Slatts 22 | Crossing the Stream | Links | Hoist Varakai | Beer Can Race 9/10/08

On Fern Ridge Lake outside Eugene, Oregon.
This lake is a reservoir and functions primarily as a flood control lake. Therefore, it is drained to about 10% normal size in early October and is ready to hold flood waters from the Cascade Mountains in the winter, if necessary. Large boats can return in early April.

Geni Morrow's name comes first on the title to the boat. After a couple of houses and many cars, it was her turn.

Charlie Magee gets to steer now and then.

We finally mounted the bowsprit and flew the asymmetric spinnaker.

"Varakai" was previously known as "Flying Bye" and the original owners were Tom and Debra Emery of Sacramento, California. They took incredibly good care of her, and we plan to do the same.

She came with 3 mains, 2 jibs, 1 screacher, a symmetric spinnaker, and an asymmetric spinnaker; all in good to excellent shape.

They raced her for a few years, but as time went by she became more of a cruiser. That change is reflected in several modifications not usually seen on an F-27.

If you look carefully, the railing at the back is custom. It is quite a bit higher than normal. This was built for several reasons: to improve on the standard way of carrying the mast while trailering, to raise up the large 120w solar panel, and, primarily, to mount the barbeque high enough so that Tom, at 6'3", no longer had to crouch over while cooking dinner.

Another difference is also related to dinner and to the solar panel. The larger solar panel helps keep the battery charged for powering a dorm-sized refrigerator. (That's it behind the table to the left.)

Initially, I (Charlie) wanted to remove the fridge, but Geni suggested we live with it for a month or so. I must admit, it's nice to have cold beers and ice after 3 days of being away from the dock.

One common question that wannabe-F-27 owners have is about the aft cabin: is it usable as a cabin? It seems to depend on how big you and anyone you might share it with are. Most folks seem to use it for storage of light objects like life jackets and sleeping bags. Kids also like to play back there. Geni and I actually like sleeping there. It's just wide enough for our shoulders and it's like a cozy cave. We've got a couple of plywood panels that make the main cabin into a double, but Geni hated that the daggerboard case is always in the wrong place for her feet.

I could say a lot more about this boat, but if you're really interested, join the F-Boat group on Yahoo or check out the links below.

The Corsair F-27 was designed by Ian Farrier and built by Corsair Marine. It has been superceded by the F-28 design.

The F-27 is in the Sailing Hall of Fame.