The WESTERN BOATMAN -- May June 1987

NOR’SEA 27

A popular West Coast cruising boat that boasts liveaboard comfort in a trailerable package

By Joe Brown

Some Owners feel the Nor'Sea 27 is the best cruising sailboat of its size on the market today

Like a romantic dream, the idea began around a campfire. Brothers Dean and Stan Wixom were watching the embers glow on a chilly evening on the shore of Comcepcion Bay, Baja California, when their thoughts suddenly merged.

"Wouldn’t it be nice," one of them mused aloud, "if we had a small but roomy, cruise-capable sailboat to use while exploring Baja and the Sea of Cortez? That would have to be better than riding around on our motorcycles eating dust."

"And wouldn’t it be nicer still if we could bring this boat down on a trailer instead of having to spend a month sailing down and around the peninsula?"

Thus, one night 13 years ago, one of the most remarkable success stories in western boat building was born-the trailerable, world class voyaging Nor’Sea 27 sloop.

More than 250 Nor’Sea hulls have been built since that night in Baja. And though no two boats are exactly alike, they all may well be, as Nor’Sea Marine claims, the best all-around cruising sailboats for there size ever offered the boating public.

It took Wixom four years to launch his first Nor’Sea, because you don’t just design, build and launch a new boat as easily as you dream about it around a campfire. Based on a design by naval architect Lyle C. Hess (perhaps best known for the Pardey’s wood-hulled Serrafyn which also came from his drawing table), the Nor’Sea finally made its debut in 1977. Its popularity was almost instantaneous. The Nor’Sea’s trailerability was doubtless a major reason, but its roomy aft cabin set it apart from most of its contemporaries in the under-30-foot class.

It was the aft cabin option, as well as the beefy construction, seaworthiness and sailing ability, that sold writer Wayne Carpenter on the Nor’Sea in the late 1970s. He was looking for a boat smaller than his previous 33-foot Marie Rose that would take him around the world. Though Carpenter never completed the circumnavigation, he did sail his Nor’Sea, Kristina, from southern California to the East Coast and to the Caribbean via the Panama Canal and enjoyed himself enough to write a book about the adventure. What’s more, he wasn’t alone on the voyage. His wife two daughters and mother-in-law were along! And carpenter still considers the Nor’Sea to be "probably the best cruising boat of its size on the market today."

Dr. Art Myers’ story is similar. "I wanted a boat I could be proud of, one that was reasonably priced, strongly built and sailed well. That was my Nor’Sea, Bittersweet."

The fact both Carpenter and Myers previously owned larger boats (Myers had a 41-footer), yet could conformably adapt to a 27-footer, says a lot for Hess’ design skills and Nor’Sea Marine’s innovative craftsmanship.

Because of highway regulations existing in 1977, trailered boats could be designed no wider than eight feet. Even with this restriction, the Nor’Sea packs a lot of liveaboard comfort in a small package.

Depending on configuration, the Nor’Sea will sleep up to five people. Stowage facilities are phenomenal for a 27-footer (there are 30 separate compartments), and its 40-gallon water tank and 30-gallon diesel fuel tanks are generous, especially to the cruising-minded.

Capable Cruiser As for sailing ability, several Nor’Sea owners claim they have logged 145-mile days with regularity, and one reported a windward passage from Hawaii to the West Coast in only 18 days. That says a lot, too, for Lyle C. Hess’ doughty little double-ender.

In 1979, Wixom sold the company he founded to Robert Eeg, who, oddly enough, had previously been involved in airplanes. Eeg now builds Nor’Sea boats in a modern plant in Laguna Hills, south of Los Angeles.

Although the Nor’Sea is technically a production boat, only about 21 hulls are completed each year. And there’s a definite feeling of custom building when you visit the Laguna Hills facility.

Although Eeg still uses Wixom’s original mold, he’s made more than 200 small but important design changes since hull number one. These changes have subtly but favorably improved the breed since 1977. For example Eeg managed to widen the cabin sole several inches without sacrificing headroom (too narrow soles were a frequent early complaint), and he’s added more ballast and raised the height of the mast to 35 feet. Lead ballast is now 3000 pounds out of a total displacement of 8000 pounds.

With a waterline length of 23 feet and a shoal draft of 3'-10" feet, the Nor’Sea has become an extremely popular blue water boat. The design has more than 50 Pacific crossing to its credit, as well as three planned circumnavigation's, one of them via Cape Horn.

Lyle C. Hess obviously had safety uppermost in his mind when he inked the Nor’Sea lines. The lapstrake hull design, for instance, adds incredible strength in a seaway (and deflects spray as well), and both standing rigging (7/32-inch, 1x19 stainless wire) and deck hardware would seem overkill even on a much larger boat.

Aft-Cabin Appeal
As expected, the aft cabin Nor’Sea outsells the aft cockpit model by nearly seven to one, according to Eeg. The boat is also offered in several kit packages, from bare hull to completely finished, sails away version.

Successful small boats inevitably lead to larger boats of similar design. The Nor’Sea is no exception, though some may wonder why it took so long.

New Nor’Sea 37
Again from the board of Lyle C. Hess, the cutter-rigged Nor’Sea 37, on which construction will begin soon, is a considerably beefed-up version of the 27 31 feet 3 inches on the water line, 20,000 pounds displacement and 710 square feet of working sail area. In fact looking at her accommodations plan, she looks like a stretched-out carbon copy of the 27, with one important difference. Thought the popular aft cabin is still there, as presently drawn the Nor’Sea will offer it optionally as sleeping space as in the 27 or as a living area/salon with galley.

"I wanted the 37 to be fast, weatherly and have a nice, easy motion at sea," says Lyle C. Hess. He added that in designing of the 37, he leaned heavily on suggestions from owners of the 27. The displacement is moderate so the sail plan can be kept inboard and so she will still have the seakeeping abilities of her Scandinavian ancestors.

Whether the Nor’Sea 37 will be as popular as her smaller, older sister remains to be seen. But initial interest seems strong. Several customers have already put down deposits, even though hull number one probably won’t be launched until next spring. That says a lot about the reputation of a boat that started as a dream on a Baja beach.