A Sea Change – The Arrival of the C&C 27 Mark V

By the late 70's, C&C was up against a problem faced by many builders – the 27 cost the factory as much in labour and materials as larger boats, yet it couldn't be priced at a level that would maintain profitability. Also, yacht design had moved on since the original 27 had been designed; the company needed a fresher look to regain its reputation for design leadership. Moreover, measurement rules had seemingly killed the racer-cruiser form that had made C&C's name. The company needed a boat that could win races yet be suitable at least for week-ending. Finally, a completely new boat employing every cost-containment technique and aimed at the then-new MORC rule was launched under the C&C 27 name.

This page includes:

  • specifications;
  • a tuning guide based on the C&C factory team's work, including a simple polar; and
  • pdf's of useful diagrams from the manual.

The Mark V was built in the Niagara-On-The-Lake plant with the hull prefix ZCC from number 001 to 169 and at the Rhode Island plant with the prefix CCY from number 500 to 610.

SPECIFICATIONS

The information below is for general reference. Class-sanctioned measurement data can be found in the C&C 27 Class Association Constitution & Rules.

LOA 26'6"
LWL 23'
Beam 9'3"
Draft Std./Shoal 4'10"/3'6"
Design displacement 4,420 lbs/5,080 lbs
Half load displacement 5000 lbs
Ballast 1715 lbs/2,075 lbs lead/antimony
MkV
Sail area 342.85 sq. ft. (100% foretriangle)
I 35'6"
J 10'1"
P 30'6"
E 10'9"
LP 15'7" (155%)
Largest standard jib 155%
Spinnaker luff length 34'2"
Engine Yanmar 1GM Diesel (8 HP)
Standard 2-blade prop 12" x 9" x 7/8" RH
Optional folding prop 13" x 8" x 7/8" RH

MkV
Water tank 75.7 litres
Fuel tank 45.4 litres
Holding tank 22.7 litres (self-contained toilet version, marine head optional)
Standard stove 2-burner alcohol (propane optional)
Backstay breaking strength 6,300 lbs – recommended preload 1,600 lbs
Typical PHRF rating (Lake Ontario) 192 white sail, 174 spinnaker

Illustrations

MkV
Mk I