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It is the intention of the rules to provide a standard by which Express 27s can race as a one-design class in which boat tuning and sailing skill determine race results. Deck hardware and its placement shall not be restricted in order to allow skippers to tailor their boat to individual sailing styles. Exotic and potentially expensive equipment will be prohibited as specified in "II. General Clause." It is the further intention of these rules that the racing/cruising capabilities of the Express be maintained. Nothing in these rules is intended to limit the Express 27 from being competitive in events not sanctioned by the Express 27 Class Association.
The Express Class Association reserves the right to interpret these rules as will best provide one-desing racing for the class. Anything not covered in these rules will be subject to a ruling by the Association as becomes necessary. It is the responsibility of the owner and skipper of the yacht to check with the Class Association before making any changes to the stock "Express" as it comes from the factory. Any modification to hull and deck to improve performance will not be accepted. Boats that benefit from some unforseen development not covered in these rules may have their elgibility determined at the discretion of the National Association Board (NAB). The wood prototype known as Hull "0" is grandfathered as a legal Express, so long as she retains her original hull shape and no other material changes are made to the boat.
The National Association Board (NAB) shall consist of the current roster of elected national Express Class Association Officers , the most recent past Express Class Association President (to the extent such person continues to own an Express 27), any current representatives of fleets outside of the San Francisco Bay Area (one representative per regional fleet), and a representative of the current owner of the Express 27 molds and/or any active manufacturer of the Express 27 (at the discretion of the Express Class Association Officers).
The NAB shall be empowered to interpret the Class Rules. Any owner or skipper contemplating a significant modification to the stock Express 27 is obligated to seek a rules interpretation from the NAB to determine the legality of the modification under the Class Rules. Failure to seek such an advance interpretation places the owner/skipper at risk of disqualification from all class-sanctioned events entered after the modification, should the modification later be found to be in violation of the Class Rules. The NAB is also empowered, upon petition by the owners of at least three Express 27s, to rule upon any modification after the fact and thereby to determine the class racing eligibility of any modified Express 27. A simple majority vote of the members of the NAB is required for a modification to be authorized or disallowed. In the event of a tie vote, the Measurer is empowered to break the tie. Rules interpretations will be published as simple addendums to the Class Rules. These interpretations shall be made with the intent of preserving the one-design nature of the Express 27 class, but allowing for widely available and inexpensive equipment upgrades.
If the owners of at least five Express 27s collectively petition the Class President objecting to a NAB ruling, the matter must be put before the full class ownership at the next National Fleet meeting (or by email, based on the roster of owners on the class website www.express27.org at the time of the vote, at the discretion of the Express Class Association Officers) and voted upon by the full ownership. A simple majority vote of the owners present (in the case of a vote taken at a National Fleet meeting) or responding (in the case of a vote taken via email) will be sufficient to determine the outcome. The Class President will vote only in the event of a tie.
Any dimensions not defined as a maximum or minimum shall have a standard boat builder's tolerance of plus or minus 1/4 inch. A maximum or minimum dimension shall be an absolute measurement that is not to be exceeded or less than as applies. The keel weight is allowed to vary plus or minus fifty pounds. Sail measurements are to be considered maximums and minimums except that sails that have at one time been certified by a proper measurer shall be given a two inch tolerance for stretch if subjected to a protest.
Hull and deck shall be built of fiberglass from molds as originally produced by Alsberg Brothers Boatworks and approved by the Express Class Association. Any modification to the hull or deck to improve performance will not be accepted.
Boats shall have an all up weight of not less than 2,450 pounds, including rudder, keel, mast, boom, spinnaker pole, standing rigging, halyards, and cabin cooler/step. The boat shall be stripped of sails, safety gear, personal gear, tools, battery, outboard motor, cushions, etc., before weighing. The boat shall be weighed dry. The boat shall be out of the water a minimum of 24 hours; there shall be no standing water on board; and all running rigging, including halyards, mainsheet, and reef liens shall be dry to the touch. Any weight, as determined by the Class Measurer, used to attain minimum boat weight, known as "corrective weight", shall be permanently attached to the boat. One half of the weight should be located at the level of the v-berth bunk forward of the main bulkhead, the remaining half should be attached to the outboard mounting post just below the cockpit sole. Weighed boat hardware shall not be removed from the boat after weighing. When making repairs, the boat shall be returned to its original shape and weight. Failure to meet these requirments shall invalidate the weight certificate.
The rudder is to have a stainless steel rudder post no lighter than 1-3/4 inch O.D. x 1/8 inch wall with sleeve of two inch O.D. x 1/8 inch wall at lower bearing. The profiles and location to conform with Carl Schumacher, N.A. drawing 16-1.
The keel shall be standard as supplied with the boat. The lead ballast shall neither be increased or decreased. Nominal weight to be 1100 pounds. The section, profile and location to conform to the liens plan and table of offsets on Carl Schumacher, N.A. drawings 16-1 and 16-2.
The mast shall be aluminum alloy of no less than 1.4 pounds per foot, stepped
on the deck. Minimum dimensions are 3 inch x 4-1/2 inch, maximum dimensions
are 4 inch x 6 inch. The top five feet of the mast may be tapered. Two sets
of spreaders are required. The upper spreader to be a minimum of 20 inches
long and located 20 feet 2-1/2 inches above the deck; the lower spreader to be
a minimum of 32 inches long and located 11 feet 2 inches above the deck.
Spreader length shall be measured from the mast wall to the extreme spreader
tip. Vertical tolerance shall only be plus or minus 2 inches. The deck at the
mast step is used as a base for all measurements. The thickness of the
tabernacle to be added to the mast length. The upper point of the "I" to be
defined as the highest of:
The upper point of "I" to be a maximum of 28 feet 6-1/2 inches above the deck. A one inch contrasting band to be painted on the mast to limit the mainsail luff length. The lower edge of this band to be a maximum of 32 feet above the deck. The goose neck to be fixed so that the upper edge of the boom, when projected at right angles to the mast, is a maximum of 28 feet 6 inches below the lower edge of the contrasting band. The forward face of the mast shall be 10 feet 2 inches from the bow.
The boom to be of aluminum alloy shall have a maximum depth of 6 inches. There shall be a one inch contrasting band to limit the mainsail foot whose inner edge shall not be more than 10 feet 5 inches from the aft face of the mast.
The aluminum alloy spinnaker pole shall be measured with the pole on the mast ring in a horizontal position at 90 degrees to the fore aft centerline of the hull. It shall be no more than 9 feet 10 inches from the most extreme outboard end of the pole fitting to the forward, center face of the mast.
The standard rigging, with the exception of the upper shrouds, shall be 1 x 19 or 1 x 7 dyform wire. The upper shroud can be either 1 x 19 or solid rod. The upper bearing point of the upper shroud can be a maximum of 29 feet above the deck. The maximum length of the jibstay including turnbuckle, link plate, tang and chainplate is not to exceed 31 feet 4 inches. Running backstays are not permitted.
It is the intent of the rules that the class sails conform with the various
measurement rules. The boats shall be raced with a maximum of six sails.
These sails shall consist of:
One of the jibs shall have an LP no greater than 13 feet 11 inches and no less than 13 feet 5 inches. The second jib shall have a maximum LP no greater than 8 feet 7 inches and no less than 8 feet 0 inches. A number four jib may be carried provided that it has an LP no larger than 7 feet 7 inches. "Headfoils" and "twin stays" are allowed but their width (1 inch nominal) shall be added to the jib LP. In any jib the mid girth measured between mid points of luff and leech, shall not exceed 50 percent of the foot length plus 4 inches. Nor shall the length of the intermediate girth at 25 percent and 75 percent of the luff and leech exceed values similarly proportioned to their distance from the head. No battens are allowed in jibs with LP greater than 8 feet 7 inches.
All sails manufactured 30 days after the passage of this amendment shall conform to the amended rule (8/90). Within 30 days of passage of this amendment members shall notify the chief measurer by mail regarding which three preexisting, legal jibs they wish to have grandfathered. The total weight of the largest jib shall be no less than eight pounds. It is the intent of this rule to prohibit excessively light jib sail cloth weights and specialty sails such as staysails, drifters, and bloopers. Devices such as overweight sailmaker's hardware will be dealt with under the General Clause (Section II).
The spinnaker shall have a maximum width of no more than 17 feet 9 inches and a mid girth of no less than 13 feet 0 inches. The spinnaker shall be symmetrical and the luffs shall be no longer than 28 feet 7 inches. The material shall be no lighter than 30 x 30 denier, nominal 3/4 ounce per sailmaker's yard woven polyester, also known as 0.6 oz. polyester spinnaker material.
A "Used Spinnaker" is defined as one measured 18 months prior to the date of its classification as a "Used Spinnaker" and substantially used during that period. The sail shall be certified and signed off as such by the measurer, with the word "used" written at the head. The intent of this rule is to not allow a yacht to carry different special purpose spinnakers. Any yacht which does not have a sail which qualifies as a "Used Spinnaker" may use a spinnaker from another yacht that qualifies as a "Used Spinnaker". In the event of a dispute, the NAB has the full authority to determine if the intent of this rule is being served.
The mainsail headboard as measured from the luff of the sail to the leech shall be no greater than 6 inches. The mainsail shall have four (4) battens. The length of the upper batten is not restricted, and shall be located a minimum of 5 feet 8-3/8 inches from the top back edge of the headboard down the leech to the bottom of the batten. The two middle battens shall be no longer than 3 feet 6-1/2 inch. The lower batten shall be no longer than 2 feet 7-1/4 inch. The mainsail shall have a 1/2 girth no greater than 7 feet 1/2 inch and an upper 1/4 girth no greater than 4 feet 2-3/4 inch. Total weight of the mainsail shall be no less than sixteen pounds weighed dry and without battens. Cloth concentrations used to bring the sail to minimum weight shall be defined as excessively heavy sailmaker's hardware. It is the intent of this rule to prohibit excessively light mainsail cloth weights. Devices such as overweight sailmaker's hardware will be dealt with under the General Clause (Section II.)
These specifications are from the original sail plan and are intended for use
in clarification of points not covered in these rules. Any measurements for
sails that appear elsewhere in these rules will supersede the specifications.
| I | 28.5' |
| J | 9.0' |
| JC | 9.9' |
| P | 28.5' |
| E | 10.42' |
| LP | 13.95' |