S2 7.9

[mikehoyt]

Recently raced against one of these. Was impressed by its looks in the water and its performance. When I found out it is trailerable, etc... yet does not look out of place on water when compared to MacGregor I was intrigued.

Anybody have any comments about these boats? It seems like a lovely 26 footer that performs admirably and races well.

Thanks

Mike

Full Tilt 2
Niagara 26

[sailingfool]

The S2s are a family of good quality, nicely designed boats, and the 7.9 is particularly sweet. I think them the only coastal-capable example of trailerable boats. The MacGregor is not in the same calls of quality as an S2.
I'd buy one in a minute, and have always offerred them as my small boat recommendation when trailerable or shallow draft are requirements.

[Gary M]

The S2 7.9 is primarliy meant to be used for racing. Have you seen the interior?? It is spartan to say the least.

Take a good look at it and see if it meets your needs. They are pretty well built although like most boats their age they can have issues with wet decks. Also take one for a sail before buying. They are very popular on the race course.

Gary

[mikehoyt]

Thanks Guys

I was looking on Yachtworld last evening and agree the interior leaves a lot to be desired. Funny they would not spend the little bit more effort to make it nice.

Lately we have been racing rather than cruising and spend very little time inside the cabin. From the outside the S2 7.9 looks pretty, appears to sail very well and yet is trailer launchable. If I were looking for a trailerable boat capable of the occasional overnight I would certainly consider this one.

With the centerboard boat how does it achieve stability though? Saturday we were out in over 20 knots with 5 foot choppy swells racing with spinnakers and upwind and yet this boat sailed like a very fast keelboat. I would have thought it unballasted and therefore less seaworthy than a keel boat.

I have seen the old Mac 25s, the Chrysler 26 and newer Mac 26 boats and always thought that the trailerability led to unacceptable compromises. Yet with this boat it looks like a sailboat with a sturdy rig, nice lines and very good performance.

It is an intriguing boat and with a decent interior would be my first choice ina 26 foot racer/cruiser.

Mike

[Gary M]

Mike I have raced against 7.9's since they first came out. That was when I was racing my Niagara. They are very stable and no one seems to worry about anything they might come up against on the lakes.

The dagger board is 600 lbs, in fact the largest winch on the boat is used to haul it up. They have a wide flat bottom for good initial stablity and also internal ballast but I forget how much.

We have about 8 in Sarnia and I have not heard any complaints. Your best bet is find one racing locally and go crew with them. I considered one this winter but went with the 9.1 instead. I really wanted some interior but now I cannot afford sails.

Also I like a boat with lots of feel in the tiller, the 7.9 has little feedback here so you really have to watch the ticklers.

PM me if you want to come to down and race on one.

Gary

[sailingfool]

Mike,

The weighted dagger board probably provides greater stiffness than the typical centerboard design. However, they also made this boat with a fin keel - do you know that you observed was in fact sa daggger board model?

Most trailer boats like the Macs are basically toy boats not suitable for coastal use, mor elike big Sunfishes. The S2s are quality coastal cruisers some of which happen to be trailerable. I personally would not buy a trailerable version unless I HAD to trailer the boat frequesntly. The fin keel 7.9 is a very sweet boat.

[mikehoyt]

Yes - it is the daggerboard version and they are trailering it to a race week this week.

As we are 2 hrs from boat it may be nice to have the boat on hand during off season for maintenance.

Not really considering buying one as we have a Niagara 26 which sails similarly. It is just that I was extremely impressed with the performance of this boat upwind and downwind in waves, chop and flat water in light and heavier airs. I never expected that I would ever see a trailer launchable boat that was highway trailerable and would look like a sailboat and sail like one too.

I would put this boat on a list of boats to buy if I were looking for another boat in the size range I now have. Getting to races over 70NM away makes the trailer idea seem nice as well.

Mike

[rmkddmau]

Mike,

I own and sail a 7.9, after a J-24 and I love the boat. Most are outboards, which is faster for racing purposes and a bit cheaper. I have a diesel inboard, since we mostly cruise. Be aware, though, the original diesels that S2 put in were called BMW (not the car company),and I have talked to many owners that had lots of problems with them - very hard to get parts, etc. I have a Yanmar - works great. The boat is fast, points very high. From the other messages you know it races well. I have rigged up an electric winch at the front of the trailer to raise and lower the mast. Just my wife and I have hauled her up to Grand Travers Bay from Lk St Clair, and in about an hour and a half raised the mast, rigged her, and launched. The boat is relatively stiff in a blow. We added a Harken roller furler to the 155 genoa, which makes it very easy to single hand and control in any weather. It is not elegant down below, but we have found it cozy and workable for cruising. Hope you can find one.

Bob K

[mitiempo]

Off topic but it is the car company.

[SantaCruising]

Originally Posted by mitiempo

Off topic but it is the car company.

BMW was making motors for everything before they made a single car... Bavarian Motor Werks ... Aircraft engines during WW1 ... then to motorcycles...
Damn good motors too