Hallett Executive S2 Tournament

The name Hallett should need little introduction to most skiboat buyers and enthusiasts. A maker of fast bespoke inboard (and more recently, outboard) towboats for the better part of two decades, the Victorian company has a hard-earned reputation and an enviably loyal and committed group of customers. Other makers in this cut-throat market would love to be able to boast about such a heritage.

But history like this can be a doubled-edged sword, especially to the faint of heart. In the face of such success it's easy to adopt the attitude of not fixing what ain't broke. Do this, however, and the reality is that your loyal customer base will dwindle, your products will be out of date and you'll be well and truly behind the eight ball!

Such indecision is not in the charter of the management of Hallett. Company owners Danny Timewell, Bill Emeny and Steve deVink are committed not only to their existing customers - many who are on their second or third Hallett and have the company perform their regular service work - but also to building their customer base with the lure of well-priced, well-specified and up-to-date product.

With such a close relationship to its customers, there's no surprise where Hallett turned when it first looked at updating its flagship Executive. Indeed, with over 200 of the 5.7m chargers already on the water and 10 years of skiing under the chines, it wasn't hard to poll feedback on how the boat could be fine-tuned.

Hallett also intended to make the Executive's replacement its first production craft tournament-approved by the Australian Water Ski Association.

The result is a new flagship for the Boronia (Vic)-based company. And while the Executive S2 Tournament is yet to receive the official nod of the AWSA, its list of improvements and credentials are impressive. As is its performance...

PERSONAL BESTS
The Executive S2 Trailer Boat sampled is the new plaything of Latrobe Valley Waterski Club regular and former Hallett Ski-Master owner, Adrian Kupinic.

Complete with a killer, mega-watt sound system, the fully-optioned craft had only been delivered to Adrian just four days before our test session because of boat show commitments. Nonetheless, Adrian and his ski-crazy mates had already logged a solid 30-plus hours on the boat - along the way posting a brace of PB slalom times.

By the time I slipped behind its sporty, Italian-designed wheel, the craft's Comp Ski MerCruiser inboard had been well and truly run in.

To describe the changes that have been made to the S2 as cosmetic would be to sell them short. Using the AWSA's tournament craft requirements as a blueprint, Timewell's team has thoroughly reworked the topsides and interior of the Executive to ensure that it complies to the letter of the law.

While the full rundown of the technical regulations are beyond the scope of this article, almost all of the obvious changes have been dictated by the rulemakers. These have seen the upper deck, dash, swimboard and observer seating position all changed.

A conventional mid-mount craft, the Executive S2 provides seating for a minimum of five in a conventional driver, observer-plus-one and rear bench set-up.

In the case of Adrian's boat, the interior is commendably sedate, with an attractive blend of charcoal and maroon marine-grade velour upholstery. It is, of course, fully carpeted and there's contrasting piping to set the seats off. Ski and watertoy storage is provided in a fully-carpeted and lit bow locker accessible via the observer seat's removable squab and backrest.

About the only other interruption to the well-finished gelcoat that pens the interior is the polished alloy filler for the rear-mounted 110lt (73lt standard) fuel tank.

In comparison to its earlier namesake, the S2 places the observer just forward of the driver with both seated in quite upright positions.

Our short test drive of the S2 precluded any ski testing, but both the driving and observer positions proved to be comfortable and efficient. With the rear of the foredeck rising sharply and topped off by a vestigial tinted screen, the driver gets a bluster-free ride. The standard seating is adjustable for those long in the leg and provides plenty of lateral support when it comes time to turn and burn. Also adjustable is the steering wheel height.

Fitted as part of the MerCruiser package that powers Adrian's S2, the hand throttle/shift was still a little on the stiff side but was well positioned without cramping the driver. For the record, the set-up proved a little abrupt off-idle, but with the help of the twin Airguide speedos it was easy to dial in a range of speeds and let the boat do the work.

A centrally-mounted pole is supplied on the Tournament model when built to AWSA-spec. Alternatively, there is a rear ski rope loop as standard fare.

It's worth noting, that the Hallett crew have spent quite some time perfecting the design of their engine hatch for MerCruiser installations. The S2 boasts the first of these - accommodating the Merc's bulky water-cooled manifolds without looking like two Eskies and a fruitbox in the process.

LIFT AND SEPARATE
What hasn't changed is the Executive's proven hull design. In fact, save for the addition of a 'just to be sure' second fin to ensure directional stability under tournament slalom conditions, from the gunwales down, the S2 is essentially untouched.

Boasting a relatively deep forefoot and around 21° of deadrise up front, the S2's hull rapidly flattens to be almost completely flat at the transom - fairly standard skiboat fare.

The most noteworthy aspects of the hull's configuration are the heavy reverse chines that run almost the full wet length of the boat. Combined with four lifting strakes these work to provide substantial lift.

This is apparent when you give the S2 its first big dose of welly. There's only a momentary rise of the bow and you're immediately out of the hole and up on top, generating a low slalom-friendly wake.

Wakeboarders will probably find the S2's signature a little underwhelming at the appropriate speed but to be fair, this form of recreation is not where the S2 is targeted - at least not the mid-mount version. Perhaps short boarders might like to talk to Hallett about its sterndrive derivative.

The abovementioned chines also contribute to the S2's prodigious turning ability. Again, while we were unable to put the craft to the acid test with a couple of skiers trying to pull it off line, this is boat that turns hard, flat and sharp with ne'er a hint of slip.

When you wind the lock on you'd better make sure that the rest of the crew are holding on 'cause there's no let up on the Gs as long as the boot is kept in.

The set-up on the test S2 meant that little speed was lost in the turns either. While the 12.5 x 13-inch three-bladed prop fitted to the test boat cost a few kmh at the top end, the S2 fair jumped out of the hole and dropped barely an rpm in even hard turns.

POWERFULLY REFINED
As is usually the case with skiboats, Hallett offers a wide range of powerplants/transmission options for the S2 - from the ubiquitous 350 Chev (fully reconditioned and marinised) to a range of MerCruiser inboard or sterndrive installations. There's also jet and outboard versions in the wings.

Powered by a 5.7lt MerCruiser Competition Ski V-eight inboard (as mentioned above) driving through an FNR Velvet Drive gearbox, our test Executive S2 offered a very refined mechanical package. Noise levels (stereo aside) were civilised and there were no unwanted vibes, squeaks or rattles.

In fact, the whole installation is so refined that employing the standard Chev/soft-clutch set-up would seem a backward step.

Performance was good despite the relatively modest horsepower, and with around 260hp on tap, the test S2 topped out at over 80kmh with its centrally-mounted tacho indicating 4400rpm.

The S2 is on a clean plane at just 42kmh with just 2200rpm in hand and 57kmh (35mph) is delivered at a fuel-efficient 3000rpm.

If more performance is what you're after then may we suggest you specify MerCruiser's 315hp Black Scorpion or perhaps even the 360hp Scorpion 377 mill -- light the blue touch paper and stand back!

NO BONES
Hallett makes no bones about the fact it set out to create a new flagship with the Executive S2 Tournament. And, given the refined and complete feel demonstrated in our short session, it's easy to believe the company has done just that.

The price of entry, of course, is not cheap. As tested, Adrian's S2 with the Comp Ski MerCruiser, all the tournament goodies described and other AWSA 'must-haves' such as bilge blowers, auto bilge pumps and all the rest, commands an on-the-water price of over $33,000 - and that's not including the OTT (over the top) CD-stacker-equipped sound system.

Of course, if you wish, Hallett can provide you with a 'standard' Chev-powered S2 from around $24,990. Remember that Hallett hand builds every one of its boats and therefore gives its customers almost free rein on gelcoat and fabric choices.

In other words, there's no such thing as a standard Hallett!

Just how many people choose to have their S2 built to full Tournament spec is somewhat of a moot point. The important thing is that pending AWSA approval, Hallett has proven that it can do just that. If nothing else it's a prestigious new chapter in the book of Hallett...