Ph.A,S.E. One , ( Phil And Shirley's Escape ), was purchased used from the original owner who bought a bare hull and custom built the interior, and rigged it with the standing rigging from a S2 8.0, which is almost 3 feet taller. He installed an engine he converted from being an electric generator to marine use. It had an hydraulic pump/motor arrangement powering the inboard prop. The setup worked well but was under powered to the point of not being able to make hardly any headway in heavy seas, especially the steep choppy stuff Lake Michigan gets at times. Removing the entire setup and the extra lead ballast from the keel lightened the boat by 750lbs and gave us an extra 1 to 1.5 knots, with less heel ! We were worried about removing the extra ballast, but came to the conclusion that the boat now moves forward now instead of plowing more through the water and heeling. We are now able to sail in light winds that before would have resulted in motoring or staying in port. He also cut bigger portholes and installed plexiglass portlights, sealed with silicone.

We have sailed on Lake Michigan for seven years from our home port of East Chicago, Indiana. We have trailered to Green Bay for one vacation and to the Straits of Mackinac and then to Lake Charlevoix for another vacation. We tried racing in the Indiana Harbor Yacht Club PHRF fleet for a couple of years, but we just were not very competitive and decided we needed the time more for relaxing on the water which we do at every opportunity .