When CSY closed, Antigua began...and now? Some trivia.

When CSY closed it's doors, the Coats brothers picked up what was left of the company and began Antigua Sailing yachts, using the same molds.
They moved from the Gandy Blvd. location west across Tampa Bay to a building in Clearwater, Fl.

I visited there a few times in the mid 80's and inspected their production.
The Antigua's were lightened by a cored deck and some other cost saving measures.  They also marketed a stretched version of the Morgan O.I. 51' ketch but as a sloop.

Well, a few years ago, I ran into one of the brothers down in Guatemala, living on his sailboat.

Now, I see he is back in business, selling.............houseboats!

http://riodulcechisme.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1002&Itemid=1

Life moves on.

S.V. MEMORY ROSE- up for sale.

 The author of this CSYsailboats site is putting his CSY Pilothouse ketch, up for sale.

For more information, visit the Memory Rose site below:

http://memoryrose.blogspot.com/2012/10/memory-rose-will-be-up-for-sale.html

(interested parties can respond using the Comments option below.)

Hard Top for Songbird

William Barr	4:16 PM (1 hour ago)
to me

Ron,

As promised, I'm forwarding pictures of Songbird's hard bimini. 

The bimini was manufactured at Catamaran's in Rio Dulce.  Les, the yard manager there, welded the 1" stainless supports for me and made the curvature to my specs, including matching the color in the gelcoat.  Les then sub-contracted to have the glass-work done on site under his supervision.  The top was completed and installed even sooner than I had requested (I wanted to leave in three weeks!) and came in just a little over the cost estimate.  It was very reasonable.  I purchase four 70 watt solar panels from the shop at Ram marina (the name escapes me)--I mounted them and they did the connections for me.   The wires for the solar panels go through the forward starboard post and into my electrical box, from there to the batteries. 

The structure is very sound.  I could probably walk on the surface, but try to confine any climbing up there to the parts supported by the frame.  Once back on the Hudson River, I made new roll-up windows to create a complete inclosure.  I'm very pleased with it.  It's water-proof, of course, and provides good visibility with the windows up or down.

I vacillated about doing this for a long time because I have a real love-hate relationship with the bimini.  I love the protection but hate the restricted visibility, enjoying it greatly when the top is completely off.  For that reason, when I remade the old soft bimini, I installed a full length zipper running athwart it so I had, in effect, a convertible.  In four years of sailing the Caribbean, I had "the top down" maybe three days.  So, there was the answer to the question of whether to go hard-top or not.  The hard bimini didn't really cost much more than a new soft one, and it supports solar panels and will not wear out.  In addition, all my electrical problems have been solved.  For me, it was the right thing to do.

I was surprised to hear that you're letting Memory Rose go, but time marches on.  I'm sure the next chapter will be rewarding for you, Ron.  And thanks for the info about Songbird's rudder.

Bil Barr
S/V Songbird

Index CSY 44 , CSY 37, CSY 33 -- right side of this page.

... right side of this page for........ CSY Index

... top left of page (Inside the Black Bar on top)and choose the light blue word...Follow ...to be alerted automatically, when we update our posts.

OR.........
  ... bottom of page ....right side, for OLDER POSTS with page after page for years of info.

Enjoy!

CSY 44 Pilothouse (Ketch)

The rare Pilothouse version of the CSY 44 contained everything the company could add to a cruising boat that seemed to be desirable. Some things change, yet some do not. The Pilothouse version is emulated today by many other manufactures and their models have been found for years in nautical magazines.
Photo 1: Was taken off the cover of the 1980 Chart Pack 1980. It shows the Pilothouse charging up to NYC for the Boat Show in the NY Coliseum with a CSY cutter in the backround.           

The Company's objectives were clear, as stated in their manual.

  The first CSY Pilothouse CSY was built on the "FLY". Owner of record of hull #1 was, Martin Dean, CFO of the company and also supplier of much of the heavy stainless steel components on the CSY during those years(like the Anchor Platform). He and his wife cruised only locally on the West Coast of Florida, so he wanted a shoal draft version @  4' 11"  (Deep Draft is 6' 6"). To make the N.Y. boat show on time, a team of craftsmen were along for the ride, working on the offshore passage up the East Coast, to finish the interior.  
Yup! IT was finished along the way from Tampa to NYC  for the 1978 Boat Show!

Martin Dean later sold the boat in a degraded condition to Bob Jefferies in 1988. But Bob was sharp enough to get Frank Hamlin, early N.A. for CSY on the Pilothouse project, to survey it for him and help him get it home.  You see, there were inches of oysters on the bottom-etc..
All went well and the boat, first named Mad Dream for (MD-Martin Dean), was renamed "Whatever", Bob's quick, 'smiling' shot at any bs. was    "Whatever..........."   :)

Bob Jefferies at the helm motorsailing alongside us in 7 kts. of wind +/-. (1993)









From what I can gather, the Design of the Pilothouses was not a simple matter at CSY. The designing of it was contentious to some degree in the factory.  I have NO facts to offer. I do Know, that Peter Schmitt seems to have been the top gun at CSY drawing board, but, resident Naval Architect Frank Hamlin was also listed and seemed to be strongly linked to the Pilothouse project.

 

The advertisements for all the CSY fleet were frequent but it was clear that the company considered the Pilothouse Ketch as the Queen of their fleet.

There were hull numbers for 22 of these rare vessels, but it seems only 15 or so were actually built.




 For a bit more.... click on link just under this line.
A bit more on Pilothouse CSYs...Will combine these links when I get back to the US

"JAZZ", a CSY 37' class act!

Peter and Jan Hibbard, have sent photos of their 37' CSY. The boat does not look 30 years old, does it! I've had lot's of querries for 37 photos and information and am glad that such fine quality material came in. Now others have something truly sharp to look at.


JAZZ leaving Titusville Florida for Bahamas "Abacos" in May of 2008.







Anchored in Green Turtle, Abacos May 2008. Trail boards refinished with Red Brightside and inlay with Gold Leaf enamel that is actually cement monument paint. All exterior bright work taken down to bare wood with heat gun and sander. Cleaned and bleached. 3 coats Natural Teak Cetol followed up with 3 coats of gloss Cetol. Hull cleaned with Awlgrip cleaner and followed up with Awlgrip polish.









Port interior - New foam cushions, navy marine vinyl piped in white. Sumbrella throw pillows. All bulkheads cleaned and then painted with white gloss Brightside. All interior woodwork above sole refinished with water based Varathane.









Saloon Forward from Companionway - braided rugs, various decor items like mirror, pictures added with Weems and Plath flower vase. Bulkheads white gloss Brightside and galley counter Formica prepared and painted with gloss Navy Brightside.










Captains Cabin Port Side Forward - Trimmed in blue and white decor, bulkheads white gloss Brightside and all trim water base Varathane.











Head Forward - Sole fiberglass sole coved in white Dri-Deck. Counter tiled and new faucet fixtures added











Galley Port Side Looking Aft - All counters and top of fridge refinished with Navy Brightside and all trim with water based Varathane.












Cockpit Looking Aft - Fiberglass floor covered with Dri-Deck. C Cushions (closed cell foam) custom made for seating. Throw pillows red and navy striped Sumbrella, Cockpit table refinished and striped with Navy Brightside with gloss white Brightside background. All exterior bright work in cockpit and around entire boat taken down to bare wood and refinished with 3 coats Natural Teak Ce/09tol and then 3 coats Gloss Cetol.


Originally Posted on 3/22/09

CSY Owners of 44', 37' and 33' boats built from 76-83

Twice per year, I move this Post forward. If not, as you can expect, things get lost in history..

So now 6 months have passed and you get an update! How Cool! :)

.........If you own a CSY built from, you are offered a place to post pictures and write ups about your boat, "right here."

It's a great way for all of us to get to know each other and spend some time, similar in a way to being in a harbor and get to meet up for an evening or two. Here tho, we can reread and view, what we can not remember the morning after :)
Send a photo of your boat, yourselves or a couple of your "Happy Projects" and let's see what we have.

Nearly 3 years now and all is running well/Quality!

My hopes are to place ANY CSY BOATS CURRENTLY OUT THERE WITH OWNERS CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET and interested.... a place to show their vessel and it's condition, problems, improvements or ? This is available now, right here. So, what are you waiting for?

Ready to show off your vessel?
Here is your opportunity. Just Email your initial write-up and photo attachments to: s.v.memoryrose@gmail.com

With just a few emails, you can have your boat up on the web, showing off your proudest projects.

Stay well and keep smiling,
ron sheridan

Chain Plates/for CSY and Other Great Cruising Boats worth Upgrading, Including Chain Plate Fabrication thoughts. part 1

It would be wonderful if everything lasted forever but when dealing with boats, I think it is fair to say, "that is not true".

If any of us went out and bought a 1977-1981 Buick or Cadillac, we wouldn't think of taking it out on the road and pushing it to 80 or 100 mph with the original old tires on it, would we? Stainless steel, used for components such as rigging wire, chain plates, and most bolts aboard, is somewhat like rubber, in that it can and does degrade; rubber via sunlight, stainless steel via water/deoxygenated water. It doesn't mater if your eyes spot the fine cracks, the wetted material degenerates.

Rust on an interior chain plate, is a sign of water intrusion through or around the cap rail. It's difficult to determine the extent of damage by the rusting discoloration of the surface. It is known that water has seeped into the hulls around these plates on most boats. If the discoloration is there, that is the proof. After 30 years, it seems advisable to remove and replace them, just as one would do with old tires. The CSY is lucky to have reasonable accessability to the plates, so this project makes the CSY's lifespan extendable more than many or most boats out there.

Rigging wires have a life of about 10 years or a circumnavigation due to the same processes of wetting and stress loading. Why would it be reasonable to think other stainless steel under similar loads or conditions would be different? (I don't know about yours, but my boat will be 31 next month.)

I only became suspect of stainless in the mid 90's and somewhat must thank the CSY Topica list for allowing the subject to get specific, linking the problem to chain plates. Years have passed and much has occurred to confirm that 'we' the owners of this quality sailboat, need to be aware of all the components that contribute to the safety of those who travel on or in it. As I have just mentioned, we would not think of driving a car on old cracked tires, so why would we consider our boats impervious to degradation of important parts. (rigging wires 10 years-chain plates and their bolts... 30???) This is NOT a CSY problem. It IS a boat problem...All boats. http://www.amarinesurveyor.com/chainplate.htm  We are lucky though that as a group, we have discussed it and doing something about it. Many vessels do not have the advantage of our history of discussion/repair solutions, so we are ahead of the pack and safer for it. For some boat brands, this might not be a doable project so they ignore it. Those boats will soon be worthless.


Do not loose the concept that surveyors will not always pick up even, 'visable' problems. They sometimes(and I think I am being kind)seem to not speak of problems that will 'kill the deal'. They are limited to 'viewing' and cannot disassemble anything in their survey, so not uncovering all defects is the reasonable outcome. Even if you ask specific questions and 'get it in writing...' you should trust that Father Time has done his thing and CYA in budgeting for repairs and replacements.


I "Chose" to remove my chainplates before there was a problem. My personal solution was to me, a CSY 44 UPGRADE. After seeing a great chain plate design in Steve Dashew's Cruising Encyclopedia, page 582, I modified their concept a bit to adapt it to the 44' CSY hull and had 10 of them made. Cutters need 6, ketches need 10. (I now use 12 to enable me to rig the mizzen independently from the main without using a triadic stay- by adding forward intermediate stays from the mizzen instead). So far, 6-12 sets of circular plates have been made and installed on CSY 44's. Wide grip, easy fabrication(identical plates) and simple installation and external for many reasons.

Bedding (original) around INTERNAL chain plate was poor. Gap shown here, of 1/4" x 1.5", allowed water to seap below decks. Rust stains on 52oo shows poor bonding and a place that water stagnated.

Photos included here are of the original CSY Triangular plates and are offered only to explain and show the 'obvious' problems. Stainless steel does not last forever and certainly does not 'IF' it is subjected to an Oxygen deprived environment, as "in a trapped area" below the teak cap rail. The bedding of the cap rail was done in such a way as to allow water to get below the cap rail and then run down hill to any opening into the hull, sometimes allowing water to drain to lockers or chain plates.

CSY chose to use 'Internal' chain plates. The chain plate then needs to have it's tang pass through the hull at deck level to attach to the rigging turnbuckles. It is at this point that caulking of some kind is needed and so doing, creates an area to entrap water. Even if only a drop or two, it will stagnate and become oxygen starved, eventually leading to crevise corrosion and stainless steel failure.



The main failure point seems to me to be the first hole below cap rail level and also the cap shroud the most common failure plate.

Failures seem to occur at or near this upper bolt hole as it is the weakest point, due to limits of material mass or weld, subjected to water degradation; then, stress from the rig. The 2" tang, is drilled for the 1/2" top mounting bolt; leaving (2) 3/4" segments of 3/8" stainless, just under the cap rail to get wet and develop 'crevice corrosion'. Add 30 years to the damp environment and rigging stresses and you get.........?

This 2" (now 1.5")drilled tang, is the weakest point of the chain plate. It's subject to crevice corrosion/and stress/it's bolt can be loosened by rigging pressure pulling it's top bolt's flat head inward thru the glass(poor fiberglass support). CSY's design of spreading the chain plate load over 5 lower bolts and only one for the top was going in the right direction in my opinion by spreading the grip over a wide area of glass, but the top bolt is being pulled inward esp. on the forward and aft lowers, which makes it subject to loosening it's grip on the hull and also allowing the upper seal to leak due to movement. That movement will eventually allow water to creep below. An external chain plate would not have had this problem and I opted for this as a fix for my boat.
The load on the "Tang" for the forward and aft lowers, is inward towards mast. The original flat head bolt up near the cap rail and under the 2" teak strip below the cap rail, gets pulled into hull at forward and aft lowers. This load can potentially allow enough movement to break a seal as the tang of the chain plate goes through to the rigs turnbuckle.

Some drawings and photos will be offered on alternative ideas demonstated by owners to aleviate the potential problem and make the chain plates 'Inspectable'.

Do NOT feel that the problem is a "CSY ONLY" problem. Aging stainless steel is a problem that ALL boats share. However, many CSY owners have addressed the issue and have solutions! Chain Plates: part 2 will cover some of them. Even after 30 years, a few projects will bring a rebuildable boat up to snuff.

For your interest: A few months ago I received an email from the editor of PACIFIC YACHTING/boating in the PACIFIC NORTHWEST, regarding my photos of CSY stainless chain plates and bolts . They did a decent write up on the faults of Stainless Steel in the marine environment and used a few of my photos. The bottom line is not my photos, but that good magazines are addressing problems that "All boats of our vintage need to address. Deterioration of metals is a subject for required reading on ALL boats. "WE" are ahead of the others in discussion of solutions!

Chain Plates/ CSY and for other Great Cruising boats worth upgrading: part 2

First to consider if changing out Chain Plates is whether to just replace the originals with the exact same design, or to rethink the pros and cons to see if there might be something better.

A CSY modification like this has been done by a number of owners; externally mounted, not internal, 1/2" plate not 3/8", wide 4" tang not 2", 316 polished/highly corrosive resistant stainless steel/more bolts(8 not 6)/countersunk to eliminate moisture trapping or line snagging, wider footprint gripping the hull, moreso than original 5 bolt base/not less.


Some have replaced the original "Internal" plates and tried to keep them bedded properly. One, has tried to use a superior stainless steel (duplex) and make a one piece replacement rather than a weldment, yet stay with internal mounting. The replacement of chain plates brings up the question of pro's and con's of either Internal or External plates. Internal plates can be removed and a shop can make up 'exact' replacements(each plate tho, will have different angles) plus all the original problems of potential leaks and crevice corrosion/inaccessible inspection through deck/cap rail material. External plates are one piece cutouts and therefore identical to each other; only afterwards are the plates tangs bent inward at the appropriate fore or aft angle needed to align with the stay or shroud. Internal plates have been a weldment but an exit slot might need to be modified if New Plates are cut from one piece of stainless steel or thicker. External need to be better looking, so polishing manually or electro-polishing is the norm, and both measures highly reduces degradation or even discoloration later.

10" circular plate with "Double Tang", mounted above original rub rail/shown on pilothouse ketch. (a tang wide enough for 2 attachment holes, allow adding a shackle for an extra attachment point (when needed) + extra beef in the tang area ) click on photo for better view

Do not forget, that a 33' CSY and a 44' have different size plates, so the amount of S.S. might be double on the bigger boat. Also if you go From a thinner plate to a thicker plate....again you are using more Stainless Steel and it's sold by the pound. IF you are going to mount your plate where you can see it...you probably want it to shine. That will cost some in time or dollars for the labor required. Manual polishing is beautiful and worthy of time and effort, but so is Electro Polishing, as it also protects the surface from rusting. Manual polishing and electro polishing combined, is even better!  A no brainer!



It should be noted that Peter Stolken, ex floor manager of the CSY plant, later on-added external chain plates-to his own prototype CSY pilothouse. His vertical straps are common for external chain plates on wooden boats and the look agrees with traditional aesthetics drawn by Peter Schmitt for the CSY.

VERTICAL STRAPS used on this CSY 37 looks traditional but round would look great too and have more plate and bolts. Skinny straps have a history of breaking so why go there?

On wooden boats, vertical straps are tied into the vessels planks. Fiberglass boats can use the older aesthetic or build

plates
tied into the hull horizontally (as CSY plates do to use the support structure of the hull's glasswork.)

Peter's "Independence"(left), a custom/one off pilothouse has retrofitted external vertical chain plates. Photo by David Kummerel. click to enlarge any photo







A 4" tang on another design offers strength plus original 6 bolts.  Machine work by JTR/Gulfport, Fl.

After learning of possible chain plate problems in the late 90's, I started to research how other boats were handling the design issue. Steve Dashew's circular design for his Deerfoot Yacht chain plates looked good to me. (It's on page 582 of his Cruising Encyclopedia.) CSY had used a 1/4" triangular base with 5 bolts and one above, welded to a vertical 3/8" piece of flat bar which became the tang above deck. I took Dashew's circle idea, to make a 10"diameter with 4" tang, cut out of one piece of 1/2" thick, 316L stainless steel, mounted externally. One piece/no welds or it's possible crevice corrosion/ thicker material/ highly polished for less corrosion/more bolts-8 vs.6/ countersunk for less chance of crevice corrosion of the attachment bolts, yet inspectable and accessible. The 10"diameter will clear all 44' CSY's. In every aspect, more rather than less than original.

Right:
External 10" plate mounted before new external high rub rail was added. The teak cap rail is removed here BUT, that is not a part of this chain plate job!
A small amount of the original teak cap rail can and should get cut away, to allow the external plate tang to lie flush against the fiberglass of the hull.

S.V.BEAUJOLAIS replaced chain plates in Panama.  Rick Heim of Gulfport Machine, St. Pete, Fl. made and shipped them. Work was done dockside, with Roger and a local worker taking on the task.  Looks good huh?  Roger admits a little extra time later on will be needed to make things bristol again, but I think they did a fine job.

I designed these circular plates for 'my' boat, but offer photos and text for others to investigate. As you can see, the plate fits 'properly'.



-CSY original chain plates were internally mounted and their tangs penetrated the cap rail. This left the tang encapsulated through fiberglass and teak for about 2" and could not be checked for crevice corrosion down in that area.

Drawing of plate (lower right).. note upper 2 holes were slightly lowered so that nuts and washers could be easily installed-inside the hull- and below interior of cap rail. Center bolt lowered only for aethetics of design/it Looks better than centered!

External plates, instead of the internal ones, can be inspected visually and if caulking is necessary; it is easy to accomplish. -CSY interior plate used 6 bolts-the circular external 10"design uses 8 (and countersunk bolts that are easy to bed/seal; note: I do not recommend External Hex Head bolts which catch a lazy sheet and are more likely to suffer from crevice corrosion under their heads as they are near impossible to keep caulked/sealed perfectly.

Single 2" Tang design scrapped. Advantage of wide double hole tang was too overpowering to dismiss, so all plates were made with 4" tang.  (Click on any photo to enlarge it).
Use of flat Socket Head bolts (special order)sit flush with the outer plate and offer a strong grip for tool installing or removing that Slot or Phillip heads do not. CSY, the flat head end of the chain plate bolt was embedded in the rub rail and not accessible. -Going to "external plates", gives you the option of easily changing out bolts if you are concerned as they are not embedded but installing 316 grade bolts in the first place solves future problems. -CSY plates were welded, this design is not.


/
S.V. Soggypaws/WT 44, with 10" plates and wide 4" tangs, installed in 2005. Dave chose to remove the teak cap rail, adding instead an aluminum slotted toe rail forward.

Plate project took Dave and Stacey / husband wife team, about a week.

Mounting externally, helps reduce the possibility of oxygen deprivation and therefore should fair better in the elements. Also, they are easy to inspect.

A slightly different twist on the circular design was used by Pete a few years ago, out on the west coast on his boat Imagine. check out this link to his efforts, including his comments on cutting stainless steel using water jet technology and it's very reasonable cost.

www.imaginecruising.com/web/the_boat/repairs_and_reinforcements.htm

As said before, if you were buying a late 70's car of any 'make', you would do a number of things to make sure it is up to specs for a good safe ride. No mater what boat you chose, do the same. Be safe, stay well and keep smiling, it does not add anything significant to the cost of the vessel and really helps to bring back the strength and safety factor.

Drive Trains and Overall Performance

Every year or so, a question regarding engines, transmissions, propellers, cruising speed etc. sparks conversation and sometimes debate. It would take a very rare bird, to say that what they have, or what they have done, is 'not' what they now think is best, but in all conversation it does pay to listen or read carefully, so keep that in mind. I try to be fair, and keep to facts, but opinions mine and others will at times, disagree. Reading comments of others on Topica more than once and with care, sometimes catching the posts tagging along under the response, that have been sent outside of the mainstream Topica discussion, always proves interesting.

Points I noted this round of discussion:
1-Most folks would like to be able to cruise at or near hull speed.
2-Speed is not a constant and is subject to weather and wave conditions.
3-Fuel consumption varies with engine size and amount of effort demanded from it.
4-Some engines parts are getting hard to find for some engines but some are still serviced worldwide.
5-Yamaha's inboard is becoming a common choice.
6-Naturally Aspirated engines vs. Turbo choices will be debated for a long time to come.
7-Drive train and performance includes engine, transmission ratios, propeller diameter as well as pitch.
8-Changing engines is more than likely financially more costly and labor intensive, than rebuilding one or a direct replacement.
9-Dig deeper into all comments made.

1. To be able to cruise at hull speed, the engine needs to be able to run continuously at less than max and allow the boat to do 1.26 X the Square Root of the waterline length. (1.26 used here is for fat boats like ours.........a newer streamlined underbody would use 1.35 or there abouts)
This gives the 44 a theoretical hull speed of about 7.5 knots. Note that when motoring up to 5 or 6, the wake is minimal but when trying 7 or 8 the wake drastically increases. The force required to move the boat through the water (and move the water up into the atmosphere causing a wake) is increasing radically the faster you go. The boat is trying to plane, bow up, stern down. The ideal is to be able to get close to this 7.5 for a 44 in moderate conditions. Doing 6 or 6.5 is easily doable and a whole lot less expensive.

2. Flat calm reduces resistance to the hull and allows it to gain speed slowly over time to reach cruising speed. Throw in some 1 or 2' waves will slow down any drive train combination, but these small waves, or larger, will have less effect on larger engines and larger diameter props.
CSY didn't put a 24" prop on their boats because they liked to waste money. Larger diameter props, are a design element of displacement boats; bigger diameter/smaller pitch. If you want to go fast with a planing hull, it is the opposite; reduced diameter and increased pitch. To give a radical example, consider instead of your diesel engine, the manufacturer placed a 75 HP Outboard Engine on your boat(OK, even with an extended shaft). You could make the engine scream, but the small prop would give poor boat acceleration and have little effect against headwinds or waves. Point made?
Props are also designed with overall surface area integral to its intended use. Sailboat props are normally contain a surface of less than 50% of the overall area of the circle. Powerboat props usually go about 70%. That means, when looking at your prop from astern, the sail prop covers half of the available area that water has to pass or grab, and power props grab 70% of it and also restricts water passage by 70% when sailing. Props with 5 or more blades are used for grabbing even more water and are common on tugs, workboats, ships, subs and can use 100% or more of the circle by using overlapping flukes.

Original 24"Prop of CSY

Since sailboats 'sometimes' really like to sail, 50 % surface area or less is the rule. I have seen smaller 3 blade power boat props
on an Antigua and the owner said it was fine. I've heard 20" for CSY's and believe their owners are happy. I have heard owners of max props, Martecs and auto props all tell of the great performance. Never, have I heard a complaint, about a change from CSY's 24", 50% sail prop design element, but the differences are very noticable. Martecs and Maxprops "flat blade" design can at best give you about 85% of the efficiency of a standard prop because the standard prop flukes are designed to create lift. You will never get the same speed 'motoring' with a feathering or folding prop, at the same rpms as you will with a properly pitched fixed prop. As one owner did, increasing his pitch from CSY 15" to 17", helps because that is a 13% boost in pitch. In calm water you can expect a boost from near 6kts. to near 7kts. With 75 HP, you can repitch to 18". In choppy water you will still need diameter. Ten years ago, I installed a 24" Martec, 3 bladed feathering prop. It was great for sailing, but I lost a knot under power even though I tweaked it's external pitch adjustments.

Martec, 3 blade, feathering, 24" diameter propeller at left

3a. Fuel consumption. Much ado about nothing! I never heard of a Ferrari owner complaining about gas mileage, did you? Many owners have more into their boats than it would take to snap up a used Farrari, so come on. I put a grand a year into my boats tank (maybe) and alot more into my car. If an element like 1.5 gallons/hour or 2, or nail it to the wall for a few hours and burn 3, is really going to effect our cruising speed over time, then I'm talking to the wrong group!

3b. Engine life. I've had my boat 15 years and have put less than 2000 hours on. (True, I work on it too much and sail too little, but) I have traveled from the Chesapeake to Mobile along the coast. Around Florida a couple of times. Across the Gulf of Mexico to Pensacola a handful of times, up the Tombigbee waterway from Mobile, Alabama up to Kentucky, then all the way through the Cumberland River and Tennessee River, then back to do the Florida Keys a couple of times and yes some local daysailing. Fifteen years, less than 2000 hours. My old Lehman will last 15-50K hours without a rebuild, so I guess I'm good for another century if I keep spares:)

4. Parts. IF you wish to keep your engine, spend some time and you will locate a part, or rarely you can have something else made or adapted. If the engine is an antiquated design, using an engine that CSY used and built their stringers for, might simplify your hunt and reduce your cost. Ed Marill exchanged his engine for a totally rebuilt Perkins 4-236, 75 hp. for about $7000. if I remember correctly. No major projects like stringers to cut, extensive glass work, and adaptation of systems, transmissions or props. I've done them all. Ed did repitch his 24" CSY prop to 18" and was able to lower his rpms and gain hull speed while cruising. [ A 3" increase in pitch is a 20% increase. In theory, 20% more forward movement in the same period of time or RPM's. 6+ knots is now 7.5.] Later, he added a 23" Auto Prop and was very satisfied with it as well. Like probably most owners, Ed chose not to do the majority of work himself but to hire a pro for engine install. I'm guessing he laid out somewhere above $10,000 to complete the engine replacement/upgrade. I'm also guessing that total cost for an installation would run $20,000 for engine/material/labor on an engine install of a different configuration. Some of us are capable of doing our own work and finding good shops or outlets for parts, to keep costs down, but it is still a major task.

5. Yamaha. My 2 cents. Remember Evenrude, Johnson, Murcury? Sure they are still around but their marketing is not up the the imports. Maybe even their product is more similar to Chevy or Ford and thus are loosing the import battle, but certainly are not the Scott-Atwaters or Lawsons or Elgins of yester-year. Marketing is more decisive in how we now live than engineering. Sad.
Thirty some odd years ago, I was a marketing major so when I got an eye opener in St. Lucia, it all made too much sense.
We had been on charter and when leaving I asked the driver to detour if necessary to find a place to leave our extra food and supplies. I did not want them to be left for the Moorings community.
He drove to a small fishing village on the East coast of St. Lucia. Extremely poor town. We left the provisions with the church/shelter and the driver began to talk about the great thing Yamaha did for the town. They came in a donated brand new Yamahas to all the fishermen!
Yup. What a way to grab the market.
Don't get me wrong, Yamaha, like Hondas and Toyotas are great! Early on the Japanese imports were sold at or less than their American competion to gain market share, just as the relatively recent Hyundi. They last along time, but when you need a part, it's going to cost....especially without competition. Ok, enough on that, but it is important to know where you are going to live, cruise and what parts you might need.

6. Naturally Aspirated vs. Turbo. I'll try to let this beast sleep, but note the turbo discussion on the Topica site and others will get into "carbon build up, rebuilds, turbo failure and maintanace tasks". Do you methodically maintain everything aboard and would you 'like' to add this to the list?

7. Drive trains. It's a package. You can't put George Foreman's body on PeeWee Herman's legs! Same with engines and boats. The HP, Torque, RPMS, have to be matched to transmission Ratios and propeller Diameter and Pitch, to have the boat do what you want it to do. Increasing torque can give you the ability to add pitch. Just adding HP without changing final drive rpms, will basically keep you at the same speed, because the prop is going no faster. Adding HP and using it by moving more water is accomplished by changing transmission ratios or more easily, adding pitch to the prop. Decreasing prop size to save money or changing to a folding or feathering propeller will most always will not give you the surface area needed to propel the CSY in rough water as well as the std. size prop. Auto Prop, might be an exception.... Displacement vessels should restrict their final prop speed to between 700 and 1000 rpms to avoid slippage and cavitation. Gear accordingly. Adding HP might suggest changing the shaft strength(you cannot change diameter-you are limited to 1.5"). To do this, if you upgrade, Aquamet 22 stainless steel seems to be the recommended material. It is extremely corrosion resistant and formulated to take engine vibration. Aquamet 19 is similar but not as good with vibrations...fine for shafting a new rudder though.

8. Price. discussed above
9. Dig deeper. Ask, ask and ask again, dig deeper into the subject, until you really feel satisfied. It's certainly better than digging deeeeeeper into your pocket later.