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Review of Varne 27


Varne 27
Varne 27.

Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Varne 27 aka Varne 850 is a sailboat designed by the maritime architect Duncan Stuart in the mid seventies. Less than 100 boats have been produced. The Varne 27 is built by the British yard Varne Marine Ltd..

Looking for a new boat? Find a Varne 27 or similar boat for sale

Hull

The hull 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.


Rig

The Varne 27 is equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.


Keel
Keel
Keel of Varne 27.

Fin keel

The Varne 27 is equipped with a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.30 - 1.40 meter (4.27 - 4.57 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Farymann A30M diesel engine at 12 hp (8 kW). Calculated max speed is about 4.7 knots


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 Varne 27 is 1.96, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - 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 6.1 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 Varne 27 is about 117 kg/cm, alternatively 657 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 117 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 657 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 Varne 27 is 22.2.

Low High 54% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 54% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just above average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Varne 27 is 3.09.

Wide Slim 54% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 54% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Varne 27 is 42%.

Low High 58% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 58% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just above average.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Varne 27 is 298 which categorizes this boat among 'medium weight cruisers'.

Heavy Light 27% 0 50 100
27% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Varne 27 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 14.4, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 17.3.

Low High 31% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 31% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 69% 0 50 100
The Varne 27 has more rig than 69% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly overrigged.


RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Varne 27 is 15

Slow Fast 15% 0 50 100
The relative speed performance is 15 which means that a it is faster than 15% of all similar sailboat designs.


Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 19m2 (204 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.


Rig

Dimensions of sail for masthead rig.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale



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
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 22.6 m(74.3 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard22.6 m(74.3 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker halyard22.6 m(74.3 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib sheet 8.5 m(27.8 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet8.5 m(27.8 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet 21.2 m(69.4 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet18.6 m(61.1 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Cunningham2.8 m(9.0 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Kickingstrap5.5 m(18.0 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Clew-outhaul5.5 m(18.0 feet)8 mm(5/16 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 Varne 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