S2 27 #50 goes back in the water

[Bob T]

Previous owner hauled her out about 6 years ago after buying a new boat. Wednesday 8/25 she'll be launched.
I've spent 4 weekends going over the basics and anything further seems to require getting her wet and shaking her down. One more seacock to replace first. Then watch the new shaft packing... Big question marks are just how old the sails are. Are the instruments still sound? And how much the rig will be out of tune. I'm new to a boat of this size, so bring on the advice. I have to move her about 50 miles up the Chesapeake to her new home. That ought to be a pretty good 'get acquainted' cruise, eh?

 

[JohnF261]

Bohemia River

Look forward to seeing another S2 up here! Where are you keeping her?

 

[Bob T]

S2 27 #50

I'm mooring at Two Rivers. A little nervous about the depth there, but mine is the shoal draft version @ 3'9".
I did see another S2 in one of the adjacent marinas when I was scouting. A little bigger... good looking boats!

 

[JohnF261]

Hi neighbor

I'm right next to you at Bohemia Vista. I have the shoal draft center cockpit, I'll look for you this weekend.

 

[Bob T]

Made it!

Hi John, I admired your boat a few weeks ago scouting for a home berth. I'll be in the dirty S2 27 on ball # 1 next door. I got in about 8:30 last night after a long day on the water. I started out in Chesapeake Harbor right outside of Annapolis about 9am. It was a good day for a maiden voyage, even though wind out of the east is usually not a great thing in these parts. It must have kept everyone else off the water, I saw astoundingly little traffic the whole way.

Now to borrow a pressure washer for the topside algae or lichen green fuzz crap in all the non-skid. And then a seal treatment or wax or what else do we like on 22 year old fiberglass?

The questions will keep coming...

Bob

 

[BobM]

Congratulations

It is a great feeling to get your new boat to its home port. I bought mine the end of May and got her home 180 miles the end of July.

I bet any nearby marina has a pressure washer and can take care of that for you for a reasonable price or even rent you the pressure washer. As long as you are just removing growth and not grease it shouldn't present a discharge problem, but the regs keep getting tighter.

 

[Bob T]

Here come the newbie questions

Glad to have a bunch of great info in the forums, folks. Here's a few questions.

How good are the oil soak sheets? Can I count on them so grab the petroleum so as to pump up and overboard the shaft drippings? Did it for the first time today and there was so much soap suds from my previous cleaning exercise that I felt ok about dumping it. The sheet looks pretty nasty as if it's doing the job.

My jib is not obviously sunscreened even though it's roller furled. there is a 12" plus band of white fabric that appears denser than the rest of the sailcloth, but I'm taking it down to avoid trashing it. The sails are 'older' Winters. I suspect the answer is "take it to a loft'...

How to determine if the harken rig is roller furl or rated for reefing? Poked around their website a bit but it wasn't obvious.

My cabin top traveler has two different stops on it. The bumpers will not permit locking the car dead center. Pain to reset each tack if that's the spot of the day.

(Lots of sail questions. I will be ordering Don's book next.)

When I fabricate a decent bilge pickup nozzle for the tiny angled space in the S2 27, who wants one?

Thanks,

Bob

 

[Scup]

Cabin top traveler

>>>You wrote:
>>>My cabin top traveler has two different stops on it. The bumpers will not >>>permit locking the car dead center. Pain to reset each tack if that's the spot >>>of the day.

Be absolutely sure that the older Lewmar cabin top traveler is locked down in the stops. DON'T (i.e., under NO circumstances) let the "detent" stop rest on hard rubber on track end stop without clicking down into a hole in the track! In a heavy wind, the rubber end stop can--and will--blow out, causing the traveler wheels to be lost. Since the old Lewmar traveler is obsolete, and wheels are not available, you will need to replace the entire f$%$@#* traveler. Ask me how I know!

PS. On the other hand, my new Harken traveler is WAY superior to old Lewmar traveler! But...if my wife knew how expensive this "mod" was, she would be VERY unhappy...

 

[Bob T]

good tip!

thanks Dave! I'll avoid that scenario. I'll have plenty of running rigging to replace off season.
Hopefully the big ticket items can be stretched out.
She'll have to ride out the Hannah leftovers today & tomorrow.
I have an extra mooring pennant on and I tarped over the companionway. It seems to let in more rain than I would expect.
Wishing the PO had an automatic bilge pump in her....

 

[BobM]

Automatic bilge pump

Definitely a high priority if you leave her in the water. The bigger the better. How is the condition of the sails? Did you tune the rig?

 

[Bob T]

Sail condition

The sails feel pretty good to me, but I am inexperienced with that sort of assessment. Maybe here's where I state that I have a lot of experience on the water as a young fellow with my family's various power boats, sailing prams & cats, A Wilmington (DE) Power Squadron Certificate from 1970+/-, and a very recently acquired '86 S2 27. The kids are out on their own and I'm looking forward to sailing the Cheasapeake a bunch. (I'll be encouraging my wife come along by plugging restaurant destinations. I'm happy with grilled cheese and a cold IPA.)

I've got a couple of local consulting connections I will call on for the finer points of rig tuning. On the run up the bay to get her to the new marina, I observed as much as I could to fit in with the S2 setup guide. Slacking on the lee side of the shrouds seems to fit the descriptions. She heads up strongly when the heel angle increases in a gust, so that must be a point to address. I need to learn a lot about balancing and sail trim. There is not a Backstay adjuster wheel on her.

The Genoa is very low cut. I don't like the way it's dragging on the bow pulpit much. There is not a lot of wear on the spreader protection strips. the sails carry the S2 27 logo, but I'd be surprised if they were 22 years old!

Hope to see how much rain got in from Hannah in the next day or so.

 

[Bob T]

Photo of sails yield any age clues?

Here's two shots of the sails. The wing & wing was in barely enough air to hold them and the close hauled shot was enough to make about 6 knots.

 

[BobM]

Sails

They look very nice and clean. Two comments...be careful about letting the main rest on the spreader. You should avoid it, if possible from a wear and tear perspective. Your main looks to be in good shape, as does the jib. Stiffness is a good measure of age. My brand new North main is REALLY stiff, like the cover of a paper back book.

As far as your genoa goes, what kind of furler do you have? I reread my manual and now realize that my genoa should be about four to six inches further up. It is a hood seafurl with a swivel at the top and hood recommends that the angle of the halyard to the swivel be pretty steep to avoid the potential for the halyard to wrap around the swivel, which is apparently a nightmare. Once I do that it should put my genoa above my bow pulpit.

Are the spreaders on your boat swept back? It looks like it, but it might just be the photo.

 

[JohnF261]

Sunset

Hi Bob, saw you enjoying the sunset as I came in tonight. I saw 6.2 kts on the gps! Nice afternoon of sailing.

 

[BobT]

Back from the shadows

Apparently my log in info got lost in the shuffle of the site update, but they've hooked me up again. Thanks Admins!

Thanks for the assessment! I'm gaining confidence that I'll get more than a few seasons out of these sails. Yes the spreaders are swept back and yes I don't sail with the mail against the shrouds (except apparently, when I'm jerking around with a camera.) I have noticed some side bend in the mast that those shrouds will soon adjust. The roller furler is a Harken and there may be room to raise it on this boat too. A few weeks ago I had the Missus hoisting the jib and before I had the tack shackled the head bearing assembly rose above the top of the foil and hung up. I really thought it was going to be my first trip aloft for an hour or so. I had the sail rolled in my hand and gave it one last flip around the front of the headstay and somehow the carrier settled back down where it belonged. Of course this was the day before Hannah was supposed to hit the upper bay...and it was getting dark...

Any recommendations for singlehander's climbing rigs? I know she can't hoist me up there!

Hope to meet Neighbor John soon. We had a good picnic that evening. I might actually get a weekend free soon...

 

[BobM]

Re: Back from the shadows

Yeesh...rigging hung up with a storm coming in...what a nightmare. The ATN top climber is supposted to be pretty good for solo ascent. Never used one though. It is pretty pricey at about $350-400.

FINALLY got down to the club today after two weeks of flu which progressed to pneumonia. I was getting nasty-grams from the club to come bail out my tender, which sits on a floating dock. When all the tenders fill up the dock threatens to sink and mine is at the end least supported. Of course it couldn't be the fault of the guy with the 150+ lb 25hp outboard on the VERY end that is tipping into the water could it?

 

[BobT]

Re: Back from the shadows

Made it to the masthead this weekend... with rock climbing gear. I wouldn't want to have to do much actual work in the rock-gym level harness I borrowed. It's pretty uncomfortable on the thighs and where it rides up the back. Just a safety rig, not for sitting in! I opted to hoist a climbing line on the main halyard and ascended it with blanchard knots on carabiners; one for the footloops and one for the harness. The Ascenders I looked at all looked to be very tough on lines with their spiny teeth. My mate tended the spinaker halyard on a winch as a backup. The hardest part of this system, and it may well apply to other rigs with leg lifting is getting the climbing line tight enough to lift the bottom ascender. I had to lift my knees way up high and use both hands to pull the knot up. A spring loaded ascender would slide more easily for sure.

At any rate it sure is nice to have a working windex and know that the shroud ends and top hardware is sound. I discovered the nav light was missing its glass lens on the way up and very efficiently snapped off the bare bulb on the way down. (Hanging on while a wake passed.) So next day I borrowed an empty slip and rigged a ladder on the foredeck to replace both. The hardest part of that was carrying the damn thing through the marina and out the piers.

Next I'll be suffering the consequences of not compounding and waxing the hull before she was launched. The bay water staining looks to be a challenge to clean on 24 year old gel coat. Oh well, that's one to do when it's back on stands; there's still some weather left to sail, dirty or clean!

 

[BobM]

Re: Back from the shadows

Good job. Too bad about the bulb on the way down, but I suppose it is always worth changing every bulb you can while you have the opportunity. My steaming light is working intermittently, but I don't know if I would be more comfortable on a ladder or in a bosun's chair. It is pretty high up on a 9.2A. I am jealous that you are still looking forward to weeks of sailing. I was sick for all of September and they just pulled my boat Tuesday. I did get in a sail on Saturday, but conditions were marginal with about 6 knots of wind. I think we got to ten degrees once. Oh well!

Adding up hours rather than trips I spent more time on the water than ever when I include the three day trip to her new home. Not much wind on that trip except for the last few hours. We caught a front passing through with about 20 knots steady with gusts to 30 easy. That would have been a pants changing situation in my old boat, but to Triple Play it was play time. Rock steady at 20 degrees over with a foot on the coaming to brace myself.

Now I just have to winterize and deploy her winter cover for the first time.

 

[BobT]

Do we know the hull speed of these boats, or where to look it up? Not that I'll get a chance to try to reach it til spring; She was hauled out yesterday. In a drizzle at about 45 degrees. Appropriately depressing for the end of the first season.

Lots of things to do on her before then though.

 

[Jim11240]

On land in the air or in the water?

In the Water the speed under sail is given by 1.34 x the square root of the waterline length or 6.47 Knots

Jim