CS 27 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used market for a CS 27 means considering one of roughly 480 Raymond Wall-designed cruiser-racers built in Canada between 1975 and 1983. These 27-foot masthead sloops were conceived as family cruisers with IOR racing potential, and they have since earned a name as structurally robust small yachts. The deep-keel iron fin and the rarer lead shoal-draft keel are the two bottom configurations you will meet, with about 90 of the latter afloat.
Layouts on the Used Market
The CS 27 interior is consistent across the fleet: galley and nav station aft, with no quarter berth because of the narrow stern and deep cockpit. The stove and sink are to starboard against a poorly insulated ice box that doubles as the nav-station base to port, while a shallow U-shaped dinette converts to a small double and a straight settee stretches 6 feet 6 inches into the hanging locker. Headroom is advertised at six feet but falls short for some near that height. A 32-gallon waste-holding tank holds twice what the fresh water tank does, and the boat carries a 5.8-cubic-foot refrigerator box. The shoal-draft lead-keel version appeals to shallower-water cruisers; the standard iron keel is the common find.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Most boats left the factory with a Yanmar YSE diesel, later swapped to a smoother 1GM Yanmar of similar output—so confirm which sits in the engine bay. The 1980 mast change from Proctor to Isomat is the rig upgrade to look for, and the 1977 rudder-area increase (retrofittable) improves helm balance. Beyond those, owners have shifted mast step position and extended backstay tangs to kill weather helm. No generator or watermaker appears in the record; buyer-consequential gear clusters around the diesel propulsion change, the mast section, and the rudder retrofit rather than creature comforts.
What to Inspect
The CS 27's known blistering tendency is the headline survey item: many boats have had gel coat stripped and epoxy barrier-coated, and close to half are estimated to have shown boat pox. Inspect hull sides and below the waterline for past remediation or active osmotic spotting. Verify the anchor arrangement since there is no bow roller; most boats use a hawsepipe near the bow cleats to the fore peak, which should be checked for routing wear and below-deck moisture. The balsa-core deck and coachroof are not prone to chronic problems, but confirm the 1977 rudder retrofit and 1980 Isomat mast where claimed.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The CS 27 is a Canadian-built design encountered across brokerage without assumed geographic concentration. For a used-boat checklist: confirm keel type (iron deep vs. lead shoal), verify engine model (YSE or 1GM), inspect for blister history and barrier-coat work, check hawsepipe anchor routing, and confirm rudder and mast upgrades. A sound example rewards the buyer with a stiff, pointing small cruiser-racer whose construction has proven durable.