Watkins 27

[dupek]

Monday, I will become proud owner of 1978 Watkins 27. It does have some issue, but over all is in decent shape. It is cheap. The owner took out the inboard, shaft and plug/seal the hole. It does have 9.9 Evinrude with long shaft. Main main concern was the soft area of deck around bow, but I was told that this will not affect hull structure and easy to fix. It is my first boat and time to learn to sail. I order few book and will come next week. In worst case scenario, I do know how to swim, but in my age and shape, I better stay close to a shore.

[Mrbubblemaker]

Old thread but still useful.. I am also a new owner of a Watkins 27.. How did you make out with yours? I hope this post will start conversation about the Watkins boat.

[Mike Vogdes]

Originally Posted by Mrbubblemaker

Old thread but still useful.. I am also a new owner of a Watkins 27.. How did you make out with yours? I hope this post will start conversation about the Watkins boat.

Welcome Mrbubblemaker, I'm another Watkins fan having owned two 27's in the past and now own a 29. They are good little cruising boats provided you are not in a big hurry. Good sailing boat and very roomy due mainly to the generous beam. Their construction is pretty good, no keel bolts to worry about, the keel is concrete and steel ingots encased in fiberglass. The 27 was offered with the choice of an 8 hp or 12 hp Yanmar, the 8 hp is underpowered and at times painfully slow.. Like all older boats I'm sure she needs some work, soft fore decks and cockpit soles are common, the base of the compression post is also another problem area and you will want to check the rudder post mounting for corrosion. There is an active Watkins owners group at Yahoo, their new web site format is awkward to use but plenty of good info there..

[Sails27]

I've been refitting a 79 watkins for about a year, it's a solid boat, sails great. It was stripped when I bought it, but slowly getting it back. I had the 1 cyl Yanmar rebuilt, runs like a champ. Next big thing is haul out for bottom job and hull paint. If you need info pm me.

[Mrbubblemaker]

Good to see there are watkins sailors on here.. Being new to sail boating and finding no manual for this boat I need some tech advice.. Where does the mast bolt to the boat and how do I unbolt said mast?

[Sails27]

My mast is attached to a deck hinge with 2 pins so mast can be stepped. It is a heavy mast and I used a crane to set it back after a bad episode taking it down without a crane! I bought a new deck hinge with a halyard organizer from Dwyer Mast Co, I used bolts thru the deck because it was previously only screwed down. With the halyard organizer I was then able to run my mainsail halyard back to cockpit. I also ran my head/jib sail halyard along with a jib down haul, as I don't have a furler...yet. Made things a lot easier!

[Mrbubblemaker]

Sounds like your doing a great job redoing the boat. What does the Watkins 27 mast weigh?

[pistarckle]

It is pretty easy to build a mast hoist/crane out of a 2x4 crutch and a boat winch [ like on a boat trailer ]. There are plans on the Texas Sailing website .

[Sails27]

I was considering using the Macgregor mast raising system ( I had one on a Mac) but couldn't find or calculate the weight of the Watkins mast. I am sure one could build the A frame if the boat was on the hard, but what we found was the boat rocked too much in the water! It took 3 burly guys to get the mast off the boat when it FELL and ripped the mast step screws out of the deck. It only cost $200 to hire the crane for an hour to re step it. Well worth the money! A good strong gin pole system with baby stays may well work but the mast is heavy! It's thick aluminum.

[Mike Vogdes]

Sometimes you can get a decent deal from a sign company using their sign truck crane. It's an easy job for them on their way back to the shop at the end of the day.

[chadc]

Revive and old thread time.
I just recently purchased a 1979 Watkins 27 for $2500.00 and the boat is in very good shape with a few minor, I hope, problems. The little Yanmar 8hp runs very good, there are no soft spots anywhere and all the plumbing and electrical works just fine and there are no leaks that I have detected. The only problems I have found is that the UV cover on the genoa is in bad shape and needs to be redone, the mainsail gets in a bind about a third of the way up so it won't go all the way up and the running rigging for the main needs replacing. The boat made the trip from Maryland to NC easily, but slowly, using just the genoa and the Yanmar even though the Bay was being real nasty for two days on the trip to NC. There is rigging missing from the mast boom for the reefing so I'm hoping that someone can direct me somewhere I can get information on how the boat was originally rigged, I checked the Wakins owners website but I didn't see anything there about it.