Bosun Bird is a Vancouver 27, by the Canadian designer Robert B. Harris. The first Vancouver was built in 1973 as a one-off, for a young couple looking for a sturdy boat to take them from the Pacific Northwest to New Zealand. Canadian production ceased in 1988 but by that time Pheon Yachts, on the south coast of the UK, had already taken up the design and was running a production line that peaked at one boat per week; Pheon’s production run eventually reached about 130. Bosun Bird is UK-built (1981).
Vancouvers quickly built a reputation as rugged and seaworthy offshore cruisers; they appear to hold their value well on the open market and a Vancouver 27 won Yachting World’s “One of a Kind” evaluation in 1981. Larger Vancouvers (also by Harris) continue to be built by Pheon’s successor, Northshore Yachts but the 27 has been out of production for some years.
Bosun Bird is 27ft LOA (8.23m), with a draft of 4ft 6in (1.37m). Displacement is 8960lbs (4064kg), of which 3465lbs (1570kg) is lead ballast. She is cutter rigged, with roller furling on the forestay and a hanked-on sail on the inner forestay; she has twin backstays and running backstays to support the inner forestay. The engine is a Bukh 20hp, two-cylinder diesel. She is (as of 2019) equipped with an Aries windvane; other equipment includes an Iridium satellite phone, AIS (receive only) and the usual GPS/VHF. She has no refrigeration or watermaker.
And what is a Bosun Bird?
Bosun Birds are also known as Tropicbirds, and they come in three varieties: Red-billed (Phaethon aethereus); Red-tailed (Phaethon rubricauda) and White-tailed (Phaethon lepturus). They are medium-sized white tropical seabirds found in all the major oceans. They range far from land and are notable for their very long streamer-like tail-feathers. Bosun Birds owe their familiar name to the days of sailing ships, when their call was thought to resemble the sound of a bosun’s whistle.
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