking and it helps keep the deck and cockpit drier. In 1966 the external keel was encapsulated and ballast increased by 350 pounds. The first dozen boats had bronze centerboards, but most thereafter used a fiberglass-encapsulated steel plate that, on all but the earliest hulls, had plenty of issues. The basic construction has proven superb with few exceptions.

Rig and Handling

The standard Tartan 27 carries a single-spreader masthead sloop rig with a low aspect ratio, a large mainsail, and a modest foretriangle; upper and single lower shrouds land on chainplates just inboard of the toerail. To wring out speed, racing calls for genoas up to 176 percent. She tends to heel quickly at first but stiffens around 20 degrees, and is designed to sail at 20 to 25 degrees of heel, which lengthens the waterline and adds speed. Carried past that, she develops weather helm and is quick to put the rail in the water if not reefed early; owners running the shoal-keel version report they must reef above 10 knots. In moderate conditions she is well balanced and can sail with the helm unattended, though in puffs a yawl-review boat showed some weather helm and tracked neutrally with the main eased and jib sheeted tight. Backing down is an adventure typical of long-keel aperture props, and the stopped prop throws turbulence against the rudder under sail.

Accommodations

The original interior held a dinette, midships galley, cockpit-opening icebox, quarterberth, and small head; later boats moved to a traditional layout with settee berths, an aft galley, no quarterberth, a chart table, and a larger athwartships head. The 1977 redesign raised the sheerline 4 inches, dropped the boxy doghouse, and produced the Tartan 27-2: a less boxy cabin trunk on one level, a more traditional interior, and a bridge deck with a longer cockpit. The 27-2 cabin is trimmed throughout in solid teak and teak-veneered panels over a fiberglass furniture pan, with a standard V-berth forward, a just-big-enough head to port opposite a hanging locker closed by a balky sliding door, and a saloon of long settees with a bulkhead folding table. Headroom measures 5 feet 10 inches. A navigation station sits aft to port above an icebox; the starboard settee slides out on legs for a larger berth while the port is the adequate one. The overhead is hard board with teak strips and no handholds, though stout grabrails sit on the carlings between portlights.

Known Issues

The tiller-head fitting is the weakest point on the design and the most common, annoying problem; owners and surveyors alike flag worn fittings. The keel-stepped mast sits on wood supports in many hulls, and several owners report that wood rotting from leaks around the mast partner collapses the step and damages nearby bulkheads. The balsa-cored deck most often delaminates around poorly bedded chainplates. The centerboard pivot wears and can drop the board to hang solely on its pendant, which itself chafes through its guide tube and can leak; the steel-core board brings its own troubles. Rudder sloppiness comes from a post with no bearing in its tube. Through-hulls are brass nipples glassed inside the hull with gate valves screwed on—a potentially serious arrangement. A variety of fuel tanks appeared over the years and some leak; colored gelcoat topsides have badly chalked on many boats.

Refits and Ownership

Some Tartan 27s have been fitted with a wheel, and builder support continues for fiberglass hatches, rudders, and centerboards. The Chesapeake Bay Tartan Sailing Club's Tartan 27 Handbook is renowned for its completeness and considered a must-have. Regional racing and cruising support is strong with good technical resources. One owner's 1978 27-2, NorthStar, spent three years being upgraded—new portlights, shorepower, GPS on a swing mount, self-tailing Lewmar winches, Harken Battcar mainsail system, inner forestay for a staysail, and a custom anchor platform with windlass—before trailering to the North Channel of Lake Huron, evidence that a properly upgraded 27-2 is capable of offshore passages.

The Verdict

The Tartan 27 is a CCA-era centerboarder that sails well, looks handsome, and stays together, offering a yawl variant with rule-driven charm and a later 27-2 refinement that modernized the deck and cabin without losing classic character. It rewards an owner willing to chase the known structural and rigging weak points.

Pros