BoatsNor'Sea Marine 27

Nor'Sea Marine 27

Masthead Sloop · Long Keel w/trans. Hung Rudder · First built 1976

A masthead sloop with a versatile rig and ballast configuration, designed for trailerable offshore cruising

Designed by Lyle C. Hess, built by Heritage Marine.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Long Keel w/trans. Hung Rudder

See her sail

The Nor'Sea Marine 27, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Footage from Garrett’s Adventure

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

Shoal draughtDraws 1.07 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
LivelySea-kindly

Her heavy displacement on a narrow beam gives 32 — a sea-kindly motion in a seaway.

Comfort ratio 32
CoastalBluewater

At 1.60 she sits well under the 2.0 line — a solidly ocean-capable hull for her size.

Capsize screening 1.60
LightHeavy

297 — heavy for her waterline, built to carry stores and ride steadily.

Displacement / length 297
EasygoingPowered-up

14.6 — modest power for her weight; easygoing rather than lively, and happier with a breeze.

Sail area / displacement 14.6
TenderStiff

38% of her weight is ballast — moderately stiff, a middle-of-the-road stability.

Ballast 38%

Built heavy and sea-kindly — a boat made to cross oceans and forgive a rough night.

  • Draws less than ~79% of boats her size on file

Compared with 304 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The Nor'Sea Marine 27, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Nor'Sea Marine 27 is a Masthead Sloop designed by Lyle C. Hess and built by Heritage Marine and Nor'Sea Marine from 1976 to the present. It features a long keel with a transom-hung rudder, an 8.2-meter LOA, a 2.4-meter beam, a 1.1-meter draft, and a displacement of 3674 kg. Early models offered standard (2500 lbs.) or heavy (3000 lbs.) ballast packages, with all boats built after 1980 standardized to 3100 lbs. ballast. The model was also available with tall (34.5'; 376 sq.ft.) and short (30.5'; 335 sq.ft.) rig options. Aboard *Garrett’s Adventure*, a Nor'Sea 27 named *Hooligan* sailed approximately 6,500 miles, covering routes from Hawaii to Tahiti, through French Polynesia, and around Fiji.0:07 The crew found the 27-footer too small and exposed for their needs, leading them to transition to a larger Hans Christian Christina 40.0:27

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen 2 times across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the water

The Nor'Sea Marine 27 on video

What they go for

Market signal

Where the fleet has seen this model come up for sale.

1seen for sale

From the fleet's own footage — our observed signal, not broker listings.

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
38.3%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Masthead Sloop
Ratios
SA / displacement
14.6
Displacement / length
297.2
Comfort ratio
32.4
Capsize screening
1.60
Hull speed
6.4 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
657
Hull
Hull type
Long keel w/trans. hung rudder
Construction
Fiberglass
Ballast type
Lead
Production
Years built
First built 1976
Units built
450
Designer
Lyle C. Hess
Builder
Heritage Marine, Nor'Sea Marine

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Island Packet 278.08 mSame hull family0.2 m shorterA Robert K. Johnson-designed cutter with a long keel, built for stability and comfort in a compact 8-meter package
Sailing an Island Packet 27 to Mexico (Jan 2022)2:01from keeldragger
Vindo 328.95 mSame hull family0.7 m longerA classic Carl Andersson-designed masthead sloop featuring a long keel and traditional build for stable, comfortable cruising
Edvard Hambro - shorthanded pioneer continues double-handed sailing3:14from SEILmagasinet
Pearson Yachts-USA Triton8.63 mSame hull family0.4 m longerA Carl Alberg-designed long-keel fractional sloop that pioneered fibreglass cruising and saw international production.
Solar Tracker - Manually adjustable marine solar panel mountfrom Atom Voyager
Pacific Seacraft Dana 248.31 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA heavy-displacement W.I.B. Crealock cutter designed for offshore stability and serious coastal cruising
3 Tiny Sailboats You Could Actually Live On3:54from Lady K Sailing
Vancouver 278.23 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA Robert B. Harris-designed cutter with a long keel, built across two continents to provide a stiff, comfortable passage
Under SERIOUS Threat of Deportation from Tahiti (Final Hope with the High Commissioner) | Ep. 1919:50from Sailing Songbird
Falmouth Cutter 229.30 mSame hull family1.1 m longerA narrow-beamed 30-foot cruiser with a shallow 1.07-metre draft and a traditional long-keeled hull
TOP 3 TINY Sailboats You Can Live On! - Ep 346 Lady K Sailing3:13from Lady K Sailing

The family

Boats like this

Nearby designs by size, type, and era — worth a look alongside her.

Nor'Sea Marine 26 PilothouseA Lyle C. Hess-designed long-keel pilothouse cruiser built for offshore capability in a compact, trailerable packageNor'Sea Yachts 37The final design by Lyle C. Hess, this heavy-displacement cutter features a long keel for stable, blue-water passagemakingPacific Seacraft Orion 27A heavy-displacement cutter by Henry Mohrschladt, built for offshore stability with a long keel and conservative rigNorth Sea 24A successful racer built in epoxy-composite iroko strip-plank and the design predecessor to the Rustler 31 and 36Northern 29A Sparkman & Stephens IOR Half Tonner designed for competitive racing with a stiff, skeg-mounted rudder configuration

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

Search what's been said about the Nor'Sea Marine 27, or ask a specific question — the answer comes back written out, with links to the moments it draws on.

Search the fleet for boats like thisAsk the fleet about the Nor'Sea Marine 27

The newsletter

New boats, new stories. Every week, everywhere.

One email from the fleet — boats newly added, videos newly analysed. No noise.

Report an issue