Owner's Review for the 1987 C&C 27 Mk V


This little gem is a great mid-1980's C&C MORC design. A fast, agressively-canvased machine, she loves the breeze, especially up-wind. She points extremely well. In the right conditions (20 to 25 knots with a well-sized spinaker), the C&C 27 Mk V actually planes on broad reaches without having to surf down large waves. Some people call her "a tad tender"; I prefer powerful, responsive and challenging. She needs (and responds well to) attention in a breeze, but can be depowered for safe relaxed sailing in all conditions.

She is strongly built, beautifully finished, reliable and pretty. I just wished C&C would still be seriously in business in order to build me a new one like my 27, only bigger (like a 33 feet big brother of my small 27).

In terms of overall design, layout and appearance, I have nothing to wish for. If one accepts that she is a small light-weight 27 (and is not looking for much volume), this boat is a balanced package between life aboard and fast cruising/racing. She is a great day sailor.

The only weakness of this design is the side cabin window implementation. Like all C&C windows, they leak after a few years. I fixed them with special v-shaped nuts, bolts and epoxy. It seems to work well for now.

At my sailclub (the Nepean Sailing Club, close to Ottawa, Ontario), we now have a fleet of 5 C&C 27 Mk V. Collectively, we are starting to accumulate a little bit of knowledge about how to sail this boat, and about which gadjets help her performance. If you are interested in this boat, please, feel free to e-chat.

Mario Poirier

Mario Poirier [mpoirier@m3isystems.qc.ca]