The Watkins 27P, also known as the W27P, 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 1981. The Watkins 27P design was developed from the commercially successful

Watkins 27 The Watkins 27, also known as the W27, is an American sailboat that was designed by naval architect Walter Scott and first built in 1977. The Watkins 27 design was developed into the pilothouse Watkins 27P in 1981, although only seven of that ...

, by adding a pilothouse and making changes to the mast height and sail area.

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 ...

. A total of seven examples were completed, with all constructed in 1981.

Development

The boat was initiated as "one-off" custom design for a customer, using the Watkins 27 hull and deck as a basis. Once completed, the company decided to put the design into production to compete with

Morgan Yachts Charley E. Morgan (1929 - 2023) is a legendary American sailboat racer and designer. He is best known as the founder of Morgan Yacht Corporation. Early life Morgan was born in Chicago November 1929 and raised in Florida. Morgan built the yach ...

and

Pearson Yachts Pearson Yachts was a sailboat manufacturer founded by Everett Pearson and Clinton Pearson in 1956. One of the first fiberglass sailboat manufacturers, they grew rapidly during the 60s and 70s, while also developing and designing new boats. Howe ...

, which were also producing pilothouse yachts at that time. The prototype was used to create a mould for the pilothouse, the mast was then shortened, the boom raised to clear the pilothouse and the sailplan was adjusted accordingly.

Design

The Watkins 27P is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of polyester resin-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 rig with 6061-T6 aluminum 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-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 a

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 shoal-draft keel. It displaces and carries of ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard shoal-draft keel fitted. The boat is fitted with a Japanese Yanmar

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 ...

. 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. 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. The design has a hull speed of .

Operational history

The boat is supported by an active class club, the ''Watkins Owners''. By 2008 it was reported that four 27Ps were still in existence.

References

{{Watkins Yachts Keelboats 1980s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Walter Scott Sailboat types built by Watkins Yachts

Production

Development

Design

Operational history

See also

References