The F-27 Sport Cruiser is an American trailerable trimaran

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 terminolo ...

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

Production

The boat was built by

Corsair Marine Corsair Marine International is a sailboat builder that builds trailerable trimarans. Since 1984, Corsair Marine has sold more than 2,500 trimarans. Dealers represent and service Corsair Marine's trimarans in 6 regions of the US and 19 other locati ...

in the

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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

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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

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, near

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and

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 vacuum ...

, 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 compo ...

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 clo ...

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 a ...

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, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

and a daggerboard

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 ...

. 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-t ...

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 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 downwind. Also known as an "asym", "aspin", or "A-sail" it can be described as a cross between a genoa jib and a spinnaker. It is asymmetric like a genoa, but, the asymmetrical spinnaker is not ...

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. 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

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. 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 oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

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 mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

via

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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 an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

. 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

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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 on 29 January 2004.

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