CS 33 vs Catalina 30 TRBS

[ichorniy]

I currently have C&C 24 and thinking to update to Catalina 30 mark II with tall rig and BS or CS 33. I would like a bigger boat to spend time on great lakes. I would be doing mostly weekend sailing with occasional 2-3 week cruises. I have selected these two boats because they seem to be of proper size for intended use. Both are of the same displacement. Both have decent size diesel engine to get me home if there is no wind and I need to get to work next day. They also seem not to be light boats that heel to every path of the wind that will make my first mate happy. Catalina 30 has a lot of reviews but there is no owner review for CS 33. CS seems to be faster and would be my fist choice the only problem is that selection of CS 33 is smaller and they seems to be pricier from Catalina 30. I do handicap racing on weekdays but having faster boat is nice to have but not top priority. I am looking for any advice comment to make more information decision.

[Johnrb]

Here is a review of the CS 33 from the CS owners' association website. The review was originally published in Canadian Yachting's series of used boat reviews. The author, Pat Sturgeon, is currently a yacht broker in the Toronto area and I believe he used to work for CS yachts.
http://closereach.com/csoa/cs33.htm

[Maine Sail]

This post is OPINION based on personal experience with both brands:

Having owned both Catalina's and CS's I can assure you there is no comparison when it comes to build quality.

While Catalina's are fine boats they are not anywhere near as solidly built as Canadian Sailcraft. It makes sense that the CS costs more as they were built to compete with higher end brands like Sabre & Tartan not Catalina or Hunter.

Our CS has been from South America to Newfoundland and everywhere in between and with with well over 30,000+ nm on her she shows little to no signs of wear or stress.

I've owned three Catalina's a 30, 36 & a 310 and they all began to creak and groan in winds over 25 knots. This is probably due to the lack of tabbing on the bulkheads that actually secure them to the hull and cabin top and in general the fact that they are built as coastal cruisers.

Our 1979 CS-36 has never made a peep and we've had her in 45 knots+ and 8 to 10 short steep seas. Under the previous owners she weathered many tropical storms including the remnants of two hurricanes..

If you can find a well kept CS-33 for anywhere near the price of a Catalina 30 buy it!

Having stated the above a C-30 is fine & more than adequately built for your intended use..

P.S. Raymond Wall designed the CS-33 and had previously been the chief designer for Camper & Nicholson in Europe before joining CS yachts in Canada. Camper & Nicholson's are very, very high quality boats (closer to Morris or Passport) designed to handle the rigors of the North Seas and are true blue water boats. Ray Wall designed the CS line very similarly to the Camper & Nicholson line in terms of layup and build construction.

With a Catalina you get in-house design, which is not bad for bay or coastal cruising but you don't get a highly regarded & pedigreed designer like Raymond Wall if you buy a Catalina. Ray Wall designed the CS boats to handle the worst yet still turn out good speed and still track straight!

[Plumper]

Ditto Halekai36.

CS boats are well made and proven.

[bestfriend]

Ditto Plumper's ditto of Halekai and I want to add that you might want to check out the CS30. If speed is a concern, thats the one to get. Lots of them out there, lots of them raced. I do like the 33 too, nice boat.

[Moonfish]

Ditto cubed...

[Valiente]

I saw a couple outfit their CS33 for retirement cruising in the Caribbean, and I don't mean huddling up a creek until the wind goes sub-15 knots. It's an excellent, proven boat, and I consider 33-35 feet the ideal size for the Great Lakes, not only because it's just big enough to consider living aboard for weeks at a time, but it's strong enough and dynamic enough to use higher winds and waves to move smartly, or to simply hove to, if preferred.

I have a Viking 33, and I've sailed it in 40 knots sustained on Lake Ontario, and loved every wet, if perfectly stable, second. I judge the entire CS line to be generally good to very good quality.

Catalina 30s are what they are: Chevys. Nothing wrong with that, but if the wind pipes up, I don't want to be on something that skittish with that wide a companionway (that gaping maw scares me, frankly: it's twice the size of the entrance to my pilothouse on my 40 footer.)

[ichorniy]

Thanks for information! I knew CS quality is highly respected but it was nice to hear feedback from people who owned and sailed them.