Aloha 27

The Aloha 27 is a series of Canadian sailboats, that were designed by American yacht designer Robert Perry and first built in 1979 under the designation Aloha 26.

The Aloha 26, 27, 8.2, 271 are all closely related designs. Although the hulls are identical and were produced in the same mould, the builders used several different sail and mast suppliers during the production run of the designs and specifications for the boats produced varied accordingly. Many of the boats produced have interchangeable sails and other parts. Despite having so many designations for the vessel, Aloha 27 is colloquially used as the model designation.

The Aloha 27 should not be confused with the slightly larger Aloa 27 which was designed by Frans Maas and built in France by Aloa Marine, starting in 1976.

Production
The design was built between 1979 and 1987 by Ouyang Boat Works in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, under the Aloha Yachts brand. During that period the company built 188 of the Aloha 27 design.

Design


The Aloha 27 series are all small recreational keelboats, built predominantly of fibreglass, with wood trim. They all have fractional sloop rigs, internally-mounted spade-type rudders and fixed fin keels. They are fitted with a tiller, although a wheel was a factory option. They all displace 5200 lb and carry 2000 lb of ballast encapsulated inside a fibreglass keel.

The series all have a draft of 4.33 ft with the standard keel fitted.

The boat came with an outboard motor provision as standard with the option of an inboard BMW, Volvo Penta or Westerbeke diesel engine powering a saildrive unit. The early versions had the BMW powerplant of 7 hp, which some owners found underpowered and that led to the Westerbeke engine of 10 hp being substituted. The fuel tank holds 12 u.s.gal and the fresh water tank has a capacity of 14 u.s.gal.

The original production run boats featured such amenities as Barient winches, tufted crushed velour cushions, oversized spars, pulpit and lifelines, as well as internal halyards.

Of the interior accommodations, reviewer Michael McGoldrick noted:

The Aloha 27 has a PHRF racing average handicap of 207 and a hull speed of 6.53 kn.

Operational history
In an interview in Sail Universe, two Aloha 8.2 owners described the design:

Variants

 * Aloha 26
 * This model was introduced in 1979, has a length overall of 26.50 ft and a waterline length of 22.50 ft and was soon renamed the Aloha 27.


 * Aloha 27
 * This model was the 26 renamed and was built in the same mould, with a length overall of 26.50 ft and a waterline length of 22.50 ft.


 * Aloha 8.2
 * This model was renamed in 1980 when Canada adopted the metric system, has a length overall of 26.75 ft and a waterline length of 22.19 ft.


 * Aloha 271
 * This model was introduced in 1987, has a length overall of 26.75 ft and a waterline length of 22.50 ft.