The weekender for all that conquered Italy: Concorde 27 Sport Fisherman (8.23 m) – Classic Boat

Well before the famous Concorde, a namesake offered dreams and speed to Italians in the forms of affordable and fashionable boats, such as the Concorde 27 Sport Fisherman. Since the late 1960s, in fact, American Owens had been operating under the Concorde Yacht Division, giving light to some of the most popular Classic Boats in the Belpaese. In this case, it is the Concorde 27 Sport Fisherman, a versatile and rational powerboat, a forerunner of many boats to come. At 8.23 meters long and fast up to 30 knots, it immediately conquered our market, proving perfect for fishing and ideal as a weekender, thanks to its 4 beds, galley and large cockpit.

Concorde 27 Sport Fisherman

A child of the American shipbuilding avant-garde, on a par with Bertram and Chris Craft, Owens was a great source of supply and inspiration for Italy, and, precisely among them, the 27 Sport Fisherman was one of the most successful models, especially in terms of lines and fashion. The lines in fact, needless to say, will long remain characteristic of the homegrown Fisherman segment, creating a panorama of boats that has survived to the present day. And so much for the interior, which, in layout, is not that far from some contemporary boats.

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Check out our articles on Classic Boats! Here are all the other great boats:

• Baglietto Elba, the dawn of the Italian series motoryacht (11.3m)
• Riva 25 Sport Fisherman, history of an Italian-American classic (7.5m)
• Boston Whaler Outrage 21, the Classic Boat that conquered Italy (6.5m)
• Grand Banks 42, from fishing boat to cruiser par excellence (12.7m)
• Italcraft X-44, the elegant cult fisherman of ’68 (14m)
• Mochi Craft Super 8M, the Italian way to sport cruising (8.4m)
• Italcantieri Bora 103, when the Italian state built pleasure boats (10m)

Concorde 27 Sport Fisherman – Exterior

Besides the clean lines and rational layout, one of the main features to which this 27-footer owes its success is found in the large cockpit. Unusually capacious by reference standards, this 8.23-meter was capable of accommodating here not only a comfortable fighting chair for fishing, but, depending on layouts and choices, was also able to accommodate several guests, comfortably, in its large spaces. An important quality for the time, which made the model appealing to a wider audience, precisely because of its great versatility of use.

Starting from the stern then, the Concorde 27 Fisherman features a huge cockpit that, however, in its original version did not include any furnishings. Seats, seats and benches were, in the specific Italian case, supplied and set up by the importer for Italy, thus adapting the spaces to the needs of the individual buyer.

Through a stainless steel staircase, the cockpit provides access to the flybridge, equipped with an external wheelhouse and seating for three people, while, moving instead toward the bow from the side walkways, there is access to a stanchion-protected pontoon, which can be used as a sunbathing area.IMG

Concorde 27 Sport Fisherman – Interior

Accessing the interior from the cockpit, the Concorde 27 Sport Fisherman welcomes with a layout that has remained a classic to this day. Just to the right, separate from the other spaces, is immediately the toilet room, while beyond that, the entire space is composed as a small open space. Beyond the toilet room, again to starboard, thus finds a kitchen block and just beyond it, the command post. Here, the versatility of the design is also revealed in the small solutions, such as in the back of the helmsman’s seat, which when lowered turns into a kitchen worktop.

On the other walls, however, are a pair of cabinets placed at the ends of the dinette, where they thus also function as backs to the pair of facing sofas. In the center of these, a lowerable table makes the area usable as both a dining area and a double berth. Finally, there is a communicating space in the bow, as in so many of today’s small weekenders, which can be used either for stowage or as an additional double berth, where, depending on the bed layout, two V-shaped singles or a double can be made.

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Construction and Performance

Concorde’s hull is derived from a careful study by the shipyard, which creates a narrow V-shaped hull characterized by a unique 18-coat layered mold. In fact, the hull, like the superstructures, is made of fiberglass, while, inner dunnage and cockpit are made of plywood, covered with vinyl. Battleships and ladders, of course, are instead made of stainless steel.

Coming to the powertrain, the original design called for a pair of Chrysler LM 318 Gasoline engines of 225 horsepower each, served by a 545-liter fuel tank. Overall, the maximum speed reached was 30 knots, while it dropped to 27 that of fast cruising, compared to 25 knots for “economic cruising.”

Historical Background

In Italy, as in the United States, for a long period Owens shipyards were participants in the vanguard of yachting and, as such, profoundly influenced the nautical culture and production of the period. Owens, in fact, has been building in fiberglass since 1956, using its own in-house research laboratory. Capability that allowed them to take advantage of fiberglass layering technology that was often more advanced than others, offering open and fast boats on the market as early as the late 1950s.

By the 1960s, however, the Owens brothers ceased to be an active part of the shipyard of the same name, which thus became a division of the Brunswick Corporation, which would operate the company until it was sold toward the end of the decade to Test Concorde Inc. The division thus became the Concorde Yacht Division – Brunswick Corp. retaining, however, the Owens name for its boats.

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Technical Specs

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