S2 10.3, Good Perf Cruiser, JAM Racer?

[hobiesailor10]

I am considering a 10.3 and have found limited info published on-line. This forum seems like the place to get answers...

Does the 10.3 have a cored hull or is it solid?
Is the boat forgiving and easy to keep in the groove or does it take an experienced crew of 6-8 to sail it well?

I am looking for good sailing boat that is forgiving enough for a small family to sail, built well enough to stand up to a blow, has enough interior accomodations for the family to comfortably cruise for a week, and enough performance to be a respectable racer in the JAM fleet.

I appreciate any feedback you can give me.

 

[BobM]

I hope a 10.3 owner pipes up, but to be frank we don't seem to have one that is a frequent poster. Only 44 hulls exist, as I know one was scrapped, so finding one will be tough. It would be easier to find a 9.1, but some have their interiors stripped out for racing. At least some of the 9.1's are cored, but I don't know about the 10.3s. PHRF is about 120 for the 10.3 from what I found.

from Sailing Anarchist - "We got ours last year and it has been great fun. As mentioned, they are not the lightest boats out there racing and in our PHRF B fleet (we're at 120) we generally struggle against the 96 raters (Evelyn 32, J92, etc.), a well sailed Santana 35 at 126, and have our good and bad days against the J29s and others. It's a fun boat, can be a handful as noted off the wind when it's blowing (I did a lot of "dialing for dollars" on the Mills Race this year, going fast but working hard with the chute up in 20 or so with good waves off the quarter). The amenities are great (we make our own ice cubes, what's wrong with that picture?), cook in the oven, crap in a real head, do a lot of evening pleasure sailing, spent a week cruising this summer and generally enjoy life aboard a cruiseable boat after having raced a Soverel 33 previously.

If you are looking for the ultimate performance racing boat for PHRF, you may want to think about something else, but if you are looking for a good compromise boat, the 10.3 is worth considering."

 

[BobM]

Brian is active, perhaps try him.

http://forums.s2.sailboatowners.com/member.php?u=103441

 

[Doons60]

We're in our 6th year with our 10 .3 and still loving it. It's a great compromise between a club racer and cruiser.we're on the cruising end of the spectrum.

Your first question, the deck is a core of end grain balsa. Our deck is holding up well with exception of a soft spot forward of the port chain plate.

Second question, does it take a crew of 6-7? Maybe in a race you could use 5 but generally no. The boats fairly easy to sail, we normally go out with 2-4 adults. The boat tracks well and loves to go upwind. We've never been in really big water but we've sailed in 20+ kt w ind and were always comfortable. We have the 6' fin keel rather than the shoal keel, and this probably helps with that.

For cruising, the boat is nicely set up. Stove/oven, I actually pulled it out and replaced with a smaller 2 burner stove. Refrigerator, electric head, and bunks for 7, as long as there's no gear on board. Headroom is 6'2" *. I'm 6'1" and have slept in all of the bunks comfortably. We've taken long weekends with 4 and it's always been comfortable. Keep in mind it is a Racer-cruiser so the salon is well put together but somewhat utilitarian when compared to a cruiser. This being said, it's put together well with teak throughout.

We've not had any major issues with the boat, just regular maintenance items you'd expect with a boat of this vintage. Altogether we love the boat, it's sharp looking, comfortable, and performs well. I don't think you can really go wrong with one.

Good Luck.

 

[hobiesailor10]

Thank you so much for your feedback. You mentioned that the deck is cored with Balsa. Do you know if the hull itself is cored or is it solid fiberglass? I am trying to avoid a potentially expensive wet core in the hull down the road. Thx.

 

[H_O_Leopard]

Thank you so much for your feedback. You mentioned that the deck is cored with Balsa. Do you know if the hull itself is cored or is it solid fiberglass? I am trying to avoid a potentially expensive wet core in the hull down the road. Thx.

We got ours in April, and spent a lot of time core-bonding the deck hardware. There was quite a bit of rotten balsa there where the bolt holes had leaked water into the core.
The foredeck just aft of the baby-stay track had a big delaminated area, that a professional had to fix. We also had to have the stringers and frames re-glassed back to the hull since the tabbing was coming undone, and the wooden support under the mast step was rotting. We caught it early enough, luckily.

Just had her out in a PHRF pursuit race for the first time with a mix of experienced crew and newbies, and managed to get 6th without a spinnaker. Three of the boats passed us on in the last mile, so I think there's some potential with good crew and practice.


But to answer your question on the hull, no they are not cored.
-Bob
S2 10.3 Hull #7

 

[hobiesailor10]

We got ours in April, and spent a lot of time core-bonding the deck hardware. There was quite a bit of rotten balsa there where the bolt holes had leaked water into the core.
The foredeck just aft of the baby-stay track had a big delaminated area, that a professional had to fix. We also had to have the stringers and frames re-glassed back to the hull since the tabbing was coming undone, and the wooden support under the mast step was rotting. We caught it early enough, luckily.

Just had her out in a PHRF pursuit race for the first time with a mix of experienced crew and newbies, and managed to get 6th without a spinnaker. Three of the boats passed us on in the last mile, so I think there's some potential with good crew and practice.


But to answer your question on the hull, no they are not cored.
-Bob
S2 10.3 Hull #7

Thanks to all for your input. I made an appointment to inspect the boat. I will let you know how it goes.