once looked at an older boat with R&P steering, I think it was an
Allied. The rack which was a quadrant was cracked. Considering that
this is an unusual part, getting a replacement was going to be
problematic so I didnt look at her further.


That's too bad. R&P systems are found on better boats because they're
more reliable and very easy to repair with fewer moving parts. Being
the engineer type of person one might think you'd have done some
research and found that the Allied boxed R&P system is an easy fix.
Since you've never piloted a performance boat with a Whitlock R&P
system I'm afraid your comment about a 35 year old blue water Allied
(and again no mention of the boat model) is highly suspect.
An Allied Seabreeze is twice the boat as your S2.

RB
35s5
NY