UFO 27
COLVIC · Holman & Pye · 1977
Updated
The UFO 27 is a 8.20 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Holman & Pye and built by COLVIC, first launched in 1977. It races in Class C.
Length
8.20 m
26′ 11″
Beam
3.00 m
Draft
1.54 m
Displacement
2.7 t
Sail area
39 m²
On the podium
Where a UFO 27 finishes when she goes racing.
Not enough data yet to show how this design finishes. It has not been found in the race results we have collected so far.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a UFO 27 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
No regattas found yet.
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
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Not enough data yet: no races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: no races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a UFO 27 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Not enough data yet to say who this design races against. No result we have collected puts it on the water beside another design we track.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
4.27
39°
Beam reach
6.78
90°
Broad reach
7.36
135°
Downwind VMG
6.58
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
Soft conditions suit it. Early-season racing and morning breezes play to its strengths; once it pipes up the fleet comes back to it.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on the beat in the light stuff, where it outruns what it looks like on paper. It holds that advantage running deep as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short off the wind once it pipes up, giving away time it never gets back. That is weight that has to be driven rather than released.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a UFO 27
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 2.91 | 3.88 | 4.25 | 4.27 |
| 52° | 4.39 | 5.59 | 5.96 | 6.04 |
| 60° | 4.60 | 5.73 | 6.10 | 6.23 |
| 75° | 4.72 | 5.86 | 6.25 | 6.56 |
| 90° | 4.64 | 5.95 | 6.34 | 6.78 |
| 110° | 4.71 | 6.04 | 6.61 | 7.14 |
| 120° | 4.56 | 5.99 | 6.61 | 7.38 |
| 135° | 4.18 | 5.77 | 6.45 | 7.36 |
| 150° | 3.63 | 5.35 | 6.20 | 7.05 |
| Run VMG | 3.14 | 4.68 | 5.72 | 6.58 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Roughly half carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 400 kg.
Rigging
UFO 27 rig and sail dimensions
A UFO 27 carries 9.06 m of mainsail hoist on a 2.83 m boom, a forestay 10.60 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 2 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails