CS34 2020 Cruise East - Final Thoughts

Back on land while on the water it was blowing 30+ knots.

#ourbackyardtonight

Some thoughts on the trip

• the boat performed admirably
• we had some unsettled weather and the boat just got us through it
• the mainsail reefing and the 110 jib are an excellent fit
• only used the spinnaker a couple of times
• we did a LOT of motoring (used almost $100 of diesel)
• batteries/alternator were perfect
• dingy and outboard worked well 
• we didn't even inflate the stand up paddle boards
• Anchored for 8 of the 12 nights
  
• Stayed in a marina for 2 nights for $
• Stayed in a Yacht Club for 2 nights for free
  
• Several Yacht Clubs were closed for Covid-19.

Trip Odometer: 346 nautical miles

Trip Duration: 14 days, 13 nights 

CS34 2020 Cruise East Day 12 - Whitby

Up a little after 9am after the late night dock partying.

Got underway a little after 10am.

We left shortly after Caroline in her Mainship 38 Trawler:

Winds were light 6-8 knots from the south, full main and jib.
Motor sailed most of the way!

Fairly flat:

Passing Peter Rock:

We sailed pretty close to Newcastle:

Sailed right by the waterfront condos that Rita's girlfriend lives in:

Just past Oshawa, the wind filled into 12 knots from the south, and we were able to sail:

Shortly after posting this video to Facebook, someone turned the wind off.

We got a hail on the VHF from Walter/Colleen on The Beckoning.
They were out for a sail and were going to meet us coming in.
They gave up and went in after the wind shut off.

We furled the headsail and motored as fast as we could back to home port.

Pulling into Whitby Harbour:

Time on the photo 16:50.

Trip Odometer: 35.4 miles

Avg Speed: 5.3 knots
Max Speed: 9.8 knots
Moving Time: 06:42

We had a BBQ dinner with the Pingles and slept on the boat.

CS34 2020 Cruise East Day 11 - Cobourg

Up at 08:00 and peed the dog.

NO WIND FLAT CALM

Checked oil, added 1/2 litre.

08:35 raised main, hoisted anchor motor sailed.

10:05 went under Belleville bridge, and the wind filled in to 10 knots from the north, so out with the jib to sail for a bit.

10:20 back to motoring!

Got to the Murray Canal around noon.

We peed the dog at the dock before the Carrying Place bridge.
There was a sailboat on there with no one on it.
Interesting fix for a broken rudder pintle and tiller:

Brighton bridge opening for us:

Rita paying $5 for the transit:

Coming into Brighton Bay, we passed a boat from PCYC going east.
I hailed him on the VHF and he told me that Lake Ontario is very lumpy.

Great!

Sure enough, the winds were only 5 knots from the SW, and the leftover slop from yesterday's blow.
There were 4-5 foot waves from two directions.   Motor sailed with main.

Around Colborne, I could see a wind line ahead of us, it was blowing hard.
I put a reef in the main and furled out about half of the jib before we got to it.

The wind came in from the NW 16-20+ knots!
Off with the motor and we were sailing along close hauled between 6 and 7 knots.

Above you can see us motoring dead straight, then wandering a little sailing.

The boat was just flying along.  In the gusts, I had to feather the boat into the wind to keep it on its feet.

Toward Wicklow and Grafton, we got inside of 12ft of depth, and had to crack off the sheets and bear away carefully to get into deeper water.

Rita and the dog retreated to the cabin floor in the center of the boat:

Coming into Cobourg, it was blowing 16+ knots constant on a close reach.

We got into Cobourg Harbour a little after 5pm.

We dropped the main in the harbour, and took a slip on F dock west side.

North wind pushed us into the slip, but Rita and I have gotten pretty good at boat handling.  

Dockmate Caroline from Whitby was there to land us.

Max wind speed today:

Trip Odometer: 50.1 miles
Avg Speed: 5.7 knots

Max Speed: 10.4 knots
Moving Time: 08:50

We got settled in, had a drink, and made a reservation at the Italian waterfront restaurant for 7:45

https://www.cucinaurbana.ca/

Highly recommended.

Got a nice table outside; what a great meal!
They had a Thursday special for 1/2 price bottles of wine, so we got TWO!

Afterward, we had some drinks with Caroline on her boat:

It was 1:30am before we got back to our boat!

CS34 2020 Cruise East Day 10 - North Port (and Toucan Duet)

Up at 7am to pee the dog.

8am breakfast bacon and egg wraps.

9am filled the water tanks

10am met Grant and Pat from Harris & Ellis yacht brokers.
Nice people!

Rita went inside first with Pat, while Grant showed me around the outside answering any questions I had.
Grant confirmed that the bottom is Micron CSC.
There were some rough spots on the keel (fairing coming off) easy fix.
The zincs are cheap and easy to get.
The mast corrosion is cosmetic, but definately needs to be addressed before it becomes a structural issue.

Then I went aboard with Pat.
Went over the boat thoroughly.
Man did the boat stink!
Definately been put away wet and covered.
White mold on much of the teak in the head, rear cabin, and v-birth.
The cushions are tired and dated, and based on the mold in the boat need to be replaced.
Same with the mattresses.
You would NEVER get that smell out.
Much of the teak in the galley/head needs refinishing.

Opening the cupboards and other storage, the boat was jammed full of stuff confirming the neglect.

The bilge was a mess, moldy and dirty.
You can tell a lot about the care of a boat by its bilges.

However, the motor and motor compartment were very clean.

Likes on the boat

• Teak cap and grab rails
• Flag blue hull
• Layout (very open)
• Lots of room in the fore and aft cabins (storage too)
• Doors to head/shower from both the salon and aft cabin
• Navigation station off to side
• Storage
• center line double sinks
• deep bilges
• fridge/freezer with upper and lower doors
• AGM batteries
• 4 cyl Yanmar diesel
• lots of interior grab rails
• Shoal draft (5' 4")
• New cradle
• Diesel heat
• A/C (not on the listing)
• Several 12v fans throughout
• Dorades for ventilation
• Nice hatches with screens
• Nice stainless side ports with screens
• Simple davits
• Outboard crane and storage
• Modern radar and chart plotter
• Modern autopilot with under deck ram
• Instrument displays on companionway
• Rear fold down swim platform and ladder
• Full enclosure
• Huge cockpit
• Cockpit cushions
• Teak folding cockpit table
• Stainless CQR anchor
• Windlass controls in cockpit
• Winter frame and cover

Dislikes

• Teak cap and grab rails (maintenance)
  
• Original sails (probably need replacing)
• No spinnaker
• Fenders are a mess (need new ones)
• Alternator belt dust (need serpentine belt upgrade)

Overall we were disappointed with the condition of the boat.
The neglect over the past couple of years were catching up with her.

At asking $214k US (don't ask about CAN$) she would need the following:

• New sails ($10k)
• Spinnaker ($5k)
• Stack pack ($2k)
• Refinish Mast ($4k)
• New Fenders ($1k)
• New cushions ($5k)
• New mattresses ($3k) 

That is almost $30k.

This boat is overpriced compared to other Tartan 4100 boats on the market.
There are other decent 4100s on YachtWorld for a lot less money.

For that price, you can get a completely refurbished 4100 from the Tartan factory with an all new carbon rig, new sails (dual forestays), and redone interior.

With the boat being a salt water boat, there could be some wiring and other issues that you can't see on the hard.  All the rigging would be a candidate for replacement.

BUT she is located in Canada and has an excellent cradle and winter cover.
AND she is a TARTAN.

We could low ball an offer, but I don't want a huge project right now.  Just cleaning (getting rid of the white mold) and refinishing the interior wood would be months of work.

Besides, Rita said NO.

Sorry no pictures.

OK, so were got underway by 10:45am.
WNW wind 6-8 knots, so full main and jib once we got out of Collins Bay.
Very closed hauled and gusty at points.
Sailed as much as we could.

Past Amherst Island, wind was on the nose, so we motor sailed with main at 2,000 RPMs.

We saw a ship on the AIS:

She past within a quarter mile of us (destination Picton):

Coming up Long Reach, the winds were light on the beam so we motor sailed when we could:

Around Deseronto, the Narrows, and into North Point shoal to anchor for the night.
Our friends Don and Judy recommended this anchorage.

Trip Odometer: 39.4 miles
Avg Speed: 4.6 knots
Moving Time: 08:30

Great spot to anchor with a sand bottom no weeds (good holding).

Public dock for peeing the dog:

Only boat in the anchorage was us!

Another great dinner on the BBQ; we ate below because it had turned cold.

Here I am reading the Tom Wilson book:

CS wine for the CS Yacht:

Shadow enjoying below decks:

VERY COZY

CS34 2020 Cruise East Day 09 - Collins Bay

Overnight, I had set the anchor alarm on the handheld GPS.

Anchor alarm sounded just before 8am, as the wind had swung from SW to NW, so the boat swung more then 100ft to sound the alarm.  No problem, it was time to get up anyway.

Dinghied over to the Mulcaster dog peeing station.

Quick breakfast of grilled cheese, and we hoisted anchor a little after 9:30am.

We were looking at the long term forecasts, and it looked nasty on the upcoming labour day weekend on Lake Ontario to be heading home.  We did not want to be pounding into 30 knots to get to Cobourg.
Looked into going to Waupoose (94 miles to Cobourg), or maybe Main Duck Island (70 miles to Cobourg), however, that would be too much for Rita and the dog.

We made the decision to start heading back on the inside route.

Rita and I have found that our CS34 is a great boat.
It sails well, has no issues, great electronics, brand new sails/canvas etc etc etc.
However, we do find it cramped below sometimes in the high traffic areas at the bottom of the companionway steps.  The V berth is a cramped also.
We find the boat lacks storage for extended voyages and gear.

We are always on the lookout for Still Time III.

I had found in my internet searches a Tartan 4100 for sale in Kingston.
I emailed the broker and arranged for a viewing for the next day.
So, we were underway to Collins Bay.

Half way to Gananoque

Winds were 6-9 knots from the west, so full main and jib.

Tried to sail where we could, but it was pretty much on the nose, so we motor sailed at low RPMs.

Pretty chill

Coming around Howe Island into the Bateau Channel, winds were shifting all over the place.

Furled in the jib and motor sailed up the channel tacking like we were on a Nonsuch

Used the autopilot to sail to 25 degrees apparent wind and autotacked when it was getting shallow.

We passed Kingston one more time:

At Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, we had to alter course around the windward mark of some Lasers

Always kewl to see!

We did get to do some sailing sans motor, but the winds were very shifty!
A little frustrating.

Winds did shift a little north and increased, so we did get some sailing in.

Motor sailing with main into Collins Bay:

We radioed in for a slip and had to report into the fuel dock.

Yellow is the fuel dock

Winds were from the NW 15-20 knots at this point pushing us into the fuel dock.
Rita did a great job with the lines.  Got registered ($68 for the slip).

Getting off the dock was challenging.  Got the marina crew to push my bow off the dock, but our dingy line had wrapped around the end of the dock stopping us dead.  Once we got that figured out, we left the dock as planned, and got into our assigned slip.

Very friendly people at this marina.

Trip Odometer: 30.60 miles

Avg Speed: 4.9 knots
Moving Time: 06:12

View from the stern:

Moon Shadow (Catalina 42) is a famous boat, as it appears on the cover of the Richardson's Chart Book:

We have this chart book (6th edition).

The 7th edition that I have seen has another nice boat on the cover:

None other than the blue hulled Tartan 4100 that we will be looking at tomorrow.

The boat was covered on the hard.

We talked to some dock mates about the boat.
The owner from Ottawa brought the boat up from Boston 5or6 years ago.
He and his wife actively sailed here out of Collins Bay as their forever boat.
When his wife died suddenly a couple of years ago, the boat was put away on the hard and neglected.  He had lost his passion for the boat and sailing in general.

We found boat covered under a custom frame and enclosure.

We noticed that the bottom was rough:

Micron CSC ablative bottom paint?

The boot stripe at the waterline was a mess, like it was put away without being cleaned.

The mast was on the lawn, and showed signs of saltwater abuse.
Major corrosion, would have to be repainted, something that would to be done professionally with epoxy paint by someone like Klacko Spars.

The zincs on the prop shaft and folding prop hub were almost non existing.

First impressions were not that good.

Couldn't wait until tomorrow to see the insides!