S2 7.9 Meter Class Association

To give some maybe helpful information . .

Why change the backstay ?

The original system is both heavy and hangs up on the mainsail, always at the worst possible time.

I made that change, but did the work myself including buying components.

Only issue I can think of is to be sure to get a strong batten for the kicker - carbon if you can get it.

A 7.9 in our club (not mine) had a kicker break

And that is one of the many reasons why my ad to sell number 445

says "Mechanically much better than new".

If you buy her and keep her in the Sandusky Sailing Club,

you can get a big discount.

Yeah we saw those rivets coming loose around the boot, and it was getting loose,

so we drilled and tapped threads from the mast into the boot,

and screwed it down tight.

Sorry for your loss, and hope you can get it sorted.

So what is the effect of sheeting it inside the shrouds? Even a good #3 outside the shrouds points like a demon, and even in ten knots or so will get you to the windward mark faster. But you lose a lot of that gain going downhill of course. What if one were to put TWO sets of sheets on a hot #3? And...

When you get time, I suggest you do that to the winches, stanchions, mast step

and everything you can get to

the thing is that your board hardware (blocks, etc) may not be exactly original. . mine are not. I would pin the board up, take out the old line, measure it, and THEN buy the new line (add at least a foot for gp's) don't buy line that is of more diameter than you need. the greater the diameter is, t...

Dear Mr. Uphill - I note from your excellent photos that, like many 7.9er's, you have the control lines for the backstay . . leading up to the traveler within easy reach. Question: Do you play the backstay during a race? . . . other than letting it go out when turning down wind ?? If so,how? Thanks

And I might add that most 7.9er's who changed to a cascade system

did so in large part because the cascades are significantly lighter than the old stainless pinching gizmo,

especially in terms of weight aloft.

(I am not an expert, and would welcome any corrections)

Pretty sure the plate is not stock.

Maybe someone was using it to help secure a split in the leading edge?

Many of us now use a simple cascade system with a kicker on the top of the mast to prevent hang-ups where the backstay gets close to the mainsail. It is an easy google. I went with an 8:1 but most folks use more. <img src="https://i.redd.it/erfn0302zrl71.jpg" alt="Finally installed my...

My 6hp will easily do 5.5 kts at around half throttle.

I have that motor on my own 7.9 and yes Tohatsu and Mercury are the same. It has run quite well for over ten years, and my motor repair guy says they are reliable. But I did get the EXTRA long shaft, and think it is a better choice, very few cavitation issues with prop coming out of the water. I kee...

Looks like you know more about these issues than I do, but I would be remiss if I did not remind to to glass in everywhere around the through-hull/holes so that if they fail water does not get to the wood. I did some sorta similar repairs about 15 years ago - rebuilt mast step, re-cored about 8 sq f...

that was interesting, thanks . .

excuse me whilst I ruminate over it a bit