CSY Boats

[PaddyoRiley]

Well...I just put a deposit down on a 1978 CSY 33!!

We went down to Florida last week and saw 3 different CSY 33's and found this one: 1977 CSY Coastal Cutter Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Anyways, the sale is contingent upon a satisfactory survey and sea trial, However, I know I will be fixing a few things. I noticed that the deck joints were a little leaky in the V-berth and am asking for advice from CSY owners; Is there a good way to reseal the deck joints on a CSY?

There is also a little crazing on the deck among other things, but it looks like a great boat!

Thanks for all your help, I'll hopefully be sailing down in Florida by the end of January,

-Patrick

[alambertfl]

Hi Patrick,
Congratulations on the purchase of your new boat. I own a CSY 33 79, Hull #10. Am located in Jacksonville, FL. I have not had trouble with the deck joints......yet. However, I did experience the gel coat crazing. My fix was to cut into them with a dremel tool being sure to do the entire crack. I next filled it in with West System epoxy with a fairing filler. This means sanding the non skid and essentially painting and adding non skid back to the "slick" area or doing the whole deck. I chose to do the whole deck for the sake of consistency. There are other fillers that members may recommend. There is another site called Topica.Com that many CSY owners go to for the exchange of information and ideas. Most of the participants own the 44's since there were more of them made. There are also a couple of other websites dedicated to CSY's that may be helpful. I am also a newbie CSY owner so I don't have many answers, however, I do know where to find them. If you can figure out how to get onto Topica, there is a wealth of information there and many people who will be willing to help you. Good luck. Send me a note when you get to Florida. There is another fellow named Dag Hansen in Ft. Lauderdale who has a pristine 33. In addition there is a couple from Alaska who have a 33 in Ft. Lauderdale as well. Maybe we can find a place to meet up and exchange ideas. I live in north Florida, but plan to go south for the remainder of the winter when my wife quits working in January or February. Keep us posted on how things progress for you. You are purchasing a great boat.

Sonny Lambert
S/V Sonrae 1979 CSY 33 Hull #10
Jacksonville, FL

[CSY Man]

Is there a good way to reseal the deck joints on a CSY?

You mean the scupper joints in the V-berth?

If so, the answer is yes, but...

There is another fellow named Dag Hansen in Ft. Lauderdale who has a pristine 33.

I know that guy: Tall handsome Norwegian right?

[Pblais]

Hull deck joints can't be fixed and shouldn't need to be fixed. The scuppers can leak as well as the joint between the cap rail and the bowsprit (been there fixed them both). They both drip in the v berth. The chain plates passing through the cap rail have to be resealed regularly or you'll get leaks there too. I never heard of a CSY hull / deck ever leaking. If yours really is then don't buy the boat. I really doubt it is leaking.

A few things to note. CSY33 is a great boat to be on. We had one and I never regretted owning it. The 30 HP engine won't do 6 knots with a tail wind so don't expect it. The waterline is only 24.5 ft not 25 as stated in the ad. The Yachtworld ad was a bit too generous in both areas. They are not fast but they usually are dry in rough weather. They can take far more abuse than you could ever hope to survive.

The decks are solid glass there is not a bit of coring any place on the boat. You might have a bit of crazing too if you were 30 years sitting in the sun in FL. I'll bet you can't find a blister on it either. You won't win races with them but they do like 25+ knots of wind and will sail well when most other boats are headed into the slip. They sit at anchor about as well as any boat I ever was on and the roomy saloon is bigger than most 45 ft boats. They clean up well and you'll never win the ugly boat contest any place you go. Don't ever hit anything. The boats are legendary for the things they have destroyed with not much more than a scratch. The heavy displacement means you can haul a lot of stuff just don't be in a hurry.

Rudder problems with the struts were a common problem where they seperate from the post. You open it up and weld them back on tyhen reglass it over so not a huge deal. You may need new seals on the bronze ports.

If you run into that Norwegian guy lock up your beer and any daughters (just foolin).

[PaddyoRiley]

Thanks for all the replies, and yes Sonny, I will make sure and send you a line so we can meet up sometime in February. The more I think about it, I can certainly see the scuppers being the heart of the problem. If I can remember, CSY fused their hull/deck joints and I agree that this is the least likely problem. I'll make sure and thoroughly examine the scuppers, caprails (which need their share of varnish), and chain plates. There is a good chance the chain plate seals need to be redone considering that the boat has been unattended for over 8 months.

We're planing sanding down the deck and re-painting it, we'll hopefully have her ready to sail south by the beginning of February.

Thanks for all your help,

and Dag, thanks for the emails - from the look of Pblais's thread, it sounds as if you like beer... I'll have to bring down some Colorado microbrews.

[CSY Man]

I'll have to bring down some Colorado microbrews.

Good idea, but make it lager or pilsner....

We're planing sanding down the deck and re-painting it

I have seen painted CSY decs before and I was never impressed.
Usually the paint start flaking off in a year or two and it will really look
ugly.

Try light sanding of the gelcoat with 1000 or 2000 grit and water.
That should get the oxidation off. Then polish and wax.
The reason CSY gelcoat cracks is that it was applied pretty thick.
Be careful if case previous owners have sanded, then the gelcoat may be thinning. You can always have new gel coat sprayed on if you find a guy that is good at matching color. I did that instead of painting the deck.

See you down here in Fort Lauderdale.

[PaddyoRiley]

I'll take your word for it, sand paper it is.

Thanks for all your help guys,

see you in Ft. Lauderdale!

-Patrick

[GordMay]

For most gel coats, the range of acceptable Gelcoat thickness is between about 16 - 20 mils (thousandths of an inch).
Out-of-spec gel coat thickness can cause a variety of problems, from under-cure for a thin gel coat, to cracking for a thick gel coat. Another point to note is that the average thickness of gel coat on a part may not prevent cracking. For example, if a part averages 18 mils thick, but the corner areas are 26 mils, localized cracking may occur in the thick areas. It is important to achieve the proper thickness in the most highly stressed areas of a part.
Over-catalyzation can also lead to a brittle gel coat which cracks easily.

See also some earlier discussions:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...t-1-a-944.html

And:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ce-s-8394.html

And:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...azing-948.html

And:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ttom-8312.html

[jcmcdowell]

We have a CSY 33 and Dag came up for the sea trial when I was looking at buying it. I certainly don't regret buying the boat. In fact, we had an addition to the crew last year and were seriously considering looking for a small catamaran to handle a wee one. We went and looked at several Gemini's- mostly older boats. After comparing the amount of room in the salon, the construction, the cost- we're keeping the CSY and are finishing a minor/major refit.

In the 4 years that we have owned her we have had to reseal the chainplates, rebed the fixed windows, rebed the scuppers, reweld the bow and stern pulpit plates (last time we get to do that before new plates), replace the upper standing rigging, have some work done on the rudder, and of course hull and deck touchup. I recently finished stripping the teak and resealed it with SEMCO- which I like the natural look and ease of maintenance. I added a 3 reef fully battened main, pulled off the original pro-furl furler and we are going retro to hank on sails. We added a composting head (airhead) which makes a world of difference for smell, but also adds a lot of storage space under the V berth where the holding tank was located.

We are planning on heading south for the winter by mid december, so we bit the bullet and are adding a diesel cabin heater made by Toyoset (NS2800).

With the 100+ gals of fuel capacity and 100+ gals of water- the boat is incredible for its size!

The 33's are a bargain right now. When you compare the structural durability, space, and cost. I don't know if you could find a better boat to spend time. My only complaint is they aren't appreciating in this market so I can one day sell mine in the long run and make a mint

nb- We also have crazing around the corners of the pilothouse and mast. It's on the TODO list.

[Bitoa]

Is your 1978 CSY Hull No. TXY330010778 ? If so, we were original owner & would love to discuss...she was like our child!

[Cheechako]

Looks like a cool boat, albeit short waterline. I like the interior galley with center sink. Is the engine under that sink cabinet? My Tanton was like that and was a really good idea.

[Cuttyhunk]

Engine access is through a cockpit hatch. The thread is really old, but made me look in the file for the hull number of the one I owned in the early 1990s. I had #23. It was a good boat.