Product - Charts

S2 7.9 Grand Slam

Submitted by admin on Mon, 2007-05-21 15:44.
Summary
Manufacturer
Durability8.5 (2 responses)
Customer support1.5 (2 responses)
Overall9.0
Submit a review for this product

S2 7.9 Grand Slam

Submitted by admin on Mon, 2007-05-21 16:21.

Price Paid:

15000

Purchased From:

Model Year:

1982

New or Used:

Used

When Purchased:

1988

Reviewer background:

I've sailed since I was a kid on day sailors. This boat, purchased in the late 1980s, was the first boat I owned that had a cabin on it. I sold it in the late 90s.

Features:

0

Features comment:

Functionality:

0

Functionality comment:

Reliability/Durability:

9

Reliability/Durability comment:

These are very well built boats. Back in the day, S2 made high end boats suitable for ocean crossings.

Customer support:

1

Customer support comment:

S2 no longer makes sailboats, having moved to power boats, and support for owners of sailboats purchased 25 years ago is basically nonexistent.

Overall:

5

S2 7.9 Grand Slam

Submitted by admin on Wed, 2007-05-23 20:22.

Price Paid:

0

Purchased From:

Larsen Marine brokerage, Waukegan, Illinois

Model Year:

1978

New or Used:

Used

When Purchased:

1988

Reviewer background:

I've sailed since childhood, but it was mostly lake sailing on skiffs, small catamarans and sailboards. This was my first keelboat with a cabin, or with enough power to justify winches. We bought the boat mainly for day sailing off Chicago, and kept it in Belmont Harbor.

Features:

8

Features comment:

For what we used it for, the boat was about perfect. It had a long, spacious cockpit that allowed a lot of people to come along relative to the size of the boat. Side decks were ample, allowing easy access to the bow. The winches were appropriately sized, and led back to the cockpit for easy shorthanded sailing. The lifting keel was a bit of a trip, and vibrated at times, but it made the boat plenty stiff while allowing those with a trailer (we didn't have or want one) to transport the boat behind a pickup truck. The lazarrettes were large. The interior was pretty spartan, although adequate. There was no real galley, although the prior owner had had a gas burner in what passed for the galley, and there was an icebox that worked fine for a weekend's worth of soda and beer. The head was also minimal, with a portapotty instead of a proper marine head. In the bow there was a v berth, but not actually a cabin as it was open to the cabin with no door. There were two fairly long quarterberths that we generally used for extra sail storage. There was standing headroom, which distinguished it from a J 24 and was a large part of why we went with the S2. For power, there was a one lunger BMW diesel and a folding prop. This was adequate for coming in and out of the harbor and keeping the battery charged, but if I was relying on a diesel I might go for something more standard.

Functionality:

8

Functionality comment:

It makes a great day sailor with some limited overnight cruising capability. You wouldn't take a long cruise on it, unless you basically like camping out, and you certainly wouldn't live on it, but it was great for day and evening sailing. It was fast and responsive. The cockpit was great for entertaining, and the cabin was borderline adequate. For Chicago, with no nearby attractive cruising destinations, but with easy access to the harbors for weekend sailing or a quick run after work, it was optimal, because it was fun to sail and well set up for shorthanded sailing.

Reliability/Durability:

8

Reliability/Durability comment:

It was a well made boat. S2 didn't overbuild them so as to make them too heavy, but they did build them plenty solid. The one lunger BMW diesel was an eccentric choice for a power plant, as it was pretty nonstandard and hard to get parts for, but it generally worked fine.

Customer support:

2

Customer support comment:

S2 quit making sailboats a while back, and they basically can't be bothered to support them. If they have old parts in stock they might try looking in the warehouse for them, but that's about it. It's more or less like owning a boat from a company that has long since gone bankrupt. Fortunately, the boats were well built and the parts pretty standard, so support is not a huge issue.

Overall:

13
Syndicate content
( categories: )

Hylas 70

Submitted by admin on Fri, 2007-05-11 13:40.
Summary
Manufacturer
Durability ( responses)
Customer support ( responses)
Overall
Submit a review for this product
( categories: )