Newsletter No.27/28, March/April 1985

The New F-27 is Launched

On May 28th, the prototype F-27-SUPER FOX-was launched in San Diego Bay, after 11 months of hard work. Corsair Marine closed down for the day and the entire staff went sailing. Everything went very smoothly and SUPER FOX started her sailing trials, being paced by Corporation President John Walton's 44 foot tri 'Meshack' (crewed by a gaggle of photographers who seemed more and more merry as the day went by).

The first sail was very exciting, and in winds of around 10 to 15 knots SUPER FOX easily reached 10 to 11 knots at times. There was one exhilarating burst to 13.5 knots to windward in a stronger gust-surprisingly leaving 'Meshack' well behind.

Her handling was excellent, with the usual light weather helm and excellent tacking ability. Her manouvrability is equal to the smaller Trailertris with the same ability to make continuous 360 degree turns in the one spot.

Next step is a comprehensive series of sea trials and tests, to ensure the best, most thoroughly researched and developed high performance yacht on the market.

There is no firm production date as yet, as there still remains a lot of work to be done. Corsair Marine has just shifted into a much bigger factory, and we have to start from scratch to set up a complete production facility. All this will take time, and we have no wish to rush the F-27 on to the market until we are completely satisfied that we can provide the best built, most reliable, and best value for money yacht on the market.

Price is still undetermined as we cannot establish this until after setting up the production line. Hopefully, the next Newsletter will have more details in this regard.

The first public showing will be at this year's Long Beach Boat Show in October, and by then we could be in a position to start supplying boats.

A few more details on the boat itself. Trailering proved to be easy-for a 27 foot boat-and was accomplished with a mid-sized 6 cylinder station wagon. She is still a big boat however, and for long trips I feel a larger car or truck would be advisable. Height on the trailer is 10'9" (only 3" more than the 680) and should present no problems.

Mast is easily raised single-handed, by using the trailer winch and a special mast step with the pivot point in line with the shroud anchorage points. Thus the mast cannot fall sideways while being raised. Even a child can raise the mast - I know, my 11 year old son did it on the second time out!

Launching is very easy, and again can be done single-handed. The only need for a second person is to hold the boat while you park the car, if there is no dock available.

Once launched she is stable folded, and is boarded by using the folded float bows as stepping points. Force required to fold was a big surprise. This was one worry when designing, and a lot of time was spent getting the geometry just right for maximum leverage. This has paid off and the F-27 seems actually easier to fold than the 19 loot Tramp! Once again easily accomplished single-handed, and while under way, regardless of conditions-and best of all, it only takes seconds to unfold, with only 1 or 2 minutes needed to do up the bolts. As with all Trailertris, there are no restrictions on folding, do it whenever you like, at the ramp, while motoring, rough or smooth water. Just don't try it while on a flat out reach at 15 knots or more!

The outboard has its own well on the side of the aft cabin. This does two things, It keeps it handy to the cockpit, and positions the prop in the ideal inboard position to avoid cavitation - can be a problem with stern mounted motors in a chop. It still kicks up when not in use, keeping the prop well clear of the water.

All halyards and control lines are led aft to the cockpit to good size winches while all deck gear is Harken, Ronstan and Schaeffer.

The only thing I don't like at present, is the mainsail, which is fully battened and a real handful to get up and down - the worst feature of such sails. As a result there will probably be an optional soft sail for sailors like me-who like to enjoy sailing without lots of work (this problem was later solved by the roller furling boom)

Jib and genoa are both very easy to handle and tack, the smaller jib being particularly easy and quick. To achieve good forestay tension there are currently optional runners, but these have proved a little awkward and inconvenient. We will probably revert to the same system as used by the racing rig 680, with tensioners on the swept back top shrouds. Not quite as effective, but certainly easy to use and good enough for all but the real racing enthusiast.

Visible in some of the photos, just behind the forward beams is special retractable, circular hydrofoils. These are very experimental at this stage and may be offered as an option sometime in the future (discontinued as cost and extra weight not justified).

Marina docking proved to be very simple, just like any other boat in fact. Biggest problem is trying to get away from the boat afterwards, with all the interest it creates from onlookers.

Similarly, retrieving back on to the trailer is easy, and could be done single-handed.

As it becomes available, further information will be sent out to all those who have indicated their interest.