CS 34 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Production had begun earlier at MG Yachts in England before the Canadian program took hold. By the summer of 1990, hull number 70 had already shipped. The result was a performance cruiser with a clear eye on the racecourse.

Design and Construction

The CS 34 measures 33 feet 6 inches overall, with a 27-foot-8-inch waterline and an 11-foot-3-inch beam. It weighs 10,500 pounds.

The hull and deck are built from mat and roving, with vacuum-bagged balsa coring in the topsides above the boot top and in the horizontal deck panels. CS adopted this construction method under Castro for its late-1980s models.

The keel bolts directly to the yacht’s bottom. Buyers could choose from three appendages: a shoal-draft keel, a winged version, or a semi-elliptical deep fin with a bulb for the racing-minded. The hull bottom has a shallow bilge without a sump.

The rig is deck-stepped rather than keel-stepped. A large compression tube carries the loads that a keel-stepped mast would otherwise absorb; the period reviewer felt that the tube diminished the sense of wide-open interior volume.

The coach house rises high above the deck, and the cabin trunk extends forward. This arrangement provides six-foot-three headroom below and standing room in the V-berth.

Rig, Sailing and Cockpit

Upwind, the CS 34 proved a delightful sailer. It needed only fingertip control to hold a steady course, carried its momentum through a tack, and quickly regained speed afterward.

The mast is an untapered Isomat section with double spreaders and a masthead rig. All halyards lead aft to the cockpit, with the running rigging passing beneath a moulded deck cover to a bank of rope clutches. Single-line mainsail reefing is fitted, and the traveller track is forward of the companionway.

In the tested 15-knot breeze, with a 135-percent genoa, the boat actually sailed better with a reefed main. A Whitlock steering system is standard. The moulded non-skid provided enough grip to keep the tester safe even when wet.

The cockpit is spacious, and the helm seat is high enough to give a view over the coach roof.

Accommodations

The companionway stairs are angled so that they feel level as the yacht heels. They lead into a saloon finished with satin-varnished, teak-faced cabinets, strip-teak wall battens, and a teak-and-ash sole throughout.

The centrally placed horseshoe galley has twin moulded sinks and a dry locker forward of a gimbaled Force 10 stove. All the plumbing is accessible beneath the sinks. Across the passageway to starboard, the chart table is paired with a refrigerator. The galley top, however, lacks perimeter cleaning slots.

The CS 34 sleeps seven. Forward, the V-berth has standing headroom, a folding privacy door, drawers, a hanging locker, and a large opening hatch. The aft cabin behind the galley is surprisingly large and provides access to the stuffing box, battery storage, and the side of the engine.

The head includes a separate moulded shower stall and a third hanging locker, which also houses the hot-water tank. Fourteen opening ports and hatches ventilate the cabin. There is no overhead handrail along the main-cabin passageway between the head and the V-berth.

Machinery and Electrical Systems

The standard engine is an 18-horsepower, two-cylinder Yanmar diesel, although the boat was originally specified with a Universal. A 28-horsepower Yanmar was optional.

The standard electrical system includes twin 12-volt house batteries and a separate deep-cycle cranking battery.

Engine access is less satisfactory. Testers found the compartment tight enough to make even an oil change an acrobatic affair. A later inspection port from the head helped improve access. The engine kill switch sits just under the helm, where a foot can strike it, and the reviewer advised relocating it.

Early Changes and Ownership

The earliest hulls left the moulds without ventilation ports in the aft cabin. Later boats corrected this deficiency with twin ports opening into the cockpit. Together with the later head-side engine inspection port, the change shows that the builder responded quickly to early feedback.

At its peak, CS Yachts employed 95 workers at its Brampton plant. The company delivered the CS 34 with 65 standard features, a transferable hull warranty, and a North Sails inventory included in the sailaway price.

The Verdict

The CS 34 is a thoughtfully engineered Castro performance cruiser that balances racecourse intent with livable accommodations. Early-build quirks and a cramped engine bay, however, call for owner attention.

Pros