cascade 27 sailboat review

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Cascade Yachts - 27' Cascade "pocket cruiser"

• Thread starter Cascade27
• Start date Apr 11, 2020
• Tags 27 foot cascade yachts pocket cruiser sloop
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Hello all! I'm relatively new to the forum and a relatively new sailor/cruiser although I've driven ski boats all my life. It wasn't until later that I fell in love with sailing. It's a life changing experience and having the love of water already apart of me sailing has made me feel that much more connected to the sea. Last August 2019 I bought a 1980 27' Cascade and have spent many days sailing my local waters in the South Puget Sound ever since. Of course I will be sailing as much of the Puget Sound as possible and then this summer venturing up to the San Juan Islands. Eventually I would like to explore Victoria B.C. and the surrounding islands and inlets, then one day sail to Alaska and explore. I would love to share some pics and get any feedback on the boat. I know Cascade Yachts were built in Portland, OR and were the product of lead designer Robert Smith who took hull #1 and won his division in the Swiftsure Race. She handles well although has a rather narrow beam at 8.83ft. She's a Masthead Sloop. Fin w/spade rudder and displacement of 6,400 lbs. Any thoughts, feedback or anyone else with a Cascade would love to hear from you. Cheers!  

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Welcome. Nice looking boat.  

David in Sandusky

Looks good to me. But that doesn’t matter. What counts is how you feel on her. The cabin looks like two max for a meal. I’m curious about how many you can sleep. We spend most of our time on our h27 in the cockpit. But it’s good to be able to retreat to the cabin in cold or foul weather. We’ve sailed twice in the San Juans, and a cozy cabin is a plus there. Good luck on her this summer!  

Cascade Owners Unite

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John

• Waggoner’s Guide. Waggoner Cruising Guide - From south Puget Sound to Ketchikan, Alaska including the west coast of Vancouver Island, this popular annual guide—called the “bible for Northwest cruising”
• NWCRUISING.NET Nautical Miles in the Pacific Northwest, Olympia to Queen Charlotte Strait
• SalishSea Pilot. Salish Sea Pilot

That boat is a Sharp Dressed Man!!  

DrJudyB said: Welcome. Nice looking boat. Click to expand

David in Sandusky said: Looks good to me. But that doesn’t matter. What counts is how you feel on her. The cabin looks like two max for a meal. I’m curious about how many you can sleep. We spend most of our time on our h27 in the cockpit. But it’s good to be able to retreat to the cabin in cold or foul weather. We’ve sailed twice in the San Juans, and a cozy cabin is a plus there. Good luck on her this summer! Click to expand

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Cascade Yachts were originally built in Portland, Oregon, and were the product of lead designer Robert Smith (former Sparkman’s and Stephens Yachts’ designer) and a team of local sailors. The company roots go back to 1954, and Cascade Yacht Works is still in business, now out of Warrenton, Oregon. They may have been the first to use the term bulletproof literally when describing their builds, for they actually shot their boats with firearms back in the day to prove their strength.

An example of a Cascade 27 boat is Skylark, a 1983 model currently for sale. It is decked out with a slightly wider than standard cabin house and a Universal M2-12, 11-horsepower diesel engine. The owners allegedly took Skylark to Hawaii and back, and a custom trailer makes the Sea of Cortez and inland waters all that more accessible.

If you’re on the market for a reliable sailboat that won’t break the bank, the Cascade 27 is a statement of Cascadian pride. Skylark is currently for sale with the Port Townsend Boat Company and listed at $16,500.

Norris Comer

Norris Comer is an award-winning writer and the former Managing Editor of Northwest Yachting magazine. He was raised in Portland, Oregon and got his BS in Marine Science at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL where he lived aboard a 1973 Catalina 27 before moving to Washington and an Albin Vega. He has worked as a commercial fisherman, wandered aimlessly around the world, studied oil spills, and was a contestant on the Norwegian reality TV show "Alt for Norge."

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Joint oil spill drills, you may also like, 2021 solaris 50, 2018 ocean alexander 70e, 2005 82′ leclercq pilothouse, 1930/2022 vashon navigation, classic 1938 nevins-built sparkman & stephens yawl, 1965 burger 85, 1995 transpacific eagle 40 trawler, 2009 54′ offshore, 2008 65′ grand banks aleutian, 2021 50′ fountaine pajot my6, leave a comment cancel reply.

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Review of Cascade 27

Basic specs..

The Cascade 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 keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated. As the surface of a fin type keel is just a fraction of the total wet surface, the difference between an iron keel and a lead keel can in reality be ignored for cruising yachts.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.37 - 1.47 meter (4.49 - 4.79 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

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.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Cascade 27 is 1.90, 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 6.2 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 Cascade 27 is about 118 kg/cm, alternatively 661 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 118 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 661 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.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

What is a Ballast Ratio?

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

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

Maintenance

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 20m 2 (215 ft 2 ). Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

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.

This section is reserved boat owner's changes, 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 Cascade 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.

The Cascade 27 is a 27.0ft masthead sloop designed by Robert A. Smith and built in fiberglass by Cascade Yachts/Yacht Constructors, Inc. since 1978.

The Cascade 27 is a moderate weight sailboat which is a reasonably good performer. It is stable / stiff and has a good righting capability if capsized. It is best suited as a coastal cruiser.

Cascade 27 for sale elsewhere on the web:

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We can also build that new Commercial Vessel you're looking for. For over 10 years we have been in the commercial fishing vessel field, from rewire projects to joint projects with partner businesses on complete rebuild, sponson, house and whaleback, repower, and similar projects.

We've finished restoring the 2-piece dodger molds. Check HERE for more.

For Sale We have a 38' Trawler which is nearing completition, and we're seeking a buyer. Look for more information.

Welcome to Cascade, builder of semi-custom sailboats and trawlers. Our bullet-proof vessels have and are still traveling the world. Cascade is under new ownership is undergoing a full refit (including the website) as we move to the Oregon Coast. Please bear with us during this transition. We're also building molds for the newly redesigned 36' trawler. Feel free to browse the website.

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• Sailboat Guide

Cascade 42 is a 41 ′ 11 ″ / 12.8 m monohull sailboat designed by Robert A. Smith and built by Cascade Yachts/Yacht Constructors, Inc. starting in 1964.

• 1 / 4 Isleton, CA, US 1978 Cascade 42 $17,500 USD View
• 2 / 4 Isleton, CA, US 1978 Cascade 42 $17,500 USD View
• 3 / 4 Isleton, CA, US 1978 Cascade 42 $17,500 USD View
• 4 / 4 Isleton, CA, US 1978 Cascade 42 $17,500 USD View

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

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