Cruising boat pricing, CSY 33 in particular

[chienbizarre]

Thanks for the topica link. That got me there. The search function doesn't seem to work. Does it work, and how?

I just had the boat surveyed and found some things.
One question is related to the water tank under the sole. When full it overflows into the center bilge. Is it supposed to do this? or is there a crack or hole?
Both access plates also sputter and leak, but mostly air and drops of water because there is a much bigger leak below them venting the water into the bilge. I should just be able to clean, seal and reinstall them.

The biggest issue is the Vdrive has severe corrosion where water comes thru the packing gland and is thrown off by the shaft.
Any idea how easy it is to get a new Borg Warner Vdrive that will drop in?

Thanks again.

[Pblais]

The search tool broke a while back. To be honest CSY 33 posts are limited to just a few posters including CSYman and myself plus a few more. If you PM me I have more contacts should you decide to keep the boat. I also have about 4 years worth of the topic list messages that I might be able to get to you via outlook export.

The tank is donut shaped around the hatch to the lower bilge under the table and there is a vent line (might be disconnected and leaking) but it should not leak normally. The outlet for the water on ours was just forward of the engine. It may be different on yours as our saloon was custom finished and the layout was just a tad different though mostly the same general design. The Inspection ports should be tight enough not to leak. Some thread seal may be required. The tank is fiberglass with a gelcoat liner. It can be possible to do some coating to the interior of the tank. I think CSyman did this to his. If you have a leak you need to do more than that. Anything you might do would temporarily seal the leak only to leak again. I never had any of these problems with the water tank.

Looking for tank leaks is one of those chores that take forever to be sure you have found it. To work inside the tank you may have to add more inspection ports to get at what you need. There clearly is no way to remove the tank without pulling up the entire saloon sole. Leaks will tend to run down hill toward the keel then along the system of drainage channels to the center bilge. You need to sort out the quadrant first then go from there to find the crack or hole. Try the vent line first.

The VDrive I can't help with as ours did not have a VDrive. Some did and some didn't. It depended on what they had at the factory. Can your post the Hull ID number or the former boat name(s).

[CSY Man]

Tank leaks are usually from the seal under the inspection plates. No big deal, take of the plates, clean and re-caulk or seal or whatever..I used heavy duty rubber gasket material and cut out the shape, then used over sized sheet metal screws and torqued the plates down...Still have a small leak when topping of the tank, but no big deal, it goes into the bilge anyway. Plus air bubbles in the tank needs a place to escape so ya can top-off the tank completely..Sometimes you have to rock the boat as you are adding water, then wait, the rock more etc..

[chienbizarre]

There are bubbles and a little wetness escaping from the inspection plates on the water tank (2 plates that I know of), but very little actual water. There must be another leak somewhere going into the bilge. There is a vent on the port side and water was coming out of that too, so I think that confirms its a leak in the tank.
Is there enough room to get into the tank for a repair through the larger inspection plate? It looks about big enough to get one arm thru. Maybe 4" x 16"?

More importantly I have not been able to find a replacement V drive. If this one fails it could force replacement of everything. The rust on the bottom is a good inch thick. The bolt heads look like there is not much left.

I'm worried!

[CSY Man]

To crack the tank in the CSY 33 you really have to work at it....
(Solid glass, probably 1/2" thick)

Any leaks besides the inspections ports, (3 on my boat) could be from the plumbing in the bilge.

[chienbizarre]

I only noticed 2 inspection ports.
First about 4" or 5" square between the table and port settee, just forward of the table.
Second about 5" front to back and 16" side to side, amidships just aft of the table. Where is your third?
The water flowing out looks like it is just under the sole, rear port side of the bilge under the table (not far from the 5x16 inspection plate).

I'll be paying for the boat and doing the paperwork tomorrow morning, then I'll be a CSY 33 owner!! boat name is Emily. I still don't have the hull ID.

[CSY Man]

Well, all the CSYs were a bit different. Fuel and water tank confirguration and other stuff.
The more I learn about our boats, the more I see the differences.

My water tank ports are:

Aft of the table, one big inspection port.
Forward of the table, to Port and Starboard a few inches 2 smaller inspection plates, about half the size of the bigger one aft.

For more comments and questions..Shoot digital pics and forward to this page or to my e-mail:

csy33 (at) comcast.net

Congrats on joining the CSY family.

[chienbizarre]

I'm not at the boat, but in a picture I found the third inspection port you described. There is a tank for the diesel/kerosene heater mostly on top of it and that is why I didn't see it. I guess it is like yours. The two forward ports are awfully small. Can you see much or do much with them?
Does the water tank go all the way around, or is it more U-shaped. Paul said doughnut-shaped so that would mean all the way around.

BTW the engine is a Westerbeke W30, 4cyl. I think that means a 30 hp but am not sure. An earlier survey said its a 40 hp.
Engine is made by British Leyland. Mechanic said 1.5L, but I don't know where he got that.
It cruises at just under 6 kt and gets a little hot at full throttle.

[harmonicat]

Dont overlook Downeast boats. Great cruising boats...cutter rigged, full keeled..tons of space and headroom..easy to sail ..dry

[chienbizarre]

Thanks for the recommendation on Downeast. A DE 38 was my previous favorite. The deal is done however and I'm the proud owner of a CSY 33. Now I have to figure out how to shoehorn all my stuff into it. All that tankage means little room under settees!
I'm cleaning and prepping it to sail from NC to Florida. I have to depart the slip Saturday. I'm servicing the cooling system, then should be ready to go after a couple sea trials.

[alambertfl]

Hello,
I don't mean to horn in on all the useful information being exchanged, but I could use a little help myself. I too, have

[alambertfl]

Let me try this again.
I am also looking at a CSY 33 here in Jacksonville, FL. The name of the boat is "Damn Yankee", but I don't know the hull number. Familiar, CSYMan? I was looking at Emily on the internet as well. Congratulations on the purchase and best of luck with your new boat. Back to the one I'm looking at, it seems to have been lying in the slip for a long time. All the running rigging needs replacing and the deck needs repainting. Basically, the interior is "dated", but sprucing up and new cushion covers would work wonders. My only concern is the draft is only 3' 10". Under any other circumstances, I should be glad to have shoal draft, however, I don't have any experience with it. I have owned six sailboats in the past, and all have had drafts relative to length, the deepest being 5' 3" on an Islander Freeport and the same on a Catalina 30. I really liked the layout on the CSy and I can live with the 10 to 20 winds for best sailing, however, I wonder how sailing the shoal draft would be in blue water? Would love to have your input and opinions before I get down to making an offer. Supposedly the engine (listed as 47hp Westerbeke) has been overhauled or replaced as hours are low. The broker is checking on which occurred. My reason for requesting your input is that my wife is finally going to retire at the end of the year and we have agreed that we should go cruising while we are still healthy. I am 65 and she is 62. I think the CSY 33 would be good for us as it is not too big, but still a tank. I have my Catalina 27 for sale and feel it should move rapidly as it is a daysailor and priced to sell quickly. I am ready to offer on this boat, but want to be sure I have done all my homework before taking the plunge. There seems to be great experience on this forum and I too, could use your input before completing the transaction. Thanks in advance
Sonny Lambert

[chienbizarre]

Glad to hear you are in interested in the CSY 33. I looked at that boat too. I think I got the best of the 3 on the market at the time. The bigger engine is definitely a plus. Mine was listed as 25hp. An older survey said ~43hp. It's a Westerbeke W30 and I think that means 30hp, but I'm not sure.
It is hard to tell speed because I'm using GPS and the ICW has had a current when I've been out. It seems to make just under 6 kt at about 3000rpm. I think the prop is 16" 3 blade. No speed demon, but it works. Still getting used to maneuvering.
On Damn Yankee it had more cracks in the gelcoat and water damage from the hawse holes forward. That looks like a weak link. The dock line go thru there and tweak the holes. Mine has a little leakage, but very minor.
Also the sunken foredeck tends to get some cracking. That appears to be inherent in the design.
I was concerned about the shallow draft on that one too. If I were to stay in the Bahamas and coastal cruising I think that would be OK, but I hope to sail to Europe in a couple years, and maybe much farther. 5ft is better for me.
Yankee is sloop rigged. Not sure what that means. As far as I can tell the mast is in the same location as the two cutters, which really means you should be able to take off the stay and make my cutter into a sloop.
Is anyone aware of any other difference that makes the cutter different from the sloop? (maybe a larger main? taller mast?)

I have been cleaning and getting Emily in shape. Doing a little maint. on the cooling system. It seems to be running well. I need to add a depth sounder or fish finder. The mainsail is in pretty poor condition but should work for awhile. Needs bottom paint and deck paint.

I was going to sail her to FL, but discussions on insurance my recommend I travel north until November. Anything interesting going on for a cruiser north of Georgia this summer?

Do you have any specific questions?

[Pblais]

I find it hard to believe that the Damn Yankee has a draft that low as 3-10. It's not on my list of known CSY 33's unless it was renamed. Do you know the hull number? There were only 59 CSY W's made. Even the shoal drafts didn't come that low with 4-6 being the standard shoal draft. They all came 5-3 and could be cut off to 4-6. The keel ballast was lead above 4 -6 and concrete below. The one we had was a deep draft of 5-3. As far as wind speed goes they sail pretty well at 30 knots having sailed it in that myself. They really like 8 knots or better to go any place with any speed and do quite well at 15 knots or better. They sit on the hook better than most boats do and frankly better than the one we have now though not by much. They sail in rough weather well and you stay dry with a good dodger. The hulls are quick thick and argued as the most over built hulls of the late 70's. The decks are solid glass so you don't get core problems since there is none. They do however get warm in the sun.

As far as layout they have a huge saloon. You don't find much bigger until you get to well over 40 feet. The raised cabin makes for nice light below as well. 27 HP was the standard but CSY shipped them with different engines depending on what they had around the yard. Some went out with 50 HP Perkins 4-108's normally used on the W's. Motoring around 6 knots in flat water is about as good as can be expected.

If Damn Yankee is a CSY 33 then it's a cutter - period. You may be missing the forestay but the mast is located as a cutter. If sailing as a sloop you need a big genoa and reef the main early or you won't balance the wheel in heavy winds. The staysail adds some versatility and many have found it very handy.

[alambertfl]

The draft could be a misprint on the listing specification sheet. It does, however say 3-10. The referenced cracking in the gelcoat doesn't really bother me that much. I am pretty good with fiberglass repair, however that doesn't mean I want to do it. Given the previously mentioned considerations, I still think the boat has what I want. It would be nice if it were in better condition. However, those conditions will be reflected in my offer, if I do it. I also looked at a Cape Dory 33 in the same marina. It doesn't come close to having the room the CSY does, but it is a nice boat. Still, for my purposes, the CSY seems to be a better fit. I will speak with the broker tomorrow and get a verification on the draft and the hull number. The 4-10 draft would make me feel better. I recall reading a post from CSY man warning about buying boats that have been neglected. This boat has my alarm button pushed, but I still like it. I will also explore others if they come on the market.
I noticed that you are from Hayes, Va. I kept a boat in Deltaville for 12 years before moving to Florida. I still think that the Chesapeake Bay offers the best sailing on the east coast if not the whole U.S. Thanks for the responses. I will continue to ask the questions as they arise.
Sonny