Everything you always wanted to know about S2's

[Doug Arey]

Hey folks,

I've been looking - and not finding very much - for posts from or about S-2's and S-2 owners. My partner and I have owned our 30' S-2 since 2001, and have found the S-2 to be an amazing sailboat. We think that it is a very well-built boat with an extra sturdy hull and rigging. Other than problems you might find with any aging boat, our now 31-year-old S-2 is still going strong, and looking better all the time. In comparison with many other boats we've sailed on and visited, the S-2 stands up very well in most respects. They are somewhat rare to find, but when we've talked with other S-2 owners, we hear of many of the same experiences; relatively fast, sturdy, safe, well-built, relatively low maintenance and easy to handle.

Are there other S-2 owners out there that care to weigh in with their impressions about this very nice, American made, sturdy cruiser?

Doug

 

[BobM]

I agree that we definitely need some more content on here. I started to add some, but Phil is still working out some bugs. For every photo I load I get a copy of the cover of a Cal 25 brochure LOL!

I'd like to see us add some reviews to the site. Given your long tenure and travels I'd love to see you post one. I need to write one too. I think S2 has a lot to offer someone looking for a reasonably priced good old boat compared to other boats in its price range. Certainly every 20-30+ year old boat needs work, but I agree that my 9.2A is what I was looking for...a solid foundation that was worth improving. Granted I still think you can put $10K into a $20K boat and still end up with a $20K boat at the end, but I don't care. I don't plan to sell her soon. I just really wanted a boat that was well designed and well built and with few exceptions (the engine beds for one) she is that.

She is a great alternative for those of us looking for something just a little bit different than the boat everyone else has. She is a decent performer too.

 

[Doug Arey]

Hey Bob,

I'm so glad to see that someone read this and replied!!

I take it you had some problems with the engine bed on your S-2? When we repowered ours back in 2002 we had to have the bed modified to accomodate the new, slightly larger (19 horse) Volvo engine, but the original bed was still very solid. What was going on with yours? Do you still have the original engine? Ours came with a 13 horse Volvo that bit the dust the first year we owned her. The new engine plus installation cost around $10,000. So I REALLY know what you meant when you said that adding $10,000 worth of new equipment to a $20,000 boat still leaves you with a boat worth $20,000.

Unfortunately we are selling our S-2. We still very much love the boat, but we started looking for a larger boat mostly because after spending time with friends on their 41 footer (a nice, older Bristol), we realized how much better we felt after a long day of sailing: basically, we ached less all over. Larger boats are easier on the body, there's no doubt about it. We found one that we fell in love with and couldn't pass up. I just hope it serves us as well as the S-2 has for the past 9 years. (We haven't put our "new" boat in the water yet, so we don't know how it will compare.)

Where do you sail mostly? I see that you're from Winthrop. We have kept our boat every summer in Westport, MA, and mostly sail around Buzzards Bay, out to the Vineyard, Block Island, and a couple times a year coming through the canal and going out to Provincetown. We've stored her in the winters in Mattapoisett. We've done some longer cruises up to Maine, and once up the Hudson to Lake Champlain. Now making plans to bring our new boat back from Lake Huron to our new summer port in Portsmouth, RI via the Erie Canal.

 

[BobM]

The tabbing holding the beds to the hull had separated in two locations. On the starboard side aft the tab came off the hull and on the port side aft the tab came off the bed. Both on the outside. The surveyor noted it and said it was one of the few problems with S2's. Rather than cut the beds to match the curve in the hull they just slopped down some expoxy putty as a base to level the beds then tabbed them in place rather then encapsulating them entirely in fiberglass. The original 14hp Yanmar 2QM15 is still going strong.

I looked at a Newport 30 at Tripp's in Westport two years ago. Owner is from Marlborough and is a really nice guy but the previous owner had improperly mounted everything but the kitchen sink through the deck and the core was entirely shot. I felt terrible but his boat couldn't be fixed with even another $10K per Carl. Soon after that we refocused our efforts on S2 9.2A's looking at one in Falmouth with gelcoat blisters and one in RI with all the Ports popped off and wasps nesting in the poor thing. Finally bought Triple Play in Milford CT, but she needed bulkhead work, which luckily was completed successfully by the previous owner.

I am familiar with Portsmouth as well, but just slightly as I spent a semester at Roger Williams in 1985.

Good luck with the new boat. Sounds like you have a bit more bright work than you are used to on your S2!

 

[BobM]

Wow...that is quite the aircraft carrier you have now! Sure you don't want to keep your 9.2 as a dinghy? LOL. I'd love to see some photos of improvements if you get the time. Did you ever replace the forward hatch? the fixed side lights? the sole (mine is shot)?

 

[richard965]

There are a lot of S2 9.2a boats in the Great Lakes. I think the reason you don't hear much about them, unlike high production boats, is that there are very few problems.

 

[BobM]

Well they were made in Michigan, which explains the numbers on the Great Lakes. They usually command more money there too. They made about 1000 9.2's, both A's and C's. In my experience they suffer from the same lack of maintenance issues as other boats, however There were a few things that really attracted me to it. I hadn't been considering S2, but was broadening my search after abandoning Newport 30's due to several issue, including structural problems with the bolt on keel of one boat. I recalled seeing the 9.2A new in Providence in about 1985-86 and liking it, so I looked at a few 9.2A's.

In general, the finish gelcoat on the hull is holding up well after 28 years, without the prevalent spider cracks you see on other production boats. The glass work done by Leon Slikkers workers seems above par or better than most. I just had a fellow sailor praise the utterly straight and true sides of the hull on my boat in comparison to his newer Pearson 303. The S2's were not, to my knowledge, built with a structural floor pan and the tabbed structure of my boat remains quite sound with no visible telegraphing of the bulkheads through the hull or oil canning.

The integral keel design was familiar after my Lancer 25, although the engine mounts and bilge access can be issues. The design of the bulkheads with sistered panels that are somewhat sacraficial turned out to be a plus. After looking at a number of 30 footers the head room and engine access (you can access everything but the starboard side with ease) are also above par for most 30 footers. I am also not a big fan of swept back spreaders, although I admit it creates a tactical change in your down wind sailing rather than being a serious negative.