Crew Required for Racing S 2 7.9

[perisho]

We recently sailed the St. Pete NOOD, on a J-105, and were very impressed with the S 2 7.9's. They appear to be an excellent racing boat for SW Florida, trailerable, shoal draft with board up, etc. My question is how many, and what size crew does it take to sail the boat competitively under normal conditions? We previously owned a J-24 and sold it because it seemed you really needed 5 guys on the rail to be competitive. We would like to sail with 2 couples so no one has to stay home and it is easier to revruit and retain crew.

I would appreciate comments.

[Tac]

You should sail with 5 people. You can get around with 4 for club racing but for any OD you should sail with 5.

[Jim Kloss]

Yes, you need 5 for the big regattas, but you can have a lot of fun club racing even double-handed (and really kick the big boats' collective butts if they're short-handed too).

Jim Kloss
s/v Ambivalence
S2 7.9 #8

[David E]

Is six too many when using a spinnaker?
I know it can be done with 5.

[Jeff Bonvallet]

You can use 6 but your crew weight must be under 1100 pounds if you do.

[Tim Bosma]

We have, on occasion, had 6 on board for a windy Weds night. The 6th person is movable ballast. It helps for weight on the rail and the tiny one can drop down to trim the head sail.

[grandillusion]

5 total or 5 plus the skipper?

[dave]

If you want to be competitive in any keel boat, upwind in hiking conditions, the max crew weight is the only answere, including the J-105. I find that upwind in a breeze is one of the 7.9's better attributes. Like any boat though, that assumes that the boat is being sailed correctly. That's a big if for some folks it seems. Piling extra weight on the rail won't make up for bad sail trim and driving.

Dave

[Tim Bosma]

5 total or 5 plus the skipper?

Recommended crew for racing is 5 total, however, for this past CCR, the policy was that if you wanted to race with 6 crew (including skipper) then you raced all races with 6 crew.

[Jeff Bonvallet]

Keep in mind that if you use more than 5 people in a class race the maximum crew weight is 1100 pounds. Rule 3.6