I am considering buying a 9.2 S-2 (shoal draft). I would like to use it for coastal and ICW sailing and would like some feed back from anyone that may have some thoughts or experience in this area.
Think of buying a 9.2 S-2
- Thread starter gilSoo
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Is it the A or C version of the 9.2? I have the center cockpit (C) and have sailed it on the Chesapeake Bay. My future goal is to take it at least part way down the ICW. I am still trying to get some experience with this boat but am very pleased with how easy it is to sail and handle. There are others on this forum who have more experience than I have and will, I'm sure, weigh in.
It is the A version. I have heard that the S-2 is easy for single handed sailing and that it is a great lake boat but I would be out in the Gulf for some of the time.
I single hand mine all the time in and around Boston Harbor. The tee shaped cockpit makes it easy to reach forward to the winches, although you could mount a second pair further aft if you wished to make it easier. Garylinger and I saw a shoal draft 9.2A at his marina last week. The draft looked to be 4 feet instead of 5 feet but the keel was longer. Pointing ability should be pretty good. Likewise the rudder was a bit wider and a bit shorter. The 9.2A is a solid coastal cruiser. I moved mine from Long Island Sound to Boston. It is all about the weather you pick and the weather you get. I took mine out to play in a small craft warning last year solo and had a blast bashing around in the waves off the harbor mouth.
During the trip home to Boston we had little wind until we hit Scituate. We ran in front of a storm all the way to Boston in about 20 knots steady with some decent gusts. It was awesome. The boat was very solid and predictable. I am amazed at how stable she is even at a steady 20 degrees of heel in such conditions. We were sailing her like a racing dinghy that day. We didn't even have a reef in the main, we just furled the 135 up to about a 110.
Living conditions aboard are quite comfortable for two for short cruises. Four would be manageable if everyone gets along and is upbeat. She has berths long enough for six adults, but that would be ridiculous as you would be tripping all over each other and would fill the holding tank in a day or two tops (mine is 12 gallons).
The aft traveler is a mixed blessing. It is convenient to have the control to hand for single handing, but inconvenient when you sit on the main sheet and it pops out of the cam cleats :-O. However, it is easy to ease the traveler to one side to get it out of your way and you will find yourself using it more than perhaps ever before because of this. End boom sheeting also puts a lot of line in the cockpit at times and it can be a hassle to keep it organized and out from under foot when the weather pipes up.
During the trip home to Boston we had little wind until we hit Scituate. We ran in front of a storm all the way to Boston in about 20 knots steady with some decent gusts. It was awesome. The boat was very solid and predictable. I am amazed at how stable she is even at a steady 20 degrees of heel in such conditions. We were sailing her like a racing dinghy that day. We didn't even have a reef in the main, we just furled the 135 up to about a 110.
Living conditions aboard are quite comfortable for two for short cruises. Four would be manageable if everyone gets along and is upbeat. She has berths long enough for six adults, but that would be ridiculous as you would be tripping all over each other and would fill the holding tank in a day or two tops (mine is 12 gallons).
The aft traveler is a mixed blessing. It is convenient to have the control to hand for single handing, but inconvenient when you sit on the main sheet and it pops out of the cam cleats :-O. However, it is easy to ease the traveler to one side to get it out of your way and you will find yourself using it more than perhaps ever before because of this. End boom sheeting also puts a lot of line in the cockpit at times and it can be a hassle to keep it organized and out from under foot when the weather pipes up.
Thanks for the feedback . It sure was a lot of help. The next issue is if the keel is encapsulated cause the boat I am looking at has no access panels in the floor to check for keel bolts.
The info on the traveler was great cause that is the part of the learning curve thats a pain in the butt when is come to learning a boat.
Any info that you may have regarding the proclivities about the S2 that I should know please feel free to send it.
The info on the traveler was great cause that is the part of the learning curve thats a pain in the butt when is come to learning a boat.
Any info that you may have regarding the proclivities about the S2 that I should know please feel free to send it.
Yes the lead ballast is encapsulated on S2 9.2's. The specs state 4,000 lbs on both the 9.2/C and the 9.2/A. It's one of the reasons I bought my 9.2/C.
I can tell you that S2's are very well built sailboats, almost a secret to anyone not on the Great Lakes.
As long as her rig is in good shape I would have no problems sailing the 9.2 in the Gulf.
Good Luck with your purchase!
I can tell you that S2's are very well built sailboats, almost a secret to anyone not on the Great Lakes.
As long as her rig is in good shape I would have no problems sailing the 9.2 in the Gulf.
Good Luck with your purchase!
Her rig is likely original if she has closed body vs. open body turn buckles. All mine were original and mine is an 81. The closed bodies have several drawbacks. The turnbuckles must be lubricated to rotate freely and the closed ones gaul easily. I know this because my Marina wound a double kink in my back stay starting me on a replacement program early. I plan to at least replace the turnbuckles with open body turnbuckles shortly then do the rest of the shrouds when I drop the mast in a year or to do some major maintenance.
The one or two cylinder Yanmars are reliable, but do shake a lot at some RPM's. I was quite alarmed when I started mine for the first time LOL. Sounded like two guys driving a railroad spike! Look at the engine beds. Mine are really just a couple of beams bedded in epoxy putty instead of formed to the hull and tabbed in place with roven woving instead of fully encapsulated in fiberglass. Two of the tabs had separated from the beds, but they were easily reattached with epoxy.
Check the fittings that penetrate the hull from the inside. Any black or dark discoloration on the stainless nuts underneath is a sign of a potential deck leak. This might not be a major issue...most 30 year old boats will have some moisture in the deck during the survey. Check the chain plates especially thoroughly. Any sign of drips or stains on the wood around them could result in the need for a major bulk head repair. Fortunately the design of the boat lends itself to this repair as the panels the chain plates are bolted to are sacrificial and protect the main bulk head. I still had some damage to the main port bulk head though. See my post of the work that the previous owner had to do before I bought my boat on this site under "boat info" then "knowledgebase" ((if I recall correctly). If I had done a better job of matching the stain it would be virtually undetectable.
Check the alignment of the head door. Open it. There is a wooden stop on my boat across from the head door on the cabinet opposite it. My door hits the cabinet way before the stop. A few others have noted this and concluded that there either wasn't a block under the compression post under the mast (built into the port bulkhead) or the block, which would be wet by water passing down the head drain, has disintegrated. This is not a difficult repair and should not dissuade you from purchasing the boat. Just a negotiating point.
If there is staining of the sole in the galley it may be time to tighten or repack the rudder stuffing box. I finally figured that out after some help on this site and a following sea last year. Also note that some of the bolts involved in the rudder stuffing box area are not silicone bronze and may be rusty / degraded and need replacing. The sole in my boat has been sanded and repaired several times and the teak laminate is shot at this point. It is about $500 for teak veneered plywood plus time to repair.
The rudder post is solid stainless on my boat and my rudder is sound. This is a blessing as my last boat's rudder was saturated with water and the rudder post was a pipe, not solid. Solid is very reassuring.
I have a leak in the toe rail just aft of the bow pulpit in the vee berth. Again look for staining, this time of the polyester liner. The liner may be falling off the cabin roof inside, but this is not a difficult fix. All in all I like the fact that I can access the back of all my hardware and I like the polyester "mouse fur" liner versus none or a vinyl liner like I had in my last boat.
I have had my electric panel off and in general the wiring in the boat is decent and was not a concern.
Parts availability is decent, but you can't get a new head for the 2QM15, based on Gary's experience. I looked too and we also looked for a way to repair his cracked head, to no avail.
The good news is that engine access on the 9.2A is sweet compared to most 30 footers. I swear I could have mine on the dock in two hours flat if I had to. The only downside is that the engine cover is a little cumbersome to put back on the half hinges it is designed with, but that is a minor inconvenience at most.
Occasionally my 2QM15 won't start easily or at all. It doesn't like cold weather and lacks glow plugs. However, opening the engine cover and rigging a line to the cylinder pressure release allows you to get the engine spinning well. After it is doing so release the lever and it will then start. When it wouldn't start at all I replaced the cracked rubber starter button, which cost $20 and took five minutes. It still wouldn't start. We had a heavy dew that morning and had washed the boat down. I thought that perhaps things got damp. Jiggling the connections on the engine panel seemed to cure it and it hasn't happened again. However, posts on here alerted me to a known issue with this set up which can be cured by running a heavier gauge wire between the panel and starter. Not a big deal again. But the jobs on a good old boat start to add up for sure!
The encapsulated keel is great because there are no keel bolts to worry about, however, if you hit something significant with the keel you should either dive or pull the boat to check for keel integrity and to ensure you are not taking on water. A soft grounding isn't going to hurt anything, as the glass is quite thick. The downside to the set up is that the deep bilge is a pain to clean and the engine on the 9.2A is mounted right over it making pollution of the bilge inevitable. I put a disposable broiler pan under mine and a oil absorbing pad under the engine. I also put a reusable oil absorbing pad on a line so I can pull it up, wring it out and redeploy it easily. Given the potential fines for pollution I also put a bilge filter on my bilge pump hose. The bilge filter is about $100 including the element.
Whew...what else can I think of? Heavy crazing of the ports and hatches is common. All are pretty straightforward to fabricate and replace except for the companionway slider which the previous owner of my boat replaced. He said it was a significant challenge as there was machining of the plastic and then it had to be heated and curved.
Oh yeah! The aluminum water and fuel tanks will leak soon if they haven't been replaced and aren't leaking already. I think we have a big enough sample to say that decisively for 78-81's now.
That's enough for now.
Bob
The one or two cylinder Yanmars are reliable, but do shake a lot at some RPM's. I was quite alarmed when I started mine for the first time LOL. Sounded like two guys driving a railroad spike! Look at the engine beds. Mine are really just a couple of beams bedded in epoxy putty instead of formed to the hull and tabbed in place with roven woving instead of fully encapsulated in fiberglass. Two of the tabs had separated from the beds, but they were easily reattached with epoxy.
Check the fittings that penetrate the hull from the inside. Any black or dark discoloration on the stainless nuts underneath is a sign of a potential deck leak. This might not be a major issue...most 30 year old boats will have some moisture in the deck during the survey. Check the chain plates especially thoroughly. Any sign of drips or stains on the wood around them could result in the need for a major bulk head repair. Fortunately the design of the boat lends itself to this repair as the panels the chain plates are bolted to are sacrificial and protect the main bulk head. I still had some damage to the main port bulk head though. See my post of the work that the previous owner had to do before I bought my boat on this site under "boat info" then "knowledgebase" ((if I recall correctly). If I had done a better job of matching the stain it would be virtually undetectable.
Check the alignment of the head door. Open it. There is a wooden stop on my boat across from the head door on the cabinet opposite it. My door hits the cabinet way before the stop. A few others have noted this and concluded that there either wasn't a block under the compression post under the mast (built into the port bulkhead) or the block, which would be wet by water passing down the head drain, has disintegrated. This is not a difficult repair and should not dissuade you from purchasing the boat. Just a negotiating point.
If there is staining of the sole in the galley it may be time to tighten or repack the rudder stuffing box. I finally figured that out after some help on this site and a following sea last year. Also note that some of the bolts involved in the rudder stuffing box area are not silicone bronze and may be rusty / degraded and need replacing. The sole in my boat has been sanded and repaired several times and the teak laminate is shot at this point. It is about $500 for teak veneered plywood plus time to repair.
The rudder post is solid stainless on my boat and my rudder is sound. This is a blessing as my last boat's rudder was saturated with water and the rudder post was a pipe, not solid. Solid is very reassuring.
I have a leak in the toe rail just aft of the bow pulpit in the vee berth. Again look for staining, this time of the polyester liner. The liner may be falling off the cabin roof inside, but this is not a difficult fix. All in all I like the fact that I can access the back of all my hardware and I like the polyester "mouse fur" liner versus none or a vinyl liner like I had in my last boat.
I have had my electric panel off and in general the wiring in the boat is decent and was not a concern.
Parts availability is decent, but you can't get a new head for the 2QM15, based on Gary's experience. I looked too and we also looked for a way to repair his cracked head, to no avail.
The good news is that engine access on the 9.2A is sweet compared to most 30 footers. I swear I could have mine on the dock in two hours flat if I had to. The only downside is that the engine cover is a little cumbersome to put back on the half hinges it is designed with, but that is a minor inconvenience at most.
Occasionally my 2QM15 won't start easily or at all. It doesn't like cold weather and lacks glow plugs. However, opening the engine cover and rigging a line to the cylinder pressure release allows you to get the engine spinning well. After it is doing so release the lever and it will then start. When it wouldn't start at all I replaced the cracked rubber starter button, which cost $20 and took five minutes. It still wouldn't start. We had a heavy dew that morning and had washed the boat down. I thought that perhaps things got damp. Jiggling the connections on the engine panel seemed to cure it and it hasn't happened again. However, posts on here alerted me to a known issue with this set up which can be cured by running a heavier gauge wire between the panel and starter. Not a big deal again. But the jobs on a good old boat start to add up for sure!
The encapsulated keel is great because there are no keel bolts to worry about, however, if you hit something significant with the keel you should either dive or pull the boat to check for keel integrity and to ensure you are not taking on water. A soft grounding isn't going to hurt anything, as the glass is quite thick. The downside to the set up is that the deep bilge is a pain to clean and the engine on the 9.2A is mounted right over it making pollution of the bilge inevitable. I put a disposable broiler pan under mine and a oil absorbing pad under the engine. I also put a reusable oil absorbing pad on a line so I can pull it up, wring it out and redeploy it easily. Given the potential fines for pollution I also put a bilge filter on my bilge pump hose. The bilge filter is about $100 including the element.
Whew...what else can I think of? Heavy crazing of the ports and hatches is common. All are pretty straightforward to fabricate and replace except for the companionway slider which the previous owner of my boat replaced. He said it was a significant challenge as there was machining of the plastic and then it had to be heated and curved.
Oh yeah! The aluminum water and fuel tanks will leak soon if they haven't been replaced and aren't leaking already. I think we have a big enough sample to say that decisively for 78-81's now.
That's enough for now.
Bob
Thanks I just about made that decision. I was thinking of addling a bulb to the keel say about 700# for added stability.
Wow that is a lot of good info. I did notice some discoloration around the chain plate so I will handle that issue first. The boat is really in good shape with very little repairs to be done, considering the age
You won't need to add ballast. As the 9.2 heels you will feel her stiffen up a lot. It may seem "tippy" at the dock, but the ballast doesn't really start to be effective until you start to heel over.
Enjoy your boat and welcome to the S2 club!
Thanks for all the feedback guys. It is comforting to have others around that you can reach to for info.
My "boat to be" is on the hard and will towed to my house for limited refit and electronics install. I hope to have it in the h2o by Sept. .
By the way no additional ballast will be installed!
My "boat to be" is on the hard and will towed to my house for limited refit and electronics install. I hope to have it in the h2o by Sept. .
By the way no additional ballast will be installed!
Do you have a trailer for her?
I had a trailer built for SevenSundays in 2004. She was towed to Phoenix from San Diego in 2004. The trailer paid for itself in the first 18 months by not having to pay slip fees.
Again, good luck and enjoy your boat. You made a good choice.
I had a trailer built for SevenSundays in 2004. She was towed to Phoenix from San Diego in 2004. The trailer paid for itself in the first 18 months by not having to pay slip fees.
Again, good luck and enjoy your boat. You made a good choice.
Yea and No ! The fellow that is selling it currently has it on a trailer, which if I so choose, I could buy it. The real issue here is the towing since I don't have rig that is configured to tow it. It is a goose neck trailer and hell for strong.
He will tow it to my land and when I am done doing my electronic installs he will tow it to Kemah, Tx where I intend to keep it in a slip.
Thanks for again I feel good about my choice of boat to buy since I have been looking for over a year and even though I could have bought more I still could not pull the trigger.
I owned a 30' Hunter and thought I wanted bigger but this one just felt right !
He will tow it to my land and when I am done doing my electronic installs he will tow it to Kemah, Tx where I intend to keep it in a slip.
Thanks for again I feel good about my choice of boat to buy since I have been looking for over a year and even though I could have bought more I still could not pull the trigger.
I owned a 30' Hunter and thought I wanted bigger but this one just felt right !
Definitely no need for ballast. She will heel, but then be steady and solid as a rock at even 15-20 degrees. Interesting that you decided to buy even though you had owned an H30. I considered looking at the cherubini designed H30's as they have tee shaped cockpits, which was a must for us. To be frank I never bothered because one that was kept in my marina really looked to be in poor condition for its age. I know that was just one boat, but after seeing it on the hard the boat just didn't appeal any more.
My H30 was a fine boat for lake sailing. I was at the right place at the right time when I bought it. The then owner had lost his job with a mortgage company and had to move out of town to another job. He had just had a complete repaint form top to bottom and all new running rigging plus a fresh tune-up. All I had to do is jump in and sail. The T- shape cockpit was great since I often single sailed it and made docking easy. The only thing that bothered me was the two bladed prop was a little tricky to back (prop walk) into the slip which was a little tight.
Fact is mine was a cherubini design and I really enjoyed the layout. I suppose thats why I like the S2A since it is very close the same layout but just looks cleaner.
My friend bought the boat and I still sail it when I want.
Fact is mine was a cherubini design and I really enjoyed the layout. I suppose thats why I like the S2A since it is very close the same layout but just looks cleaner.
My friend bought the boat and I still sail it when I want.
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