Review of Halcyon 27

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.

The boat is equipped with 2 cabins and 4 berths.

The Halcyon 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.

Full keel

The Halcyon 27 is equipped with a long keel. A full keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.22 - 1.32 meter (4.00 - 4.30 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

The Halcyon 27 has been equipped with different engine alternatives.

Alternative 1:

Halcyon 27 may be equipped with a Wickström gasoline engine at 7 hp (5 kW). Calculated max speed is about 3.4 knots.

Alternative 2:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard SAAB engine at 8 hp (5 kW). The speed is 4.5 knots.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Halcyon 27 is 1.60, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.0 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.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Halcyon 27 is about 95 kg/cm, alternatively 535 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 95 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 535 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Halcyon 27 is 31.3.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 96% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Halcyon 27 is 3.57.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 96% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design. This type of design is also referred to as 'needle'.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Halcyon 27 is 45%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 73% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just above average.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Halcyon 27 is 356 which categorizes this boat among 'heavy cruisers'.

10% 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)
Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind:
- Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15
- Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20
- Racers have ratios above 20
- High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24
Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 13.03

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 16m² (172 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.

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.

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.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Halcyon 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.

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