Greetings from a new CSY44 WO owner

[SueDarrin]

Hi there all I am proud to have joined what I (naively - as i am new to sail boats but think that I am correct!!) consider to be  a fortunate group of people to own one of these boats.

I stumbled on Moonstar lying derelict in a yard and was captivated by the shape, history and build quality.  So i have thrown myself into the project with the focus on getting her (are we allowed to call a ship her?) back to sailing condition. 

The boat was owned by Rocky Bonow who i am trying to find (last seen in Western Australia)

Does anyone know the boat and some history?

Cheers Darrin

[Soggy Geek]

Hi Darrin,

Welcome to the group!!  If you can find the numbers on the stern (upper right hand corner of the stern--they are etched into the fiberglass, but may have been painted over).  Or KNOW the manufacturer's number for your boat (starts with TXY...), or know the previous name for your boat, we may be able to track some historical information.  I have a database that's been kept of CSY's since about 2000, but I don't find a Moonstar in it.  Is it an Australian registered boat?  Perhaps the Australian registry can give you a little history.

Sometimes, the primary hull number (ie "68") was also written on the bottoms of some or all of the drawers.

Good luck with your new boat!

[SueDarrin]

Hi there,  Moonstar is in fact Australian Registered but i cannot find  out much information about her. 

Thanks for the info re the hull number I have been looking for numbers everywhere!!!

My latest news is that the gearbox is shot.

Does anyone know where the waste tanks are on the 44WO?  ther are two waste filler/removal caps but the pipes have been disconnected and i cannot find any tanks that look like waste.

Cheers
Darrin

[Matthew Balch]

Hi Darren,
On my 44 W/O, the forward waste tank is under the Vberth. The aft head waste tank is under the port cockpit locker.
Matthew

[SueDarrin]

Thanks Matt,  i have a tank under the port cockpit locker which i had assumed was a water tank.  There are two tanks in the engine room one on port side and one on starboard side i thought they were both water tanks.  I have not located any tank in the V berth as yet.

I have, however located the previous owner of the vessel and am seeing him on Thursday and so will ask him.

cheers Darrin

[SueDarrin]

Hi Soggy Geek,

i have stripped the cover off the stern on the inside but there are no numbers - and while i am writing this i realise you may be referring to the outside - which has been sanded and painted. 

So i am down to the draws option.  I am also meeting the original owner on thursday so will be able to ask.

cheers Darrin

[SueDarrin]

Hi Sherry,

I found out some more information.

There is a number under the draws -198

I located the owner - Rocky Hans Donald Bonow he had owned the boat until the beginning of this year always called Moonstar- 37  years in total.

He was under the impression that it was manufactured in 1972 but my research is that it is is between 1977 and 1980.

Cheers
Darrin

[Soggy Geek]

Darrin,
Assuming it is a CSY 44 Walkover, and it's hull number is 198, then it likely was completed in 1980.
They were top of the line boats when built--the manufacturer refused to compromise on quality and went under during an economic downturn.  I think the last year in production was 1980.

There's a bunch more info on the quality of CSY boats on our website:
http://svsoggypaws.com/csy

There are a couple of CSY 44's I know that were sold to Australians.  One was a 44 Walkthrough last sold in the Queensland area.  My records show it was named Kelbec II and the last known owner is in or from Tasmania.  Another was sailed to the east coast of Australia in about 2010 or 2011, and sold there, but I lost track of it.  The 3rd is Soggy Paws (our old boat).  It is owned by a guy from the Perth area but is current parked in eastern Indonesia because of the COVID lockdowns.  We sailed Soggy Paws from Florida to SE Asia and then got a hankering for a catamaran, and sold her in 2016.  They are great boats.

Good luck rebuilding!

Sherry

[SueDarrin]

Thanks Sherry,

I am not surprised that here is little info on this boat as Rocky was not on the WWW and i dont think he knows the CSY story - just that the boat is fantastic. 

He has been in two Hurricanes in the boat and was washed overboard in the roaring 40's but managed to grab onto the drogue anchor rope and was rescued 10hr later by a fishing vessel who could not raise him on the radio and went to see if there was a problem. 

fitted the rudder yesterday. 
attaching the gearbox to the engine today then hopefully it goes in Saturday

Darrin

[Dreamketcher]

Congrats on the new boat.  We purchased our from the second owner and have love her. Ours is hull 3 and was kept in the PNW on lake union. We love the pilot house design. When coming down the west coast we passed cape Mendocino, it didn’t occur to us how heavy the weather was as I like to run the helm on the inside while wearing my flannel night pants. Our buddy boat called over the radio so we could tuck into a hole on the coast and wait out the storm. Apparently he kept getting soaked from the breaking waves of the following sea at his stern, his foul weather gear just wasn’t doing the trick. His boat was a Ericson 39. We have good laughs over it now.  If you know anyone looking we’re stepping away from the ocean for awhile to tend to life matters

Dave Butler
S/V DreamKetcher

[SueDarrin]

Hi Dave,  I do love the pilot house design.  Actually i love the CSY design.

I did recommend a PH to my cousin but he didn't go for it - despite the fact that he loves sailing.  The only other person i know in USA has a land bound wife.

I got the gearbox on the engine yesterday and will be lifting the engine in this morning.