Overview
Launched in 1978, the Shannon 28 is regarded as one of the best-built production 28-footers to come out of America, conceived for everything from family day-sailing to serious offshore work for a liveaboard couple. It carries a genuine, independently documented claim to fame: Monk Farnham, a former editor of Boating and Rudder magazines, sailed his Shannon 28 Seven Bells singlehanded across the Atlantic in 1983 at age 74, earning the Guinness World Record for Oldest Solo Sailor across any ocean.
History
Walter Schulz, described as one of the last true complete boatbuilders (designer, rig inventor, half-model carver, and builder in one), founded Shannon Yachts in Rhode Island in 1975 with the Shannon 38. The 28 followed three years later as the line’s second model. About 50 hulls were built between 1978 and 1985, after which Shannon continued offering the design on a semi-custom basis through 1999.
Design and Construction
Schulz’s design goals were the usual cruiser priorities, seaworthiness, comfort, and stable handling, but he also wanted genuine sailing enjoyment. Heavy displacement and a full keel deliver the former; a rudder set well aft with the keel’s trailing edge cut away gives real responsiveness in exchange. The cutter rig, a favorite for offshore passage-making because it holds its balance across a wide range of wind, and a healthy sail-area-to-displacement ratio for its type, back up that intent. The hull is a one-piece fiberglass molding, hand-laid mat and roving with extra reinforcement at the bow, keel, and transom against grounding damage. Decks are balsa-cored fiberglass with a bonded, through-bolted hull-to-deck joint on 8-inch centers, and structural bulkheads are both strapped and continuously tabbed, a belt-and-suspenders approach typical of the whole build. Boats built before Shannon adopted vinylester resin and epoxy barrier coats carry a real, if generally mild, risk of osmotic blistering.
Under Sail
Beyond Farnham’s Atlantic crossing, the Shannon 28’s reputation rests on consistently strong build-quality reviews and inclusion in Ferenc Mate’s The World’s Best Sailboats Vol. 2. Owners and reviewers describe a boat that handles heavy air with confidence while still being genuinely enjoyable to sail in light conditions, an intentional design balance rather than an accident.
Buyers Notes
Three interior layouts were offered, including an offshore-oriented arrangement with an aft quarter berth. Practical maintenance touches include three separate, individually removable water tanks plus a separate fuel tank, none requiring structural cutting to service, and a keel/rudder configuration that lets the boat stand upright out of the water. On pre-vinylester hulls, check for osmotic blistering during survey; severe cases appear uncommon but are worth ruling out directly rather than assuming.
