Based on the number of C&C 27s racing in Canada, it's easy to see why our northern neighbors covet them as PHRF racers. There are many C&C 27s Marks I through IV listed for sale, and they make decent cruiser/racers, but as their SA/D is a sickly 17.3, I was more interested in the final permutation of the series, the Mark V, which has a SA/D of 20.32.  Introduced in 1984, the Mark V is a completely different boat than earlier C&C 27s. It's shorter, lighter, and much more performance-oriented. The Mark V's hull is solid glass, and there's a balsa-cored deck. A fin keel draws 4 feet, 10 inches, and its flat bilges lead back to a gently reversed transom and transom-mounted spade rudder. A tall, keel-stepped masthead rig with an '80s-style high-aspect-ratio main powers the boat well in light air. Like the Flyer, its 11-foot beam and high freeboard give the Mark V its comfortable interior. In the main salon, the galley is to starboard abaft the companionway with space for a navigator to sit on a short settee just forward of the galley. A full-length settee that folds out into a double berth sits to port. Another wide bunk sits to port under the cockpit seats, and a V-berth sits all the way forward. The head, with a hanging locker behind the toilet, is to port, aft of the V-berth.Jean Rivest, of Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, a new owner with one season of racing his Mark V, Neola, under his belt, is pleased with the boat's performance in a mixed fleet. "We seem to be very competitive," he says. "Our big competitors are a Tanzer 25, a Niagara 26, a Beneteau First 30.5. All of these boats are in perfect shape with almost brand-new sails. Our sails are good; we have a 140-percent genoa on a Harken furler, a main and a spinnaker, all from 1997. For now, we figure in the top five in each race." Rivest's 10-year-old sails, and rigging, while lightly used, needed some updating as well. His sailmaker is replacing the top two battens on the main with full battens, and repositioning the lower two. They'll also be making the main loose-footed, installing a 3-to-1 traveler, and change out all the halyards.  We found C&C 27 Mark V's for sale virtually everywhere in Canada and the U.S., with prices ranging from $18,000 to $30,000. www.cc27association.comC&C 27 Mark VLOA    26'6"LWL    9'3"Beam    11'1"DSPL    4,420 lbs.Draft    4'10"PHRF    172-183SA/D    21.5Years built    1981-1983Designer C&Cwww.cc27association.com