PHRF ratings

Express 27

San Francisco--132 Detroit--------138 Chesapeake-----141 New England----141

J27

San Francisco--126 Chesapeake-----129 Seattle--------132

Express 27s do best in PHRF in heavy or light winds. In heavy downwind conditions the E27 is much faster than the J27 and most bigger, heavier displacement boats. It planes and surfs easily down wind in a breeze, achieving speeds up to 20 knots. In very light air the E27 does well on all points of sail compared to heavier boats. I've never sailed a J27, but I assume it would be faster than an E27 upwind in medium and heavy air.

For optimum performance in PHRF in medium/heavy air E27 crew weight of around 1000--1100 pounds is optimum for round the buoys racing.

The E27 is incomparable in the West Coast downwind races--Coastal Cup from San Francisco to Catalina Island and the Pacific Cup from San Francisco to Hawaii. The boats are sailed in a double-handed class or with a crew of four in these races.