Review of MG C 27

MG C 27 anno 1986. A lovely MG C 27 in harbor.

Basic specs.

The MG C 27 aka Contessa 27 or MG-C27 aka MG-C27 is a sailboat designed by the British maritime architect Robert Humphreys in the mid eighties. The MG C 27 is built by the British yard MG Yachts.

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Hull

Both the hull and the deck is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.
The deck is a double deck which improves the indoor climate.

Interior

The boat is equipped with 2 cabins, 6 berths, a galley, 180.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

Rig

The boat equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a genaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.

Keel

The MG C 27 has been built with different keel alternatives.

DaggerBoard

The MG C 27 is equipped with a daggerboard keel. A daggerboard is a lifting keel that can be lowered and raised, allowing the boat to enter shallow waters as well.

Fin keel

The MG C 27 is equipped with a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.65 - 1.75 meter (5.41 - 5.71 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

MG C 27 is typically equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta 2001 diesel engine at 9 hp (6 kW). The speed is 6.0 knots.

The transmission is a saildrive.

The fuel tank, which is made of stainless steel, has a capacity of 46.0 liters (12 US gallons, 10 imperial gallons).

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for MG C 27 is 2.17, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.5 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for MG C 27 is about 144 kg/cm, alternatively 807 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 144 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 807 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for MG C 27 is 16.9 - 17.7.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 31% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just below average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for MG C 27 is 2.78.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 79% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more spacy hull design.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for MG C 27 is 202 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

69% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for MG C 27 is 54

The relative speed performance is 54 which means that a it is faster than 54% of all similar sailboat designs.

Maintenance

Rig

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Jib sheet	8.4 m	(27.5 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	8.4 m	(27.5 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet	21.0 m	(68.7 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	18.4 m	(60.5 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for MG C 27 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.