The F-27 Sport Cruiser is an American trailerable

trimaran A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recrea ...

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

that was designed by New Zealander Ian Farrier in 1984–1985.

Production

The boat was built by Corsair Marine in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

between 1986 and February 1997, with 450 examples completed. The F-27 was replaced in production by the derivative F-28 design, later designated as the Corsair 28.

Development

Corsair F-27 Sport Cruiser trimaran sailboat Zephyr 4044

Corsair F-27 Sport Cruiser trimaran sailboat Zephyr 4384

The F-27's concept started in 1973 in Australia when Farrier developed and patented the outrigger folding system that made the design possible. Ten years later

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

heir John T. Walton approached Farrier about designing a boat and setting up production in the United States. Farrier agreed to take on the project on the condition that he had control of all aspects of the enterprise from design to production. Walton agreed and so Farrier moved his family to the US in March 1984 and started work in the position of Vice President. A location was found in

Chula Vista Chula Vista ( ; , ) is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is the second-most populous city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh-most populous city in Southern California, the 15th-most populous city in the ...

, near

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and Corsair Marine was established. Corsair started with the construction of the fiberglass molds to complete the prototype F-27. The prototype was completed and launched in May 1985. It was named ''Superfox'' in honor of Farrier's previous boat, a Tramp 19 named ''Flying Fox''. The prototype was successful and production molds were built. The factory was relocated to larger facilities in the same neighborhood, this time with of floor space. Over the first few years, new production techniques, such as

vacuum bag moulding Vacuum bag moulding is the primary composite manufacturing process for producing laminated structures. It is common in the aerospace industry. Process It utilizes a flexible film to enclose the part and seal it from the outside air. The vacuu ...

, were introduced that increased efficiency and allowed more boats to be produced. In 1987 the factory was expanded to , by leasing the existing second half of the building and putting in an intervening door. In 1986 six boats were produced. This increased to 12 in 1987 and 33 in 1988. In 1989 the 100th boat was completed. A production peak was achieved in 1991, with 101 boats completed. Farrier left the company in 1991, conflicting with Walton over "growing concerns about company directions", but having established production and wishing to move back to Australia to work on his F-31 Sport Cruiser design. He re-established connections with the company once Corsair had been sold to Paul Koch in 1994, but severed all ties in 2000. Farrier described the relationship between himself and Corsair as "disappointing", but added "however, this takes nothing away from the F-27 and our joint achievements".

Design

The F-27 is a small recreational trimaran, built predominantly of

carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s as ...

and foam. It has a fractional sloop rig, a transom-hung

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

and a

daggerboard A daggerboard is a retractable centreboard used by various sailing craft. While other types of centreboard may pivot to retract, a daggerboard slides in a casing. The shape of the daggerboard converts the forward motion into a windward lift, co ...

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

. It displaces . All variants of the boat have a draft of with the centerboard extended and with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer. The boat is normally fitted with a small

outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

located in an aft deck well, for docking and maneuvering. The F-27 has a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to- ...

of .

Variants

Corsair F-27 Sport Cruiser trimaran sailboat Crabbie 2543

;F-27 Sport Cruiser :This model was designed by Ian Farrier and commercially introduced in 1986 after the prototype first sailed in May 1985. It has a length overall of , a waterline length of , displaces . ;Corsair 27 :This model was designed by Ian Farrier and built between 1986 and 1997, until replaced in production by the F-28. It has a non-rotating mast, a length overall of , a waterline length of , displaces . The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . It has a

spinnaker A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a Point of sail#Reaching, reach (wind at 90° to the course) to Point of sail#Running downwind, downwind (course in the same direction as the wind). Spinna ...

of . ;F-28 and Corsair 28 :This model was designed by Ian Farrier and introduced in February 1997, it was later re-designated as the Corsair 28 in 2001. It was built using the same molds as the F-27. It has a length overall of , a waterline length of , displaces . It has an

asymmetrical spinnaker An asymmetrical spinnaker is a sail used when sailing between about 90 and 165 degrees from the angle of the wind. Also known as an "asym", "aspin", "A-sail", or gennaker, it can be described as a cross between a genoa (jib) and a spinnaker. It is ...

of and a screacher of . ;Corsair 28R and RS :Corsair 28 with a rotating mast and bow sprit both made from carbon fiber. ;Corsair 28CC :Corsair 28 with a center cockpit.

Operational history

Corsair F-27 Sport Cruiser trimaran sailboat Zephyr 3369

The prototype F-27, ''Super Fox'', was first raced by a two-man crew, consisting of Farrier and factory worker Corky Perry, in the 1985 ''Two Man Around Catalina Race'' and won the race based on handicap, setting the course record. The boat started last, but passed the entire monohull fleet on the first windward leg in winds. The boat also won the 1986 race in very light winds, crewed by Farrier and John Walton. The first F-27 ocean crossing was part of the 1987 Trans Pac Race from

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. It was completed by the F-27 ''Killer Frog'', owned and sailed by Mark Robson, with John Walton as crew. The boat averaged during the 12 day voyage. It covered on one day of the race. The first

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

crossing was made by an F-27 named ''Olijfe'', owned by Adrian Went. It sailed from

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

via

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 23 days. In 1990 two F-27s were sailed from the US mainland to Hawaii, one single-handedly. Also in 1990, the Australian Multihull Offshore Championships, was won by the F-27 ''Aquatec'', becoming the first trailerable multihull sailboat to win the seven-race series. In August 1990, F-27s became the first multihull sailboats invited to compete in the National Offshore One Design Regatta held at

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. The second Atlantic crossing in an F-27 was in June 1991, by Dr. Werner Stolz and Roswitha Schadt. Farrier wrote, "While it is nice to know that the F-27 is seaworthy enough to cross oceans, it is a little small for this, and ocean crossing is not a recommended purpose." Two F-27s sailed in the 1993

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Key Largo Key Largo () is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and is the largest section of the keys, at long. It is one of the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the keys connected by U.S. Highway ...

race, averaging and over the race course. In January 1995 ''Sail'' magazine named the F-27 as one of several boat designs that "had a significant and positive impact on sailing over the past 25 years". The F-27 was inducted into the

American Sailboat Hall of Fame The American Sailboat Hall of Fame is a defunct hall of fame honoring 26 production sailboats built-in the United States. The hall of fame was established in 1994 by Sail America, a trade association for the U.S. sailing industry, to recognize in ...

on 29 January 2004. In 2016, ''Sailing'' magazine's technical editor Bob Perry described the F-27 as "a great boat".

References

External links

Farrier Marine
{{Trailer sailers and Trailer yachts worldwide Trimarans 1980s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Trailer sailers Sailboat type designs by Ian Farrier Sailboat types built by Farrier Marine Sailboat types built by Corsair Marine