The S2 8.0 A is an American trailerable

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

that was designed by

Arthur Edmunds Arthur Edmunds (May 18, 1933 – July 21, 2005) was an American naval architect, credited with designing 29 sailboats as well as other boats of various types and forms. He is recognized as a top naval architect in the US. Edmunds's best known pro ...

and Leon Slikkers as a cruiser and first built in 1974. The designation indicates the approximate length overall in meters. The S2 8.0 A was the first of three 8.0-designated designs that all use the same hull, but different decks. The 8.0 A was replaced by the

S2 8.0 B The S2 8.0 B is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Arthur Edmunds as a cruiser and first built in 1976. The designation indicates the approximate length overall in meters. The design uses the same hull as the S2 8.0 A an ...

in 1976, which has a longer cabin coach house. The 1975 S2 8.0 C model has a center cockpit. The 8.0 A was initially marketed as the "8.0 Sloop" and was later known as the 8.0 A to avoid confusion with the later models that replaced it in production.

Production

The design was built by

S2 Yachts S2 Yachts is an American boat builder based in Holland, Michigan. From 1974 until 1989 the company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats and it continues as a builder of motorboats. The company was founded by Leon S ...

Holland, Michigan Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River (formerly known locally as the Black R ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

from 1974 until 1975, with 40 boats completed, but it is now out of production.

Design

The S2 8.0 A is a recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cl ...

. It has a

masthead sloop A masthead rig on a sailing vessel consists of a forestay and backstay both attached at the top of the mast. The Bermuda rig can be split into two groups: the masthead rig and the fractional rig. The masthead rig has larger and more headsails, a ...

rig, a

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a plumb transom, an internally mounted spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw a ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder ...

and a fixed shoal draft fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in B ...

or optional deep draft fin keel. It displaces and carries of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard shoal draft keel and with the optional deep draft keel. The boat is fitted with a

Universal Atomic 4 The Universal Atomic 4 is a four-cylinder, gasoline engine produced by the Universal Motor Company between 1949 and 1984 for use as auxiliary power on sailboats. Both and versions of the engine were produced. Over 40,000 of the engines were pro ...

gasoline engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as '' ...

for docking and maneuvering. The fuel tank holds . The design has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double

"V"-berth A berth is a bed or sleeping accommodation on vehicles. Space accommodations have contributed to certain common design elements of berths. Beds in boats or ships While beds on large ships are little different from those on shore, the lack ...

in the bow cabin and a straight settee in the main cabin on the port side that opens into a double berth. The main cabin also has a folding table that hinges down from a cabin bulkhead. The galley is located on the starboard side, just forward of the

companionway In the architecture of a ship, a companion or companionway is a raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck (ship), deck, with a ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main cabins. A companionway may be secured by doors or, ...

ladder. The galley is L-shaped and is equipped with a two-burner stove, an

ice box An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrig ...

and a sink. The

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may no ...

is located just aft of the bow cabin on the port side. The design has a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to-t ...

of .

Operational history

In a 1976 review in ''Boating'' magazine Dick Rath and John Schieffelin wrote, "In appearance, the S2 8.0 Meter takes a little getting used to—she is both sleek and stout looking. In order to achieve standing headroom below, Edmunds and S2 had to give her startlingly high freeboard, plus a prominent trunk cabin. But the wallsided effect is softened considerably through the use of a double cove stripe, and the height of the trunk cabin is disguised by its modern, curving, bubble shape that flows into the cockpit coamings. Her rig adds a touch of the racing sailboat to her—quite tall, with a small mainsail, large foretriangle, and black anodized spars, it shows an IOR influence. With her pleasingly curved sheer, aggressively raked bow, and chopped-off stern, the S2 8.0 Meter looks rather racy and contemporary for an out-and-out cruising boat."

References

{{Trailer sailers and Trailer yachts worldwide Keelboats 1970s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Trailer sailers Sailboat type designs by Leon Slikkers Sailboat type designs by Arthur Edmunds Sailboat types built by S2 Yachts

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References