CS 33 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

Wall specified a hand-laid, solid-laminate hull. Fiberglass box-beam floors carry the keel and hull loads, while every bulkhead is a walk-through unit bonded all the way around to the hull and deck. The hull-deck joint is through-bolted beneath an anodized aluminum toerail, with butyl tape seated between the flanges. The seal is effective, but it oozes continually and needs annual cleaning.

Forward of the keel, a deep-chested section runs right to the bow. Combined with the low stem angle, it lets the boat slice through waves without washing the cockpit. The high-aspect lead keel is bolted through almost two inches of solid glass in the bilge, and a shallow bilge sump spreads grounding loads across the hull.

The hollow rudder hangs from a partial skeg on gudgeon-and-pintle attachments. Twin stainless bars extend from the lower shaft, and the rudder is engineered so its lower third can break away while preserving steerage.

Rig, Handling, and Engine

The masthead sloop rig uses quarter-inch 1x19 stainless wire. Rather than fore-and-aft lower shrouds, a single baby stay checks mast pumping in a chop.

The traveler sits on the coachroof, leaving room on the rail for full dodgers and enclosures. The boom is sheeted to the house through a long mainsheet that runs forward to the gooseneck and back to a coachroof winch. The boom also has three reef lines and a 4:1 internal outhaul.

With a 43 percent ballast-to-displacement ratio, the CS 33 stands up stiff and finds its stride as the wind builds. Auxiliary power comes from a 20-horsepower Bukh diesel from Denmark, paired with a modest fuel capacity of just over 20 gallons.

Accommodations

The forward V-berth is 6 feet 6 inches long and generously wide. In the saloon, the starboard settee folds out into a double berth more than 6 feet 4 inches long. To port, a single berth has a footwell extending into the full-sized, cedar-lined hanging locker; the locker door also serves as the forward-cabin companionway. Wall arranged the structure so the bow could carry all-chain ground tackle without upsetting the boat’s trim.

The U-shaped galley includes a two-burner propane stove with oven, a deep sink, pressure water, and a 6.3-cubic-foot ice box ready for conversion to a freezer. A full chart table and navigation station sit beside a wet locker.

Teak and wicker finish every cupboard inside and out, although teak was deliberately omitted from the heads to reduce maintenance. Large fixed windows, a Lexan sliding hatch, and a midcabin overhead hatch provided the standard natural light. In 1982, the factory added screened opening ports.

Tankage was generous. The standard water capacity was 35 gallons, most often expanded to 70 gallons with tanks beneath the settees. The holding tank carried 32 gallons.

A quarter-berth layout was also offered, but only about 15 boats were built with it. As a result, the standard aft-cabin interior dominates the used market.

Known Issues and Ownership

The butyl seal in the through-bolted hull-deck joint weeps and needs to be wiped clean each year. The finely finished cupboards also conceal the deck bolts, making routine inspection of the hull-deck fastenings nearly impossible without disassembly.

The hollow rudder is a more serious concern. Because fiberglass bonded to stainless steel isn’t watertight, the rudders fill with water. During northern storage, trapped water freezes and can damage the blade. A small drain hole in the fall mitigates the problem.

A hard grounding at speed can fracture a floor member. Testers have put the cost of that repair in the high four figures.

The seawater-cooled Bukh engine should be flushed regularly with fresh water when used in salt water. Beyond that, the best-documented factory evolution was the 1982 ventilation upgrade, which added screened opening ports.

The Verdict

The CS 33 is a thoughtfully engineered small cruiser. Details such as its walk-through bulkheads, deep forefoot, and breakaway rudder show a designer addressing real cruising problems. It rewards an owner who stays ahead of the weeping hull-deck seam and remains vigilant about water in the rudder.

Pros