Bottom Cracks

[Pete]

A friend of mine hit a large rock at speed with his board. Impact was hard enough to send him onto the cabin floor from a position ahead of the traveller. There were no hull cracks but minor repairs were necessary to the board and the hull. The repairs were professionally done by a very competent shop. Shop staff told him afterwards that they'd never seen a better built boat. Sloppy workmanship comments do not apply to the S2.

[normbue]

Thanks Guys, Its all good information. I never thought of filling the boat with water, I've always dunked it in the water and looked find where it comes in. It was probably too obvious.

[dave]

A friend of mine hit a large rock at speed with his board. Impact was hard enough to send him onto the cabin floor from a position ahead of the traveller. There were no hull cracks but minor repairs were necessary to the board and the hull. The repairs were professionally done by a very competent shop. Shop staff told him afterwards that they'd never seen a better built boat. Sloppy workmanship comments do not apply to the S2.

I never said anything about sloppy workmanship, only normal boatyard stuff. Having said that, areas like the mast step are truly a joke, but it's not the laminators faults. They used the materals recommended by the higher ups and installed them with the same advice. In case you missed it, I built boats for many years and have decades of experience in glass repair. I'm not running down the 7.9 or S2, just pointing out facts.

No matter the builder, employees come and go and they also have good days and bad, and good teams and bad. Just because one boat model from a certain builder hit something hard with the board and suffered no major damage, that does NOT mean that they are all built as well in every area and will see the same results under the same circumstances.

[Stef]

Anyone that feels S2's weren't built well, doesn't belong on this forum/site.

[Pete]

I agree whole heartedly Stef.
Sorry Dave ... I should have known better and refrained from commenting.

[SHNOOL]

Having worked on 2 Catalina Capris (with myself not claiming nearly the expertise that Dave has in glasswork of course), and now this S2, and having done pretty extensive repairs to all 3, I can honestly say the build quality of the S2 is substantially better than the Capri. Examples of quality are the Schaffer blocks and hardware, the alum toe rails, the heavier upgraded spars, and rigging (compare it to say a Catalina 25 - considered a standard quality middle of the road production 25 footer). Looking at port lights, and opening ports, as well as hatches... you'll find all the equipment is a step up from lowest grade stuff you find on Catalinas, Precisions, or HuntaBenneLinas... Other examples are the winches, spinlocks and turning blocks.

I still wonder why many of these raceboat companies didn't opt for coremat instead of balsa for coring material though... Yeah, I'm complaining about J-Boats too on that one., and any number of a plethora of other "lighter is faster" raceboats of that era (and in some cases still). But the goal is different on a race boat design, and I get why they did it, and I am willing to deal with the ramifications of not doing proper maintenance to prevent issues with it.

Wanna be really entertained? take a moment to examine a used S2 9.2, or bigger, you'll find quality cabinetry, woodwork, plumbing and fixtures are a step above most of the competition of the time. So that being said, I'd say Tiara Yachts, and S2 specifically made a pretty high quality product. Lets face it though.. some of these boats are pushing 40yo! It only takes 1 mistake to create problems that can haunt the boat for the rest of its existence (think hard grounding).

Working on my boat is much like working on a classic car at this point. Some design "issues" are bound to have better work arounds now after almost 40 years of living with them.

[dave]

Anyone that feels S2's weren't built well, doesn't belong on this forum/site.

I never said that either Stef. Once again, some of you continue to put words in my mouth. I'm really tired of this PC crap about not being able to point to a problem so as to bring a well thought out solution to it without being labeled a "hater", "negative" or whatever by some. You didn't say that in words, but I know that's what you meant.

No problem in the world is ever fixed, or even improved upon, until it is brought into the daylight. I don't recall seeing anywhere on the rules for this forum that freedom of speech, thought and opinion are nulified as grounds to participate.

[LarryE-old]

Anyone that feels S2's weren't built well, doesn't belong on this forum/site.

Stef,
Agree !!
Having worked on boats since 1966, including 100 mph sk boats, for Champ boat company. I should know a little about a well made boat.
The quality of the 7.9 is right up there with the best of them.