S2 8.5 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Writing in 2000, Darrell Nicholson called the S2 8.5 a good boat for cruising the Great Lakes or almost any coast in comfort and with a certain amount of style. He also allowed that the straight sheer and European-style cabin windows may look a little modern to traditionalists. Practical Sailor described the boat’s masthead sloop rig as cast in the company’s traditional mold. The design combines a solid-fiberglass hull with a balsa-cored deck.

Design and Construction

The hull is a solid hand layup with excellent glasswork and gelcoat. Slight roving printthrough is visible on the topsides, however, and minor hard spots appear where interior furniture and bulkheads attach to the hull.

The deck molding is cored with end-grain balsa. At the hull-to-deck joint, an inward-turning flange is dropped onto the deck, bedded in flexible sealant, and through-bolted every six inches through the full-length slotted aluminum toerail. Additional bolts secure the joint across the stem.

All deck hardware is properly through-bolted, but the pulpits, cleats, and winches are secured underneath with only nuts and washers rather than metal backing plates. At the sheerline, a heavy, semi-rigid vinyl rubrail—S2’s “crash rubrail”—is black when new but fades to a chalky gray on older boats.

Ballast consists of a 3,000-pound lead casting epoxied inside a hollow keel shell. Much of the interior structure is plywood glassed to the hull with neat fillet bonding. The stainless flat-bar chainplates are bolted to bulkheads and plywood gussets, with stainless pads providing proper backing. The stemhead fitting is a stainless weldment, through-bolted and gusseted inside.

Rig, Steering, and Performance

The simple masthead rig uses Hall spars, airfoil spreaders, and internal tangs. The mast is deck-stepped on a stainless plate. Standard North sails feed a boom fitted with an internal outhaul and two internal reef lines led to cam cleats.

The halyards and Cunningham run aft to a pair of Lewmar #8 winches; #16s were optional. A six-part Harken system at the end of the boom handles mainsail trim, working with a Kenyon traveler on the aft coaming. Headsail sheets lead to two-speed Lewmar #30 winches.

Wheel steering controls the internally mounted spade rudder, and an emergency tiller provides backup. On the racecourse, the boat’s PHRF rating of 174 to 180 compares favorably with boats of a similar size and type.

Accommodations

The interior follows a conventional layout. Forward is a double V-berth, with a full-width head immediately aft. The head includes a shower and a large hanging locker, and solid doors close it off from both cabins.

In the main cabin, two straight settees flank a fold-down table that seats four. Neither settee is full length, although the foot of the port berth extends beneath the galley to create sleeping space. The aftermost foot of the starboard settee folds into an armrest, leaving a gap that the plan calls a “charting area,” though no chart table was offered.

Above this area is what one reviewer called the best electrical panel seen on a 28-footer. It includes a locking battery switch and space for 14 breakers.

The notably large quarterberth avoids the usual head-bump. The standard fiberglass sole is carpeted, with teak-and-holly offered as an option. Carpet-like fabric lines the hull and overhead; only the head’s floor pan remains exposed fiberglass.

Galley and Cockpit

The galley sits to port at the companionway. It includes a deep, nine-inch sink near the centerline and a two-burner Kenyon alcohol stove mounted athwartships. Because of that orientation, the stove isn’t gimballed. A fold-down counter extension provides additional workspace.

The icebox drains into the bilge, but it has a poorly insulated top and a tiny, ungasketed hatch.

The T-shaped cockpit accommodates the wheel and has contoured side seats. A bench spans the aft end above cavernous storage, while a huge port locker contains battery boxes designed for two cells, with one supplied as standard.

A narrow bridgedeck and coamings rising a foot above it help protect the companionway. The acrylic companionway slide runs in easy channels beneath a fiberglass storm hood.

Known Issues

A few early boats were fitted with BMW diesel inboards rather than the later Yanmar engines. The aft cabin bulkhead slopes forward, preventing the drop boards from being left out for ventilation when it rains.

There is no access to the bilge from the main cabin. Seacocks advertised as bronze are actually ball valves mounted on through-hulls, rather than tapered plugs. With age, the rubrail fades to a chalky gray, and the deck hardware lacks metal backing plates beneath it.

Verdict

The S2 8.5 is a thoughtfully engineered small cruiser with superior joinery detail and a roomy, protected cockpit. A few fixed design compromises—notably the limited wet-weather ventilation and lack of main-cabin bilge access—let it down. It suits a Great Lakes or coastal cruiser who values clean rigging and a secure deck.

Pros