Why Sisu?

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Sisu is a 1983 CS33 sloop, lying in McKinley Marina, Milwaukee, WI. She has been sailed and cruised on the Great Lakes her entire life — never in salt water. Over the past five years she has received $33,768 of documented investment, including a 2023 KiloVault lithium electrical system, a 2022 effective engine rebuild, a 2022 full Raymarine + B&G electronics suite, a 2023 Raymarine EV-100 autopilot, 2025 Vulcan anchor and Maxwell windlass, a 2025 OGO composting head, 2025 opening ports, and a 2025 DC water heater. In 2025 alone, the current owner sailed her roughly 1,000 nautical miles single-handed across Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Asking: $32,500

A CS33 is a known quantity. Built in Ontario by Canadian Sailcraft, fewer than 400 ever made, beloved by a small but vigorous owner community. Sailing magazines from the day praised the design for stability, sail-balance, and Great Lakes seaworthiness. Well-maintained CS33s are still actively cruising forty years later.

What Sisu adds to the standard CS33 story:

• A bottom that doesn't need bottom paint. In 2009 the prior owner stripped the bottom and applied three layers of new West System epoxy barrier coat — no blisters were found at the time. Sisu has been maintained on Vivid antifouling since. The previous Vivid application lasted five seasons before needing refresh — well above the typical 1–2 year cycle for ablative paints. In spring 2025 the bottom was sanded, given two fresh coats of Vivid, and burnished. The next owner should not need to think about bottom paint until approximately 2030.
• A current-generation electrical system. Most CS33s on the market still have flooded lead-acid house banks and 1980s wiring. Sisu has a 300 Ah KiloVault Lithium-Ion house bank (2023), a 100 Ah AGM starter, a 1,000 W inverter, a Sterling 50 A shore charger configured for both chemistries, a Balmar 100 A alternator with programmable regulator, a BluSea ACR, and a Victron Smart Shunt monitoring everything via Bluetooth.
• A current Raymarine + B&G electronics suite. Raymarine Axiom 7 on a swivelling NavPod (visible from any cockpit position), Raymarine EV-100 wheel-pilot autopilot with P70 head and Rudder Reference, B&G V60 VHF with DSC, AIS receiver, full-function wireless handset, and cockpit speakers that toggle between VHF and entertainment audio, Raymarine i60 wind display with masthead sensor, new transducer for depth/speed/temp. All on SeaTalk.
• 2022 effective engine rebuild. The Bukh DV20 had the entire fuel system replaced from tank through injectors (including all gaskets), all hoses replaced (including muffler), new Racor, and a new water pump. New stuffing box that same winter. New fuel tank in 2025.
• A real cruising record. Not a dock queen. Sisu has done multi-week solo trips and is set up specifically for short-handed sailing — all lines led aft, swivel nav pod, Wi-Fi autopilot remote, eight new Lewmar clutches (2022), lazy jacks (new 2025), hydraulic backstay, full sail inventory.
• A documented life. This website is years of public record of how Sisu has been maintained, equipped, and sailed. There is no "what happened between 2018 and 2024" gap that you'll have to investigate on a survey.