USED BOAT: BOTNIA TARGA 27/27.1
The ‘flying potting shed’ that never goes out of fashion can be yours for as little as £50,000 today!
Lift the engine hatch of the Botnia Targa 27.1 and you’ll find a cord attached to the top of the hatch, the free end hooked on to an eye. Unloop it and attach it to another eye fixed on the trailing edge of wheelhouse roof and it will hold the hatch up out of the way. It’s not as sophisticated as a gas strut, but it will never drop the hatch on your head, will never ever fail, and when it starts to get a bit worn out, you can replace it with a new section of cord for less than a fiver. This one tiny feature encapsulates perfectly the very ethos of this boat – simple, workman-like, astonishingly practical and entirely free of unnecessary complication.
Botnia boats are built in Finland, and it’s that Scandinavian origin that shines through. With hundreds of islands dotted with thousands of summer homes, the Finnish have more boats per head of population than anywhere else in the world. And they work their boats, they don’t pose on them. Which is why Botnia boats have been affectionately referred to as ‘flying potting
sheds’ – they’re an entirely fashion-free zone. The beauty of this is that they never go out of fashion. Take a look at an early-1990s Targa 27 – conceptually and aesthetically, it’s identical to the later 27.1. This is interesting because the latter is not an upgraded version of the original – it’s a totally different boat!
THE TARGA 27
The 27 launched in 1991, the third model in the range after the 25 that started the line in 1984 and the 29 that came into being in 1989. The vast majority were single engined, usually a Volvo Penta AQAD 41 200hp diesel or the KAD 42/dp 230hp diesel, both offering speeds of around 30 knots. The special-order option of twin AQAD 31 150hp diesels was a very rare choice. But whatever the engine, the deck layout remains the same: deep forward cockpit, high-bulwarked decks either side of the wheelhouse and a flat deck over the motor aft. A mini flybridge is inset into the aft section of the coachroof. Looking rather precarious with its three seats suspiciously similar to 1980s school chairs, it’s actually surprisingly comfortable and secure once up there. Although the vast majority of 27s have this feature, it was in fact an option when new.
Sliding doors either side of the wheelhouse grant access to an interior every bit as ‘fit for purpose’ as the exterior. A helm and navigator chair face a square businesslike helm, or swivel to join the aft seating for a more sociable set-up at rest. Slide the cabin table down a central pole from its resting place against the ceiling to convert from lounge to dining room. A compact galley occupies the forward port corner of the dashboard, more suited to rustling up soup and a roll than a Sunday roast. Again, it was an option, though most boats have it.
The sleeping accommodation is unusually all back aft. A central section
Botnia created a brand new version that looked almost exactly the same as the old one, but was in fact a completely new hull and superstructure
of the aft seating slides to the side and two steps lead down to this lower level. At first glance, there appear to be two berths, one either side. Closer inspection reveals that the ends of these berths disappear under the aft deck one way and beneath the saloon seating the other, to create 12ft-long beds, allowing two people per side, sleeping head to head. Storage is limited to a shallow hanging locker on the aft bulkhead and lockers beneath the berths.
The only thing you won’t find inside is a toilet, but that doesn’t mean that the 27 does without. Head out to the forward cockpit and you’ll find a door that leads to an outside loo! Quite a good size once you’re in, the external location is incredibly practical during the day, and also creates the perfect location for stacking fishing rods or waterskis at the end of a day afloat. Did I mention the boat’s practical nature?
Most manufacturers like to give a model a midlife facelift. Keep the fundamentals (typically the hull and deck) the same but sculpt a new look and you create a new model without all the development costs of starting from scratch. You’ve probably noticed that Botnia like to do things a little differently, and the reboot is no exception. Botnia turned established thinking on its head by creating a brand new version that looked almost exactly the same as the old one, but was in fact a completely new hull, deck and superstructure. Slightly longer and fractionally wider than its forbearer, it’s worth noting that in an era where virtually all manufacturers began including the bathing platform in the length reference of the model name, Botnia stuck to measuring just to the transom – which is why a Targa 27.1 is actually almost 29ft long overall.
THE TARGA 27.1
The 27.1 makes a fascinating ‘spot the difference’ competition. You’ll win points for noticing the one-piece (but still completely flat) windscreen, slightly larger wheelhouse, improved flybridge console and a folding, rather than sliding, section of seating that grants access to lower accommodation, now available with a double-berth conversion for ‘consenting adults’.
Like the 27, the 27.1 could be had sans flybridge as a flat-top, but don’t confuse a non-flybridge version with a separate model spun off the hull of both versions. The Tarfish 820 is a dedicated sports fishing boat with a subtly different layout. Not only is the flybridge gone, but so is the lower aft accommodation. Bench seats replace the dinette inside, creating room for a door in the aft bulkhead of the wheelhouse directly accessing the
aft deck. Sunk into the aft cockpit sole (utilising the area freed by that lack of lower accommodation) are large fish boxes as well as a circulated saltwater bait well, tackle locker and prep area.
The 27.1 also ushered in new engines. While the first couple of boats were fitted with KAD motors like the 27, (either KAD 44 or KAD 300 giving 260hp and 285hp respectively), Botnia quickly adopted the then-new D6 engines from Volvo Penta. The majority were in 310hp/330hp format, lifting performance into the mid-thirties, but a few got the larger 350hp/370hp format offering an extra couple of knots (in both cases the mild power hike a result of an upgrade by Volvo Penta). Less common but also available were single Volvo Penta D4 motors in 260hp or 300hp (the former echoing the output of the earlier KAD 44-equipped boats).
One further motive option was the twin-engined 27.1. A pair of D3-220 engines gave a nigh-on 40-knot top end. Very rare new, only one 27.1 every couple of years went out with these engines, yet interestingly it’s a sought- after option on the used market. “We sell a lot to down-sizers” says Targa importer and dealer David Adams of Wessex Marine. “It’s a hugely popular boat with people who have had much larger boats, but perhaps the kids have left home or they’re feeling less able to manage a big boat or perhaps just less willing to fund it. The Targa is a really popular choice because it’s so manageable – a jump-on-and-go boat, and so very capable. They don’t feel as though they’re losing offshore capability. But they are used to twin engines, so despite the fact that Botnia – and indeed ourselves – feel the boat works better with a big single, they like a pair of throttle levers to play with”.
That comment about seakeeping is key to the 27.1, indeed to all Botnia boats, because they are absolutely phenomenal in the rough stuff. Tony Jones tested the original Targa 27 for MBY back in 1995, Dave Marsh presumably having not been invented yet, and Jack Haines probably not even born – damn his youthful fresh-faced exuberance. “We fully expected 30 knots from our test boat fitted with a single 230hp KAD 42 outdrive; what we didn’t expect was to get that speed quite painlessly in a force 6 and 2-3ft seas over a long swell. The medium-to-deep-vee hull immediately inspired confidence, giving an unusually level, quiet and comfortable ride”. Indeed, there’s a rather amusing story about a slightly larger Targa 31 being used as a photography boat for a racy 60mph Donzi in turbulent waters around Old Harry. Running in convoy, and perhaps inevitably given such a performance mismatch, the VHF call came to ask the other boat to slow down as they couldn’t keep up. But the call actually came from the Donzi…
VERDICT
In 2014, Botnia revamped this hardy perennial once more, with two very notable changes. Rather than the two head-to-head twin berths aft, the portside berth was shortened and widened, becoming a proper fixed double. It works brilliantly, creating a far better layout for couples, yet still allowing four to sleep in this area, ideal for a family.
The second change is equally welcome and groundbreaking by Botnia’s ‘gentle evolution’ standards: drum roll please… The 27.1 is now available with (optional) inside access to the toilet! The compartment itself is in the same place, forward of and below the helm console, but you no longer have to brave the weather for a nocturnal call of nature. If you’re in the market for a fast and very capable mid-20-footer, you’ve officially run out of excuses not to buy one of these.