The Watkins 27, also known as the W27, is an American

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

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture occupations Design occupations Architecture, Occupations ...

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

and first built in 1977. The Watkins 27 design was developed into the

pilothouse The interior of the bridge of the Sikuliaq'', docked in Ketchikan, Alaska">RV_Sikuliaq.html" ;"title="Research Vessel ''RV Sikuliaq">Sikuliaq'', docked in Ketchikan, Alaska file:Wheelhouse of Leao Dos Mares.jpg, Wheelhouse on a tugboat, topp ...

Watkins 27P in 1981, although only seven of that model were built.

Production

The design was built by

Watkins Yachts Watkins Yachts and Marine was an American boat builder, based in Clearwater, Florida. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats. The company was founded by the four Watkins brothers, Redford, Richard, Robert ...

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

from 1977 to 1984. During the first full year of production, 1978, the company delivered more than 160 of the model, although production dropped to about 100 boats in the following year, 1979. With 514 completed it became the company's most successful and longest model in production.

Design

The Watkins 27 is a recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open wat ...

, built predominantly of

polyester resin Polyester resins are synthetic resins formed by the reaction of dibasic organic acids and polyhydric alcohols. Maleic anhydride is a commonly used raw material with diacid functionality in unsaturated polyester resins. Unsaturated polyester resins ...

-based

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

, with

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...

wood trim.

Plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

coring is used in the structures of the cabin roof, the deck, seats and cockpit sole for additional stiffness. It has a

masthead sloop A masthead rig on a sailing vessel consists of a forestay and backstay both attached at the top of the mast. The Bermuda rig can be split into two groups: the masthead rig and the fractional rig. The masthead rig has larger and more headsails, a ...

rig with

6061-T6 aluminum 6061 ( Unified Numbering System (UNS) designation A96061) is a precipitation-hardened aluminium alloy, containing magnesium and silicon as its major alloying elements. Originally called "Alloy 61S", it was developed in 1935. It has good mechani ...

spars, a

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a vertical

transom Transom may refer to: * Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar * Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet * Operation Tran ...

, a

skeg A skeg (or skegg or skag) is a sternward extension of the keel of boats and ships which have a rudder mounted on the centre line. The term also applies to the lowest point on an outboard motor or the outdrive of an inboard/outboard."A small fin f ...

-mounted

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

controlled by an Edson-built

wheel A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction wi ...

and a

centerboard A centreboard or centerboard (US) is a retractable hull appendage which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a ''centreboard trunk'' (UK) or ''centerboard case'' (US). The retractability allows the centreboard to be raised t ...

with stub keel or optional fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

in deep or shoal lengths. It displaces and carries of ballast. The shoal keel-equipped version of the boat has a draft of , while the centerboard-equipped version has a draft of with the centerboard extended and with it retracted. The fixed keel model was created by adding a shoe to the bottom of the centerboard stub keel and filling in the centerboard trunk. Even though the centerboard was standard and the fixed keel optional, mostly buyers specified the fixed shoal-draft keel and the centerboard and deep keel models are rare. Only five of the centerboard models were built. The boat is fitted with a Japanese

Yanmar is a Japanese diesel engine, Heavy equipment, heavy machinery and agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in Osaka, Japan in 1912. Yanmar manufactures and sells engines used in a wide range of applications, including seagoing vessels, pleasu ...

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

. A number of Yanmar engine models were used, including the YSB8, YSB12, YSE8, YSE12, YSM8, YSM12 and the 2QM. After 1980 the 1GM and 2GM models were employed. The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . Sleeping accommodation is provided for five people and consists of a bow "V" berth, a main cabin settee berth and a double-sized quarter berth. The

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...

is fully enclosed and located to port aft of the forward cabin. The

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

is aft, on the starboard side and includes an

icebox An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrig ...

and a two-burner alcohol or gas-fired stove mounted on

gimbals A gimbal is a pivoted support that permits rotation of an object about an axis. A set of three gimbals, one mounted on the other with orthogonal pivot axes, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain independent of ...

. Ventilation is provided by six opening ports and two hatches, although some early boats delivered had two or more non-opening ports. The main cabin has of standing headroom. All woodwork is

, including the cabin accents, bulkheads and the cabinets, which are teak veneer over plywood. The cabin sole is a teak parquet design. There is an

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...

locker forward. The Edson pedestal-mounted wheel steering system drivings

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

cables, which rotate a quadrant that is bolted and keyed to the rudder post. The sail controls include a main sheet attached to the rear bridge deck on 1978 and 1979 models. After that the boats were delivered with mid-boom sheeting, using two blocks on either side of the cabin roof. The electrical system consists of two 12v batteries mounted in parallel and charged by the engine alternator. The design 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-tro ...

of .

Operational history

The boat is supported by an active class club, the ''Watkins Owners''. The design competed successfully in the market with the

Catalina 27 The Catalina 27 is an American sailboat designed by Frank V. Butler and Robert Finch. The design became one of the most popular sailing keelboats of all time and was built from 1971 to 1991. Production The boat was built by Catalina Yachts i ...

, offering better hardware and construction at similar price.

References

{{Watkins Yachts Keelboats 1970s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Walter Scott Sailboat types built by Watkins Yachts

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References