s2 7.9 sailboat review

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Looking at an s2 7.9

• Thread starter SailingLoto
• Start date Oct 28, 2022
• Forums for All Owners
• Ask All Sailors

SailingLoto

I have an opportunity to make an offer on a 1984 s2 7.9 Boat has set unused out of water on a lift for the last decade or so. I understand these are balsa cored hulls. Anything special I should look at other than the typical sailboat things? I've been around a few s2s but nothing this racey. What are your thoughts on the s2 as an upgrade to my current c25 swing keel? I daysail on a lake, no racing, minimal overnights. Thanks in advance.  

S2 7.9 - Practical Sailor

jssailem said: Never sailed one. You should know what reviews say. Here is Practical Sailor’s observation. S2 7.9 - Practical Sailor Since 1974, Practical Sailor’s independent testing has taken the guesswork out of boat and gear buying. www.practical-sailor.com The association reports 400 were built. Designed to be a one class racing boat. It will be light weight design and spartan interior. Racing boats get used a lot. Often offered for sale when they loose their edge and can no longer stay up with the pack. The association states “ New sails are required, prerequisite to join association “ Good luck. Click to expand

FastOlson said: We used to cruise in company with a couple that cruised their 7.9 a lot. It's a minimalist interior, but it's all there , as the saying goes. Main feature is an enclosed head. Roomy boat and it sails very well. Nice deck layout. They had a small OD fleet here, but only for a few seasons; it proved difficult to keep 5 of them on a starting line. Their boat was later trailered down to Mexico by a subsequent owner who was living aboard some, and sailing a lot. I wonder if the OP is looking at the outboard model with the drop keel, or one of ones with the rare option of a fin keel or an inboard? Anyhow, get a good survey of the cored hull. (true for all the S2 "Grand Slam" series) Compared to their Cat 25, the will be a real joy to sail. Absolutely. And don't get stressed over the word "racing".... yeah, you can do that (heck, people have seriously raced OD in Catalina 30's in SF, for years) , but firstly the S2 is a really fast and fun sail boat. Click to expand

If it is the fixed keel it will have a double spreader rig. Could it be a S2 27 which looks like the 7.9 but is more cruise oriented. They only made about 6 fixed keel 7.9s used mostly for MORC racing.  

Good to know. It's a 7.9 drop keel. I checked it out today. Should get a look at it next weekend with the lift down so I can look at it inside and out.  

quadrille38

My first boat was the 6.7 (22ft) version of this boat. S2 built the 22s first and then later upsized to produce the 27s. Was a well built, fast and stable hull. As you say very Spartan inside but was a good boat. Mine was a 1980 model. Was actually the factory demo when I bought it. The design was a retractable keel. Vertically retractable into a trunk that ran up through the middle of the cabin. Winch on top of cabin to crank it up. The 22 was very trailerable and drew about 10 inches with the keel up. About 4 ft with it down. The 27 could also be trailered although as you can imagine a bit beefier vehicle to do it. I pulled the 22 with a Pontiac Grand Prix. S2 did have solid reputation for the quality of their glass work. It’s something they’ve generally been noted for. Some history - a guy named Leon Slicker built power boats under the Slickcraft brand until he sold the company to AMF corporation. He had a non compete that prohibited building power boats. After a few years he got into sail boats under the S2 brand. Some of the early boats weren’t great sailers but they got better. When the oil embargo of the 1070s ended and fuel prices started to go down, and the non compete expired Mr. Slicker decided to get back into power boats. The S2 brand quit Making sail boats and began producing Tiara and Pursuit power boats. I think if you look at the Slicker era slickcraft (before AMF kind of destroyed the brand), the S2 sail boats and the Tiara / Pursuit lines I think you will see generally high quality boats with what I’d say is very high quality glass work. Since my S2 I’ve owned an O’Day, a Catalina, and now a Hunter. All good boats in many ways but none of the latter had the quality of glass work as my S2 did.  

Scott T-Bird

It's a very nice boat design and quality wise and surely a more desirable boat for sailing performance, but I suspect it won't be as comfortable as your Catalina 25. They are both so similar in size. What is your preference? Performance or Comfort?  

I have not seen a 7.9 fixed keel. I know there is the 8.0 which is a fixed keel and is more roomy than the 7.9. If it's a 7.9, whether you race or not, this boat is fun to sail and is fast. It points well and has a lot to offer if you're interested in improved performance over a C25. It also has a very comfortable cockpit, except for the shin breaking traveler. If it's a 8.0, it will still be a nice boat, more comfortable overnight than the 7.9.  

Indysailor said: I have not seen a 7.9 fixed keel. I know there is the 8.0 which is a fixed keel and is more roomy than the 7.9. If it's a 7.9, whether you race or not, this boat is fun to sail and is fast. It points well and has a lot to offer if you're interested in improved performance over a C25. It also has a very comfortable cockpit, except for the shin breaking traveler. If it's a 8.0, it will still be a nice boat, more comfortable overnight than the 7.9. It's definitely a 7.9, it says it in huge numbers on the side. It looks fun. Unfortunately I had some health issues and haven't been back to look at it up close yet. Click to expand

We'll, it appears they did make a small number with a fk, according to Practical Sailor. The ones I've sailed have been very nicely built, you'll feel likes it's quite solid compared to a Catalina 25.  

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The Utiltarian Design of the S2 7.9 Remains Sought After Three-Decades Later

• By Dave Powlinson
• Updated: April 10, 2018

It’s late Sunday morning, and I’m aboard Chris Craig’s S2 7.9 for the National Championship. The mainsail slats as we wait for wind. A few sailors swim, and one practices backflips off his boat’s bow pulpit while the race committee dispatches its mark-set boats in multiple directions to scout for breeze elsewhere on Lake Michigan. We soon hear their reports over the VHF radio: There’s not much out there.

We’re wallowing in the middle of a large and stubborn high-­pressure system. It’s hot, and hardly September weather for Holland, Michigan, but we’re optimistic. This time of the year is usually a sure bet for wind, which is part of the reason the S2 7.9 class scheduled its 2017 championship here. Plus, our host, Macatawa YC, provides a great home base and easy access to the broad lake, making it even more appealing. It’s been “that kind of summer” — one plagued with light winds. Still, everyone is ­taking the drifting in stride. Maybe that’s because S2 7.9 racers are a patient lot.

Or maybe because they’re just happy to be together again, assembled in this special place where the whole S2 thing started more than 30 years ago.

Eight miles down 32nd Street from Macatawa YC is the ­sprawling Tiara Yachts boatbuilding plant. Today they build 30- to 53-foot luxury motor yachts, but from 1980 and 1994, the building was occupied by S2 Yachts, which put out an eclectic line of sailboats that included the 7.9. Riding the 20-footer movement of the late 1970s, which was sparked by the J/24 and eventually included boats like the Merit 25 and Olson 25, the 7.9 hit a sweet spot with recreational racers. Its lifting daggerboard allows it to be ramp launched and floated in 18 inches of water, and its deck-stepped mast can be raised by two people, making it a perfectly trailerable raceboat. The 7.9s were also built to last and retain a good resale value to this day. Plus, there’s an interior that packs in a lot for a 26-footer — three berths, a galley and a head.

While other designs of the time struggled to catch on, the 7.9 was a comparative overnight success. One-design racing fleets sprang up throughout Michigan and as far south as Nashville, Tennessee, and Florida. The 7.9, dubbed a “giant killer,” also excelled in PHRF and Midget Ocean Racing Club regattas. When production ended, 545s were built.

The Slikkers family founded the S2 company, hence the “S” in the name. Its sailboat line represented the company’s restart after selling its successful powerboat line to AMF. Designed by the late Scott Graham and Eric Schlageter, from Chicago, the first 7.9s were sold as the Grand Slam line, and although the name clearly represented what they hoped it would be, the boat was soon rebranded 7.9, which is the boat’s length in meters — that’s 25 feet 11 inches for imperialists.

It’s a testament to Graham and Schlageter’s ­utilitarian design that the boats remain sought after three decades later. “The value has stayed in the boats because they’re well-built and because of the price point,” says Tim Bosma, who has crewed aboard the 7.9 Hot Tamale since 1994.

Bosma also maintains the class’s one forum and some of its databases, so he has a good handle on what’s out there on the open market. “A while back, my skipper and I picked up one in Traverse City, Michigan, with a trailer, for around $7,000,” he confesses. “We’ll fix it up and sell it.”

The boat is a “blue-collar boat,” says Craig, who has been sailing 7.9s since he was 10.

Few people spend a lot of money on their boats, and class rules allow up to only two new sails a year. “Show up with bottom paint and race against boats with polished, clean fiberglass bottoms and still do well,” Craig says. “Boat age isn’t a delineating factor.” For example, the oldest boat at the championship is hull No. 7, owned by Drew ­Hilger, of Bay City, Michigan. No. 7 was built in 1981, and Hilger changed his sail number to 007 and named the boat Bond Girl , which is a reference to his wife’s employment at Gougeon Brothers Inc., manufacturers of West System epoxy.

“We’ve had it for three years,” Hilger says. “I don’t think it had seen much use, but it was also never upgraded. None of the blocks were ball-bearing, the cam cleats were not too friendly, and it had a lot of wire.”

The unspoken rule in 7.9 sailing is “the more the merrier.” To a point, of course, because the cockpit can accommodate only so many elbows.

Like many other 7.9 ­owners, the Hilgers bought one because they wanted a boat to race and cruise. “It just checked all the boxes. We took ours to Leeland [Michigan], sailed out to south Manitou Island, and spent three nights there,” he says. “With a 30-footer, it’s a three-day cruise to get there. We just put it on the trailer and were on the island later that day.”

This year’s championship is Hilgers’ first one-design event with the class, and they eventually learn that all S2 7.9s seem to move at about the same rate of speed, which means that once positions settle down in a race, there’s not much passing to be had, give or take a few nearby boats. And, it doesn’t seem to matter how many crew one has onboard. The unspoken rule in 7.9 sailing is “the more the merrier.” To a point, of course, because the cockpit can accommodate only so many elbows.

“Crew weight is not a big deal in this class,” says Macatawa sailor Michael Kiss, “which means you can sail with anyone you want: Bring family, guests aboard — it all works.”

For the Holland championship, Kiss is sailing with his wife Tovi, son Mitchell, brother Stephen, nephew David and family friend Michael Norris. They finish fourth in the 28-boat fleet, winning the family trophy for the top boat sailing with three or more family members.

Meanwhile, aboard Second Wind , Don and Jean Bergman are sailing with their two sons. Don and Jean are veterans of the Sunfish class, with Don boasting of 30 Sunfish world-championship appearances to date. A few years after Don’s previous wife passed away, he married Jean, and began looking for a boat they could sail together. They’ve owned Second Wind for 28 years, which isn’t a rare accolade in this class, but their ages — Don is 86 and Jean is 78 — are noteworthy, especially after they win one of Saturday’s races. “It was so much fun,” says Don, “and the crew loved it. We got into the lead early and just protected it all the way around.”

Before heading into Saturday’s final races, Bergman was ­thinking it was the last regatta for his team, but after winning a race, he’s now motivated for more. “We’ll definitely do Detroit (site of the 2018 championship) next year,” he confesses, “and maybe a year or two after that.”

Coming from singlehanded-sailing backgrounds, the Bergmans both like to steer, which creates an unorthodox system on board Second Wind . “We started with him steering, but the problem is he wants to look around and see everything on the course,” says Jean. “I don’t have to do that. I can focus on just sailing.”

They agreed that Jean would drive upwind and Don would take the helm on the downwind legs. “It’s not the greatest idea, but it works for us,” says Jean, who sits behind Don as he gets the boat in position for the start.

“If I can get us in the right place,” he says, “I hand the tiller over to her with about five seconds to go, and she takes it from there.”

Like the Hilgers, the Bergmans travel extensively with their boat in tow, but with Holland, Michigan, as their home port, going to other regattas, such as Chicago, 85 miles away, or Racine, Wisconsin, 75 miles away, usually means sailing or motoring. For them, the boat is capable of handling just about anything.

“One time, Jean and I were coming back at night, our motor quit, and our lights went out,” says Bergman. “The radio was telling everyone to get off Lake Michigan because a killer storm was coming, but we were right in the middle of the lake. So, we took the main down and sailed with our small jib. Jean was steering while I spilled the jib every time a 40-knotter hit. We couldn’t even see our compass. We just kept going.”

It’s a testament to Graham and Schlageter’s utilitarian design that the boats remain sought after three decades later.

Paul Letour, of Nashville, was 40 years old before he got his first sailboat. “I fell in love with the sport and went through a couple of boats,” he says. He didn’t understand one-design racing but grew into it and figured it out. “There were a couple of 7.9s where I live, so I joined up with them and never looked back.”

Letour then made the bold decision to attend a national ­championship. “We felt we were pretty good sailors, so we thought we’d see what we could do,” he says. “It was on Lake Erie, and out of 30 boats, we came in 30th. We went back with our tails between our legs, but I’m stubborn enough that I said, ‘Guys, we’ve got to do better.’ So, we kept going back and getting a little better each time. I wouldn’t go away.”

A retired dermatologist, one of Letour’s boats is named Itch and the other Scratch , but it’s more than just an homage to his former profession. “Itch is a synonym for a passion,” he says, “and a scratch boat is the boat you’ve got to beat, something you’ve just got to go after.”

He especially likes the ability to easily transport the 7.9: “Put it on the trailer. Come to Nashville. Go to Racine. Go to Holland. It’s all so doable.”

Accessibility also ranks high on his list of the 7.9’s best attributes. “This is a boat that, with attention to detail, you can sail to its numbers in maybe two years,” he says. “I have friends in Nashville who sail other boats, and it will take them 15 years before they can race them like we do ours.”

At age 72, Letour maintains two 7.9s. He keeps one at each of the two yacht clubs in the Nashville area, which naturally makes him the local spark plug and salesman. Letour eventually convinced other owners to travel to Nashville for an annual event called the Equalizer, which is held on J. Percy Priest Lake. It’s become a regular part of the 7.9 circuit, in large part due to Letour’s Southern hospitality, which includes housing competitors and ­serving them his famous gumbo.

While there’s plenty of enthusiasm among 7.9 owners today, like any boat that’s no longer in production, the boat does present its challenges: It’s balsa-cored, which, according to Bosma, is rarely a problem in the hulls. “Once in a while you’ll find some wet spots in the deck,” he says.

Then there’s the issue of replacement parts. The class recently found a company to build a dozen masts to class specs. Next is sourcing a builder for replacement rudders, a topic the fleet tackles at the annual meeting one evening after racing.

“It’s just another issue, like the other ones,” says Letour, “and like those, we’ll get it figured out.”

Which is to say it’s like waiting for wind to complete a class championship on a warm Michigan day. Even if the breeze never materializes, they find a way to enjoy it. The company couldn’t be better.

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• Sailboat Reviews

A roomy, well-built middle-of-the-road cruiser with both aft and center cockpit versions.

The history of S2 Yachts is in many ways a parable for the modern fiberglass sailboat industry. Begun in 1974 by an experienced fiberglass builder, the company grew rapidly, building first some unattractive “two-story” cruisers, followed by a series of conventional cruiser-racers in the late ’70s and early ’80s, then a successful fleet of race-oriented cruisers in the mid ’80s. Finally, as sailboat sales took a nosedive in the late ’80s, the company converted its entire production to powerboats.

In late 1989, the company was approached by the class association of its popular 26′ racer, the S2 7.9. Would the company be willing to do a small run of 7.9s for those serious racers who wanted to replace their seven-to nine-year-old boats? The company thought it over and said, yes—provided they could be guaranteed 10 orders.

As we write this, the class association and S2 dealers around the country have been unable to come up with the 10 orders, and the company has cancelled the offering, perhaps the end of sailboat building by this prosperous company, and perhaps also an unfortunate commentary on the sailboat industry.

During its heyday, S2 developed a strong reputation for good quality boats. The company was founded by Leon Slikkers after he had sold his powerboat company, Slickcraft. As part of the sales agreement, he was not to make powerboats for a period of time, but there was no restraint on sailboat building. So he built a new plant which was, at the time, a model for production-line efficiency. Among other things, the hulls were laid up in an enclosed, climate-controlled room, and they remained in molds until most of the interior was installed to ensure that there was as little deformation of the basic molding as possible.

In the late 1970s, S2 did start building powerboats again, and soon established its Tiara line at the top end of the market. As evidence of Slikkers’ insight into the business (as well as a bit of luck, perhaps), when the conglomerate that owned Slickcraft began to see declining sales in the early ’80s, S2 was able to buy Slickcraft back at a fraction of its original sale price. And of course, S2 enjoyed the boom in powerboat buying which accompanied the decline in sailboat sales during the mid and late ’80s.

From the start, Slikkers also assembled an experienced crew of builders and sellers from the local area. At the time, Holland, Michigan, was the home of Chris Craft as well as Slickcraft and several other smaller powerboat builders.

The company continues today with a strong crew, managed primarily by Slikkers’ son, David, and other family members. The company personnel helped establish a reputation for good relationships with S2 owners, a reputation which continues, even though the company is no longer in the sailboat business.

In preparing this story, we talked with a number of S2 9.2 owners who reported that they are still able to get information, advice, and some parts and equipment from the company.

The Boat and Builder

As its nomenclature suggests, S2 Yachts was one of those few American companies willing to commit to the metric system when the government said it would be a good thing to do. The 9.2 stands for 9.2 meters, as with the company’s other boats (7.3, 7.9, 10.3, etc.). S2 stuck with the classification for a long time, only advertising the 9.2 as the S2 30 after it had been in production for years (not to be confused with the later S2 30 designed by Graham & Schlageter).

The boat overall is 29′ 11″, the most common length of 30-footers in those days when one of the popular racing rules—the Midget Ocean Racing Club (MORC)—required boats to be “under 30 feet.” The boat was built in two configurations, from 1977 to 1987. The 9.2C was a center-cockpit version, and the last one built was hull number 427. The 9.2A was the aft-cockpit version, and the last one built was hull number 520.

From talking to the company, it is unclear whether the hull numbers represent the actual number of boats built. In the 70s, it was not unusual for companies as part of their marketing strategy, to start a production run with hull number 10, or even hull number 100, so that a model would appear to be more popular or successful than it actually was. The people currently at S2 simply didn’t know if that had been done, but we suspect the total of 947 hull numbers is more than the actual number of S2 9.2s built. Nonetheless, the 9.2 had a successful run.

The 9.2 was designed by Arthur Edmunds, who was S2’s “in-house” designer. Beginning in 1981, S2 built a number of racing-oriented cruisers designed by the Chicago naval architects Scott Graham and Eric Schlageter, but all of the earlier cruising boats were done by Edmunds. Edmunds also contributed engineering and design detail to Graham & Schlageter’s hull designs.

We would describe the 9.2 design—and all of Edmunds’ S2s—as moderate and conventionally modern. The hull has short overhangs, a relatively flat sheer, a long fin keel, and spade rudder. The boats are reasonably attractive, and the aft-cockpit model has pleasing proportions. The center-cockpit model has a high, boxy superstructure whose profile is relieved by good contour moldings of the deckhouse, cockpit, and aft cabin.

One advantage of the conventional looks of the 9.2 is that it is not likely to go out of fashion—a plus for the boat holding its value. Though the rigs were identical on all versions, shallow-draft keels were a popular option; these reduced the draft from 4′ 11″ to 3′ 11″. The deeper keel doesn’t seem excessive for most waters and is our choice. The lead ballast is internal. S2 did a good job of embedding and sealing the lead in the keel cavity, so leaking should be minimal even in a hard grounding.

The hull is a conservative hand-laid laminate, and the deck is balsa-cored. S2 used a conventional inward-turning flange to attach the deck, with an aluminum toerail for protecting the joint. S2 is known for good glass work, particularly gelcoats, and almost all the used 9.2s that we have seen still are cosmetically good or recoverable with a good rubbing out.

Sailing Performance

‘Adequate’ would be a good way to describe the sailing performance of the 9.2. The boat came with a deck-stepped Kenyon spar and North sails as standard, later with Hall or Offshore spars. The rigging and other sailing hardware was good enough in quality that little re-rigging or upgrading is likely to be needed.

The used 9.2 we examined thoroughly, for example, had internal halyards, reef lines and outhaul, a good Harken mainsheet traveler, Lewmar #8 halyard winches, and two-speed Lewmar #30s for the jib sheets. On the down-side, every equipment list of used S2s we looked at listed the original North sails, with an occasional newer furling genoa. One disadvantage of a late model boat with good gear is that the owner is less likely to upgrade before he sells it, so the second owner probably will be facing the purchase of new sails.

When we sailed a shoal-draft 9.2, our initial reaction was surprise at its tenderness. Other owners in our survey agree that the shoal-draft model heels fairly easily, and a number thought that even the deeper draft model was tender. Several reported that you need to reduce sail fairly early to keep the boat on its feet and sailing well.

The boat sails reasonably well. The one we were on, however, would not go to weather decently—a combination of the shoal draft and a well-worn suit of sails. On other points, the boat was respectable. Close and broad reaching, it moved very well and was just a bit sluggish running.

She’s not a fast boat by contemporary standards. In most areas, the 9.2 carries a PHRF rating of 180 seconds per mile (six seconds slower for the shoalkeel), which is six seconds per mile slower than a Pearson 30 and 12 to 15 seconds slower than the popular Catalina 30 with a tall rig. In contrast, the 9.2’s racing-oriented sister, the S2 9.1, a 30-footer, rates 50 seconds per mile faster.

On the plus side, the boat is easy to sail, with a good balance between main and jib sail area. The running rigging and deck hardware is well set up. Oddly, not one equipment list for used 9.2s that we looked at had a spinnaker or spinnaker gear, an indication that the boat is rarely raced. However, if someone is interested in an occasional club race, the boat should sail up to its rating, assuming the sails are good and the boat well handled.

The deck is well laid out, though the walkways are a bit narrow for getting forward, and there’s a considerable step up into the center cockpit. Details of the deck—anchor well, bow fittings, cleats, halyard runs, and so forth—are well executed.

Performance Under Power

A few of the 1977/1978 boats were sold with an Atomic 4 gas engine. After 1979, diesels were installed. Through 1984, the engines were 12-hp or 15-hp Yanmars, or 12-hp Volvos. In 1985, a Yanmar 23 was optional.

The Atomic 4 was a good engine for the boat, as was the Yanmar 23. However, a number of owners report that the boat is underpowered with the Yanmar 12 and 15, and the Volvo 12. For a 10,000 pound boat, 12 to 15 hp would be adequate by traditional standards, but many sailors seem to want a little more these days. The Yanmar 15 in the boat we sailed had no trouble pushing the boat in calm waters, but the owner did say that the boat couldn’t buck any kind of head sea. For some, the optional Yanmar 23 will make the later models more desirable.

In the center-cockpit model, many owners complained about the inaccessibility of one side of the engine and the difficulty of getting at the dipstick, but otherwise the engine was serviceable. A few boats were apparently sold with raw-water cooling rather than a heat exchanger. We’d be cautious about one of the older boats with raw-water cooling unless it had been kept exclusively in fresh water.

The interior was undoubtedly the strong selling point of the boat. For the most part, the belowdecks finish is well done, and there’s about as much usable room below as you could get without making the hull significantly larger.

S2 was one of the first sailboat builders to use fabric as a hull liner, and it became almost a trademark of S2 interiors. The fabric is a neutral-colored polypropylene, treated to be mildew resistant. When we first saw the fabric, we were skeptical, wondering how it would hold up to saltwater soakings. But having owned a smaller S2 for five years, we finally became converts; in fact, in refitting our current boat, we used the fabric extensively, rather than replacing aged vinyl and wood veneer ceilings. The fabric is contact-cemented to the hull, and it holds up amazingly well, absorbing virtually no water. It is quite resistant to mildew and stains. The new owner of an S2 will want to find a good, compact wet/dry vacuum cleaner, which is the required maintenance equipment for the fabric.

The rest of the interior has teak veneer plywood, Formica, and solid teak trim, and the workmanship is good. Layouts changed little throughout the production of the boats. The aft-cockpit model is conventional, with a V-berth that is a bit short, a large head and hanging locker, a large dinette/settee with a settee opposite, and an L-shaped galley with a chart area/quarter berth opposite. There’s adequate stowage under the berths and decent outside stowage in the lazarettes.

The center-cockpit model moves the main cabin forward and the head aft, near to and partially underneath the center cockpit. The galley is opposite the head, running lengthwise down the port side of the cabin and partially under the cockpit. The aft-cabin is roomy, with an athwartship double berth and good locker space. The shortcoming of the center cockpit is that there is virtually no outside storage.

Choosing between the center and aft cockpit is largely a matter of personal preference. With children, or two couples cruising, the aft cabin is hard to beat for livability.

Overall, the interiors are well enough designed and executed that little major work or upgrading should be necessary on most used boats. Many people will want to replace the alcohol stoves on earlier models, perhaps add refrigeration (or replace the original Unifridge), and perform the normal long-term maintenance of re-upholstering, but otherwise the interiors should need little major attention.

Conclusions

The S2s were well-built. Whereas other production companies frequently cheapened or upgraded models from year to year to find marketing niches, S2 made boats to sell near the high end of the production boat market, and kept the quality at a consistent level.

The 9.2s have maintained their value about as well as any 30-footer in the current market. Because the only significant advantage of the 1986 model is the larger Yanmar engine and newer equipment, we would gladly take one of the older 9.2s at a lower price, since the necessary upgrades could easily be done (sails, cushions, electronics) and the final cost would still be much lower than the newer boat.

It’s easy to pay too much money for a used boat these days, but S2 owners generally think they have a good product, and they’ll probably be harder to dicker with than many sellers.

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR

Somehow this article is almost an exact copy of an earlier article here: http://www.sailingbreezes.com/sailing_breezes_current/articles/july99/s2review.htm by Thom Burns. Some sentences are exactly identical…

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S2 7.9 Detailed Review

If you are a boat enthusiast looking to get more information on specs, built, make, etc. of different boats, then here is a complete review of S2 7.9. Built by S2 Yachts (USA) and designed by Graham & Schlageter, the boat was first built in 1981. It has a hull type of Lifting Keel and LOA is 7.9. Its sail area/displacement ratio 19.87. Its auxiliary power tank, manufactured by undefined, runs on undefined.

S2 7.9 has retained its value as a result of superior building, a solid reputation, and a devoted owner base. Read on to find out more about S2 7.9 and decide if it is a fit for your boating needs.

Boat Information

Boat specifications, sail boat calculation, rig and sail specs, accomodations, contributions, who designed the s2 7.9.

S2 7.9 was designed by Graham & Schlageter.

Who builds S2 7.9?

S2 7.9 is built by S2 Yachts (USA).

When was S2 7.9 first built?

S2 7.9 was first built in 1981.

How long is S2 7.9?

S2 7.9 is 6.61 m in length.

What is mast height on S2 7.9?

S2 7.9 has a mast height of 8.97 m.

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• By Richard Smith
• Updated: October 22, 2012

Within a wide field of well-designed and competitive racer/cruisers of the 1970s, the S2 9.2 stands out, mainly because it wears its age very well. Without a scoop transom and boarding steps or skinny portlights below the sheer, it still looks modern. The flat sheer, sloping deckhouse, almost-flush Lexan forward hatch, hinged anchor lid, and tinted deadlights are familiar features on boats built three decades later. The carefully detailed teak handrails set on molded fiberglass spacers are unobtrusive while emphasizing the hull’s refined shape and unified design. Nothing is exaggerated in the interest of the fashions of the day or to suit a rating rule.

Powerboat builder Leon R. Slikkers founded S2 Yachts in 1974 and commissioned Arthur Edmonds, designer of the Allied Princess 36 and Mistress 39, to design the S2 9.2A (for its aft cockpit) and the S2 9.2C (for its center cockpit). Over 700 A and C models were sold. Both versions have the same hull, fin keel, partially balanced skeg-hung rudder, and masthead sloop rig. The single-spreader aluminum mast, painted black (an S2 trademark) is stepped on deck over a compression post that’s built into the main bulkhead.

The hull is solid, hand-laid fiberglass. It has an inward-turning flange at the sheer to which the balsa-cored deck is bolted through an extruded aluminum toerail. There’s no molded interior liner. Bulkheads and furniture are tabbed to the hull, which contributes to its structural stiffness. Two tons of lead ballast is encapsulated in a sealed keel cavity. Well-cared-for boats show little wear and tear after three decades of hard sailing, and, owners agree, the gelcoat is generally free of stress cracks even where moldings take tight bends.

The T-shaped cockpit is comfortable and workmanlike. The starboard seat opens to general storage and access to the stuffing box and engine controls. Additional storage is located under the helmsman’s seat in twin lazarettes.

Everything on deck is carefully laid out. The mainsail is sheeted abaft the 28-inch wheel, where it’s out of the way but in reach of the helmsman. The 8-inch stern cleats are mounted on anti-chafing pads and close to hand. Engine controls are similarly convenient to the helm. Early boats had Atomic 4s, but a variety of diesel engines were fitted after 1978.

The engine box provides a wide first step down to the cabin. A small corner galley to starboard of the companionway contains a sink, icebox, and stove. Opposite is a quarter berth and navigation space with a folding seat and table. Headroom is 6 feet 3 inches aft and drops gradually to about 5 feet 10 inches toward the forward cabin.

The saloon table and settee convert to a double berth and, together with a 6-foot-6-inch settee opposite, make a comfortable eating, lounging, and sleeping area. A double berth is located forward of the wardrobe and head area. Generous use of teak, both solid and ply, contributes to a sense of quality throughout the boat, but the polypropylene carpeting used to line the hull ages unattractively.

Sailing the S2 9.2 is a treat. In 15 to 17 knots, it heels sharply under the mainsail and 150-percent genoa before settling in to make 5 or 6 knots upwind. Weather helm is noticeable in stronger gusts, but the boat is generally well balanced and always manageable, even in lumpy seas. All in all, the S2 9.2 is a well-designed, tough, and able 30-footer with good performance for racing or cruising.

Architect Richard Smith and his wife, Beth, sail their Ericson Cruising 31, Kuma, in the Pacific Northwest.

Find more Cruising World boat reviews here . Read the review of the S2 8.6 here .

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Hey all- I'm currently looking for a fairly easy to trailer "large" sailboat, and I have mostly settled on the S2 7.9 due to the fact that it sits on basically a large powerboat trailer (no fixed keel) so it sits fairly low and can be launched into very shallow water and it appears to be quite fast and fun. I do realize that it is a "race" boat and as such is fairly spartan below and may not have as easy of a motion in waves as something like a Catalina 25, but I think that it is (probably) worth the sacrifice. Does anyone have any first hand experience with how it handles and feels in 3-5 ft waves and 20-25 knot breeze? I need it to be stable enough to not scare my wife (or she won't go sailing with me on anything bigger than the local lakes and reservoirs...defeating much of the purpose of getting a larger boat), but I don't want a slow beast either... The shallow water launching is very important to me, which admittedly 80% of the reason I'm enthralled with this boat, especially since it is combined with very good sailing dynamics. Thoughts? Thanks! Brandon  

Other than the newer various sport boats (Melges etc) something like the S2 is likely going to be a good decent performing trailerable, esp since shallow launching is a priority. Haven't sailed one but have raced against one.. It went very well. Certainly this would be a better sailing boat than any of the crop of water ballasted trailerables. Not sure how much weight is in the daggerboard/lift keel..  

Faster- Thanks for the reply! Yeah, I've done enough research on the boat to know that from a racing/performance perspective is is an excellent performer (especially for a trailerable lift-keel boat). I have no interest in the water ballasted boats, mostly because I'm not a fan of their aesthetics, but also because if I'm going to have a smallish (read: not blue water) boat, I want something that is FUN to sail, and that tend to favor the fixed ballast or at least lifting (ballasted) keel boats over the water ballasted + un-weighted centerboard boats. At this point, I'm totally convinced of the performance qualities, and am willing to live with the spartan accomodations (we will likely at spend at most a week or so at a time cruising around on the boat), but I would still like some thoughts on the "motion comfort" and "cruisability" of the boat and whether or not it will beat us to heck in moderate wave action. Thanks! Brandon  

I suppose that I should give a point of reference to make it easier to see what I'm asking about. We currently own a 17.5 foot "micro cruiser" keelboat (its a Renkin 18) which displaces 1220 pounds, has 450 lbs of ballast, a draft of 2 feet, and a sail area of 150 ft^2. The S2 7.9 displaces ~4500 lbs with 1750 lbs of ballast, 5 feet of draft (lift keel down), and has sail area of 329 ft^2. Intuitively, to me anyway, it seems that the motion of the 7.9 and its ability to "bust through" wave action should be SIGNIFICANTLY better than our current boat due to both its increased mass, ballast, draft, and mast height [lending increased rotation inertia]. Now, a story: The wife and I took the Renkin out on Grand Traverse Bay over Labor day and were having a great time sailing around until the wind picked up from 8-10 knots to 20-22 knots and starting building waves to 3-5 feet. We ended up bringing the sails down (because they don't have any reef points..something that really really needs to be added if we were to take that boat out like that again) and motored back, which wasn't much fun and bounced us around a lot. Long story short: the wife said that we needed to get a bigger boat or she wouldn't want to do that again, so I want to make sure that I'm not making a mistake going for something like the S2 that has a bunch of qualities I want in sailboat and (possibly) compromising too much on the (relative) "comfort" factor. The Renkin was also rather bouncy at anchor when we slept on it, which I would like to reduce as much as possible.. Thanks for your thoughts! -Brandon  

Again, I haven't sailed the S2 but I expect you'll see a HUGE difference between the boats considering where you're coming from. Any boat that isn't properly prepared for 20+ knots of breeze won't be much fun, as you've seen. Smaller boats can be more difficult still. I think you and your wife will be better off with the S2, but not as "comfy" as a say a Catalina 25.... However you'll be quicker.  

I'v sailed 7.9s and raced against them for years. They perform very well in waves and chop. The boat has a big main, you can actually sail sans jib when wind is over 20 quite nicely. The down side is that the boat can be a little under ballasted. Small jib full main combo to about 20 knots works. Surfing with board up downwind in 15-25 is a blast. For my money it is about the fastest trailerable out there for reasonable money (ok the Presto 30 is faster but add another 80K). The carpeted headliner is a minus. They tend to get moldy and are a pain to remove. The glue used seems to bond rather well to the fiberglass. Another area to look out for is the rudder attachment. Most have been reinforced and/or retrofitted with stainless plates. They also have an inboard model. The BMW diesel tends to be problematical with age and expensive to maintain. Some of these inboards have been retrofitted with 1 cyl Yanmars which is a more reasonable solution. The inboard is preferable in bigger waves and chop as it does not come out of the water like an outboard prop. It is not exactly a ling distance cruiser but it is a fun boat to sail. You can trailer it to where you want to go and happily live/sail on it for a week with little problem. I wouldn't be afraid to be out in a blow with one but for the big stuff you need some heft which translates into a boat that would not be trailerable. Some owners have told me that the boats with hull number 400 or higher are the ones to look at.  

hold on there mate, laughing sally, a 7.9 from cedar island yacht club was racing on the detroit river with board up and spinnaker up in maybe 15-20 knots. boat capsized, went under and was never seen again. all the crew was fine. not much of a blast there.  

Faster: Thanks for backing up my general intuition, as that is what I thought as well, but I wanted a reality check to make sure that what my gut tells me is correct. Sanduskysailor: Thanks for the first hand account, that's exactly what I was looking for! I must say that you have hit on the main thing that I don't like about the boat: all the carpet..would it have been so hard for them to just gelcoat/paint the interior rather than put that junk all over it? If I end up getting one of these, that would likely be my first major winter project, ripping all of that out, fairing the ceiling out and painting it, and possibly doing a good number of the walls with teak strips...to make it a little less spartan looking on the inside. One of the boats I'm considering has the BMW diesel in it, and I have generally considered that somewhat of a plus for the very reason you mentioned, but I am wary of the upkeep and maintenance, and am now leaning towards preferring an outboard and dealing with the disadvantages there.. I appreciate the tips on what to look for, that will be very helpful when I go to look at them. I'm definitely leaning majorly towards this model of boat! Now, I don't suppose that you know anyone that has a good one for sale?? I'm in Indiana, so assuming you are in Sandusky, OH, I'm quite close... Also: WOW, I had never heard of the Presto 30, that is QUITE the boat, I bet that it would be a lot of fun to sail!  

Rhys, I think you are on the right track. There are a couple of great 7.9s at my club but neither is for sale. There are quite a few on the Great Lakes and in western Lake Erie. They come up for sale from time to time. I have seen one that had the interior redone. The carpeting was stripped out, sanded, cleaned,sanded,cleaned. I'm not sure that I would bother fairing interior out. Use a good oil based BONDING primer (XIM 400W is highly recommended) and a good oil alkyd exterior topcoat and you will have a nice looking interior for a long time. The teak strips definitely would give the all white interior a warmer feeling. PM me if you have any other questions on the 7.9 or about sailing in western Lake Eie.  

Thanks for the advice Sanduskysailor, it is very much appreciated. We do live a bit closer to the southern end of Lake Michigan than we do western Erie, but it looks like there are more interesting places to sail to over there, so I would imagine that we will end up over there a fair amount of the time when we want "big water" (probably Port Clinton, if i had to hazard a guess). I'll be sure to hit you up for information if/when we do that! Do you know of any other problem areas or things (good or bad) I should be looking for when I inspect a boat I'm interested in? Any modifications that your friends have made to their boats that would be recommended? Thanks again for your insight. -Brandon  

I raced on an S-2 6.9 (the smaller sister of the 7.9) for several years in a MORC fleet, and I was very impressed with what a nice small boat it was. Given your criteria (trailer launchable, room for a family, quality boat) IMHO the 7.9 is the only choice you have. Dont over analyze something like "wave action" (you want you boat to rise on the waves anyway, not bust through them). The point is, if you start with the trailer-launching requirement, you aren't going to get any other boat with the range of pluses of an S-2, so accept that your first requirement sets up the necessity to accept some limitations. It seems with an S-2 the limitations are impressively minor.  

sailingfool: Thanks for the anecdote, it does seem that the 6.9 was designed as a slightly smaller version of the 7.9, so I very much appreciate your insight. You are correct about the "busting through the waves" comment, what I really meant and should have said is "has a decent ride in moderate wave action" (i.e. not being bounced around TOO much). I think that you are correct and everyone has pretty much confirmed my thoughts and on paper analysis of this boat, so this is definitely what I'm going to be looking for! So if anyone knows of one (or more..) for sale in the Great Lakes region (other than the ones on Yachtworld and Sailboatlistings, I already know about those!) I'd sure like to hear about them. Thanks, and if anyone else has insight and/or stories related to the 7.9, I'm not in any way opposed to having my decision re-enforced even more strongly!  

Just to play the devil's-advocate: Why is trailerability a requirement? If there is any way you would consider keeping a boat on a mooring or slip, then there would be a bunch more possibilities, that have good motion comfort, aren't too tender, etc.  

The 7.9 is a great sailing boat. I have raced on them numerous times. They, like all the older "performance" boats, have maintenance issues. There is a very active club that races them, you can google the site. They would prefer that you race but are very friendly and will answer your questions. The boat handles the normal weather on the Great Lakes quite well. Raising the dagger board, which weighs about 600 pounds, is an effort but you would only do this when you are ready to haul. Teh starboard cabin top winch that you use for this is the biggest winch on the boat. The boats over #400 are sought after by avid racers so you will not get a deal on one of those. The BMW engine has not aged well. An outboard with an alternator is a good cruising option. As allways a really good survey is required. Good Luck  

I would very likely end up doing some at least casual racing, having a fast boat is kind of like having a fast car, you might as well race occasionally, or you could make do with a Yugo! I will definitely be getting a survey of whatever boat I end up making an offer on, don't worry about that! I did find sail79s.org, so that is a good resource. Any one have a general sense of what these are going for these days? (Hull #400 and below, and hull 400+)? I know that condition, included equipment, etc. makes a difference, but a general sense would be good! Thanks! Brandon  

Don't see any 7.9s on YW, but there are a number of 8.0s ranging $4-7K or so... I'd think you'd be in that ballpark depending if it comes with a trailer or not....  

Because the 7.9 is such a popular race boat you will not get one in that price range unless it is in very rough shape. I strongly recommend not buying a boat in that condition, I did, never again.  

Gary will have better sense of this than we do on the West Coast.. they are rather rare here...  

Thanks everyone for their thoughts. Gary: Yeah, I don't mind needing to do a bit of work, but I certainly don't want a "beater." You thinking an early pre-#400 in decent shape with an outboard, a trailer, and relatively recent sails would be fair to both parties in the $10k-$13k range? -Brandon  

I have owned an S2 7.9 for ten years - keep it at the Sandusky Sailing Club, where this year we will have three of them. Here are a few comments based on what has been written so far. (1) If your wife is like mine, she will NEVER be comfortable in 3 to 5 foot waves. And around 25 kts is when expensive things start to tear & break. For those reasons I don't go out if I know it's going to blow about 22 or more. (2) Buy a 7.9 with an outboard. The inboard's are much harder to sell, and have had reliability issues (parts not available) (3) Check out the class assoc web page. for things to inspect carefully before you buy (like water intrusion around the coaming winches, stantions (sp?) and mast step). These may not be deal breakers (my boat, # 445, had all of them), but should affect what you pay. Get a survey for sure. (4) I like the interior liner - it helps to dampen sound, and can be used to hold velcro stuff. (5) the dagger board weighs 600 lbs. (6) I love how the boat sails - I cruise it over to Canada regularly, and do some racing. It's way fun to just blow away larger boats. It will do 6.5 kts routinely, and over 7 in the right (broad reach) conditions. (7) The 7.9s hold their value well. If you pay $ 17K (for a good one) you should be able to get most or all of that back when you sell it. Let me know if you have any questions, and feel free to stop by SSC for a 7.9 sail in the spring if you are in the area.  

ajoliver: Thanks for the information! I would say that I certainly don't INTEND to be out when the wind is hitting 25+ knots, but if we happened to be cruising around for a week or more, I'm sure it could/would happen eventually and I wanted to know how the boat handles it. My wife is pretty brave and her main problem when we got caught out that one time was the difficulty of reducing sail and our underpowered outboard to get us back to port, more so than the wave action itself. I think the heavier boat and better reefing hardware will make a huge difference for her. So from your statement, it sounds like $17k would be a good price for a hull #400+ with trailer and outboard, do you have a feel for what an earlier one should go for (say 1980-83, converted from inboard to outboard, with a good trailer)? You say that the 7.9 will do 6.5-7 knots...do they plane, or just climb up a bit on the bow wave? That's pretty impressive for a 26 ft boat! I will almost certainly take you up on your offer to stop by this spring, I'm still pretty new to sailing and know that I have lots to learn! Thanks for the offer! -Brandon  

A few other points to consider for an S2 7.9 purchase. The boat plus trailer will weigh around 6,000 pounds. You'll need a decent-sized vehicle to tow it. On what to do when the wind pipes up: Sounds like you handled this well. You are right that boats & crew should always be ready for these conditions. My own way of handling these situations is to, first, drop the head sail, and sail under main alone close to the shelter of the marina. Only then do I start the motor and drop the main. The reason for this is that in waves, most boats will handle better under sail than by motoring. Outboard motors in particular are not so good in waves. A 7.9 that has been converted from inboard to outboard also needs to have the interior ballast adjusted (moved and weight added). I don't know how to do that. The nearly 7 kt speed I got was in unusual conditions - surfing down following waves in 15 to 17 kts of wind on a broad reach. Made it from the NW corner of Pelee (I love that place) to Sandusky Bay in three hours - that's an easy 20 miles. It was way fun. It's way less fun when those sorts of waves are on the nose - tough on both people and equipment.  

The tow vehicle won't be a problem, I've got a diesel F250. Yeah, when we got caught out like that the first thing we did was bring down the head sail, we were fortunate that the wind was blowing back towards the marina and not away at the time. We should have kept the mainsail up for a while longer and it likely wouldn't have been so bad motoring back. We did end up getting blown a bit past the entrance to the marina and had to motor into the wind a bit, now THAT wasn't fun! I will definitely ask about the ballast if I am looking at a converted inboard boat. Thanks! Brandon  

Alright, another question regarding the 7.9. What size of outboard is adequate? One of the boats I'm considering has a 5 hp and the other has a 9.8 hp. Is the 5 hp enough, or even if I ended up with that boat, should I consider selling the 5 hp and looking for a 9.8/9.9? I realize that the 5 hp is lighter and thus better suited to the "racing" aspect of the boat, but I'll likely be doing more "cruising" than racing, so the 9.8 appeals to me.. Both engines appear to be of about the same vintage (~5 years old), so that isn't a concern.  

9.8/9.9 is the largest I could go if I want to be able to use it on the lake that is close to work, as it has a 10 hp engine limit. Yeah, our current boat displaces 1220 lbs and has a really old 3 hp 2-stroke...and it isn't really adequate for "larger water" as we found out in the adventure detailed above...but...it also has a tiny 2 blade propeller and isn't a long shaft, so that 3 hp is very far from efficiently used in the water. I'm guessing that a 5 hp with a 4 blade prop and long shaft would be quite a bit better than that even on a 4500 lb boat. Well, anyway, the engine size won't be what sways my decision one way or the other anyway, it'll be the condition of the hull, sails, and other gear along with the price..just want to get a feel for what people feel would be adequate and whether I should factor in needing to buy a larger engine into the equation when looking at these boats.  

Keep in mind that you can sell the 5 if you find it is not enough and find an used 2 stroke 9.X.  

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The company, located in Holland, Michigan, USA, was founded by boating industry legend, Leon Slikkers, after he had sold his powerboat company, Slickcraft. As part of the sales agreement, he was precluded from the powerboat market for a number of years. There were no restrictions on sailboat building. So he built a new plant which was, at the time, a model for production-line efficiency and strict quality control. In the late 1970s, S2 did start building powerboats again, and soon established its Tiara line. Slikkers was later able to buy back his old powerboat line, Slickercraft. Production of sailboats ended in 1989.

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• S2 9.1 Meter
• Arthur Edmonds
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• Graham & Schlageter

31 sailboats built by S2 Yachts

S2 8.0 B SD

S2 8.0 b sail drive, s2 9.2 a sd.

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