[1][3][4][5] The Express 27 is an ultralight displacement recreational keelboat, built predominantly of vacuum bag moulding vinylester, S-glass, E-glass, Klegecell foam and a balsa core, with wood trim.

Designer Schumacher describes the concept in a 1985 interview in Latitude 38, working with builder Terry Alsberg on the design, "Terry and I started off with the idea of building a boat the same weight as a Moore 24, but two feet longer, but we eventually decided on the largest possible boat that could use a single speed (Barient 10) winch for the jib, which turned out to be 27 feet.

"[4] The hull design has a sharp bow, but also a forward flared shape, to prevent digging in while sailing downwind.

[3][4] Practical Sailor magazine noted, "A hefty ballast/displacement ratio nearing 50%, a painstakingly lowered center of gravity, a judiciously sharp entry, and augmented form stability are among the things that helped Schumacher create a boat that sails well to windward.

So, too, do her narrow footprint, reduced windage, easily-controlled sailplan, and modified V-sections aft (which aid sail-carrying without measurably increasing drag.)

Those sections (inspired in part, Schumacher said, by Aussie 18 skiffs) also help the boat plane quickly and controllably.

Materials and workmanship, certainly, but there's also the fact that Carl Schumacher didn't design spartan, crew-punishing boats, even if they were meant to be round-the-buoys or offshore one-design racers.