By starting the thread with a possible comparison to J-105, J-30, J92, and similar... Oh MY.... there's just a very huge distance between the apples and the oranges in any comparison.
The strength of the E-27 is how it can go unexpectedly fast and still have a cruising interior. Comparing such a boat to what are like "daysailers you can also sleep on" is futile, IMHO.
There are a few faster
performance cruisers to choose from, but not too many...
I would certainly check out the Olson 911S from either Pacific Boats or Ericson. But even if you forsake all pretensions to a dual-use boat and buy something like a Melges or a Flying Tiger, you end with a day sailer that's faster on run/reach... and still.... gets run over by other much richer racers...
Sometime, study Nigel's E-27 pictures in the site splash screens.
Nothing slow or late-to-finish about that particular E-27!
I am not trying to be a Smart-A__, but, OTOH, there is the nearly-forgotten
strategy of:
1) owning a boat priced at considerably less than you could afford,
2) Equipping it with state of the art sails 'n' gear (and fair those fins really well),
3) Really putting in a LOT of tiller time learning how to sail it, and then committing 5 or 10 years to learning and doing - with a committed crew.
I get the "need for speed". But just don't equate that need with any assumptions about what will gain you more pickle dishes.
And let's not dwell on the practice (even in my own little sailing venue) of throwing pails of money into having a fast design for racing only, that has no effective competition in your sailing area. We have several guys here that have fast boats that have no real competition in racing due to lack of numbers, and then go off and enter the "cruising class" and "Win" (?) there against a gaggle of old pots that should not be matched against them anyway.
OK, sorry, turning 'rant' mode off now!
Loren
ps: speaking of speed under sail, check out a foiling Moth sometime. So much for 'speed limits' !!