Nor'Sea 27 Buyer's Guide, Specs and Prices

Why a Nor'Sea 27 is an ocean boat that fits on a trailer

The brief that produced the Nor'Sea 27 sounds contradictory. Dean Wixom, president of Heritage Marine in California, asked Lyle Hess for a boat that could legally be trailered on highways yet handle almost any ocean weather. Hess answered with a 27 foot double-ender only 8 ft wide, drawn on the traditional lines of the Norwegian spitzgatter, and the first boats appeared in 1976. Blue Water Boats summed it up well: transportable between oceans if not strictly trailerable, because at 8,100 lb plus trailer you need a serious tow vehicle.

Hess was the right designer for the job. He drew Renegade and the Pardeys' Seraffyn, and his work led to the fiberglass Bristol Channel Cutter. Good Old Boat records that Wayne Carpenter's book The Voyage of Kristina and other magazine writing of the era helped popularize the Nor'Sea 27 as both a trailer sailer and a bluewater cruiser. The 27 has been making long passages and circumnavigations since the 1970s.

From Heritage Marine to Nor'Sea Marine

Production started at Heritage Marine. Good Old Boat says Wixom's company built 150 boats in Long Beach before he sold it in 1980, and he later wrote that he had built the world's most expensive 27 footer because he could not bring himself to cut corners. Most of his workers moved to the new builder, Nor'Sea Marine in Dana Point, which carried on the model and later also built Montgomery sailboats. Wixom went cruising on his own Nor'Sea, Chinook, and stopped counting at about 40,000 miles.

Sailboatdata and Wikipedia put total production at about 450 boats, sold either complete or as kits for owner completion. The model is now out of production, so every boat on the market is used, and the build quality you get depends partly on who finished it.

Hull, keel and the ballast change of 1980

Sailboatdata lists the Nor'Sea 27 at 27 ft on deck (31 ft including the bowsprit), 23 ft on the waterline, 8 ft of beam and 3 ft 6 in of draft. The modified long keel has a cutaway forefoot and carries a transom-hung rudder steered by tiller, with a spooned, raked stem and a rounded canoe stern. Displacement is 8,100 lb.

Ballast changed during production. Early buyers could choose a standard 2,500 lb or heavy 3,000 lb ballast package, while boats built after 1980 all carry 3,100 lb of lead. That gives a ballast ratio of about 38 percent on later boats, a displacement to length ratio near 297 and a comfort ratio of about 32, very respectable numbers for a boat this size. The trade-off of an 8 ft beam is limited form stability, so the boat relies on that ballast and heels early, then stiffens up.

Two rigs were offered: a tall mast of 34 ft 6 in with 376 sq ft of sail and a short mast of 30 ft 6 in with 335 sq ft. In windy areas owners often reef early; the San Francisco Bay owners profiled by Good Old Boat started every sail with reefs tucked in.

Aft cockpit or center cockpit: two very different boats

Nor'Sea built two layouts on the same hull, and choosing between them is the biggest decision a buyer makes. Both sleep four, both put the galley to starboard just forward of the companionway with a two-burner stove and sink, and both have the head opposite to port. Cabin headroom is about 6 ft.

The center cockpit version has a private double berth in an aft cabin under the deck, plus a drop-down dinette that converts to a double in the bow. The aft cockpit version has a bow cabin and two berths aft, tucked under the cockpit. The center cockpit boat gives a couple real privacy and a proper owner's berth; the aft cockpit boat has a more conventional deck plan and is simpler to rig a windvane on.

Storage in either is tight, and long-term Nor'Sea owners are famous for inventive stowage. Practical Sailor listed the Nor'Sea 27 alongside the Flicka 20 and Dana 24 as boats whose owners can pack more into a small space than almost anyone.

Faryman or Yanmar, and how far it goes

Early boats came with a 9 hp Faryman diesel, and later boats or repowers commonly use a Yanmar 2GM of about 20 hp. Parts and service support for the Yanmar are far easier in the US, and many Faryman boats have already been repowered. Good Old Boat's featured boat, hull 80 from 1979, received a Yanmar 2GM20F, a new fuel tank, rewiring, refrigeration and a Monitor windvane during its refit.

Tankage is generous for the size: sailboatdata lists 27 gallons of fuel and 50 gallons of water. That water capacity is a large part of why the boat works as a small passage maker. Replacing the fuel tank on these boats can involve pulling the prop shaft, so ask for the tank's age and material.

What to check before you hitch up the trailer

Most Nor'Sea 27s are now more than 30 years old, and many have been modified, so survey each boat on its own merits. The deck is plywood cored, which means hardware penetrations are the first place to hunt for soft spots. The transom-hung rudder fittings, the bowsprit and its bobstay, and the chainplates all take serious loads offshore and deserve a close look.

Kit-finished boats need extra scrutiny of joinery, wiring and plumbing quality. A trailer is part of the value proposition, so inspect its brakes, axles, bunks and tires, and confirm it is properly rated for the boat's actual loaded weight. Owners heading offshore commonly add a windvane, upgraded ground tackle, hatch and locker hold-downs for a knockdown, and modern electrics.

Who should own a Nor'Sea 27

This is the right boat for a single sailor or a couple who want to cross oceans in a small, strong, affordable package, or who want to tow to the Sea of Cortez one winter and the Great Lakes the next. It is the wrong boat for anyone who wants entertaining space, standing room for tall guests or quick light-air sailing.

Running costs are modest: roughly $4,500 to $11,000 a year in the US depending on whether it lives on a trailer in the driveway or in a slip. Insurance for offshore passages costs more, and a solid trailer and tow vehicle are hidden costs worth counting.