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Pat: re: the 5.5 I sailed one of these for a few years, sold it last summer. The boat is very well built, of course, with high quality fittings, and sails nicely. With decent 2nd hand sails I was able to hold my own next to the Lightnings I encountered on the local puddle, so unless they were all being badly sailed that says something about the design. The broad beam gives a lot of form stability, which, like a catamaran, can lead to sudden unpleasant surprises if one is slow at slipping the mainsheet in gusts, or, like me, not careful in reading the rigging instructions. It seems the standing rig (single shrouds and forestay) is made tight by the jib halyard, which has a block-with-becket in the middle of it. As you hoist the jib, the block descends, you thread the halyard through a cheek block on the mast, up through the b-with-b, and then down to a cleat. The forestay then goes slack, and it is the cable in the luff of the jib that acts as the forestay. (Is this weird, or what? ) It does work.
My boat, as purchased (from a non-sailor), had a regular jib halyard, and I just sailed it that way at first. Slack forestay equals uncontrollable boat in gusts, I discovered.
As to why it wasn't more popular, my guess is that it was meant as a compromise between a sporty and family boat- not as tame as an O'Day, not as fast as a Flying Dutchman. Perhaps it appealed to neither of those markets.
I think there were more than 20 built....the figures are out there somewhere.
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S2 6.7 and 5.5 for sale -- Pat Richter 6.7 #123 -- 7/28/03 2:43p.m.
Re: S2 6.7 and 5.5 for sale -- Denise Moore -- 7/5/04 4:44p.m.
Re: S2 6.7 and 5.5 for sale -- David Rohn s2 6.7 #1 Tulip -- 7/8/04 6:52a.m.