Overview
The Columbia 26 is a small full-keel cruiser from Columbia Yachts of Costa Mesa, California, one of the earliest production fiberglass builders on the West Coast. It carries a narrow beam, a cutaway full keel, and a rudder hung off the keel’s trailing edge, a shape aimed at coastal cruising that turned out to hold up well offshore too. It should not be confused with the later Columbia 26 Mark II, a Bill Tripp design from 1969 with a fin keel and spade rudder that is a different boat under the same name.
History
Columbia Yachts introduced the 26 in 1963 and built it through 1969, with roughly 799 hulls completed before the Mark II replaced it on the production line. Sources disagree on who drew the boat. Good Old Boat’s database credits McCurdy & Rhodes, while at least one aggregated listing attributes the design to Sparkman & Stephens, likely a mix-up with one of Columbia’s other early models; McCurdy & Rhodes is treated as the better-supported attribution here. Either way, the 26 was part of Columbia’s first wave of full-keel cruisers before the company moved toward the finner, faster hulls of the late 1960s.
Construction
The hull is hand-laid solid fiberglass over a full keel with a cutaway forefoot, a fairly straight sheer, and a deep sump aft in the keel where any water intrusion collects rather than sitting under the cabin sole. Lead ballast of 2,300 lbs is carried low in the keel, close to half the boat’s 5,200 lb displacement, a high ballast ratio for a 26-footer of this era and part of why the type has a reputation for standing up to its rig. The rudder is attached directly to the keel’s trailing edge rather than hung on a skeg.
Under Sail
A boat this size with a full keel and modest sail plan is not going to be quick. What it offers instead is the full-keel manners common to the type: a boat that tracks straight, is forgiving of an inattentive helm, and does not get knocked around by a confused sea the way a lighter, beamier fin-keel boat can. Expect a boat that wants to be sailed on the wind rather than pinched, and that rewards patience more than aggressive trimming.
Buyers Notes
James Baldwin noted the boat’s “6’1” headroom for those who need it,“ a genuinely generous figure for a 26-foot full-keeler of this vintage, and specifically flagged that it should not be confused with the fin-keel, spade-rudder Mark II and later versions that share the name but not the hull form. He recorded no minuses for this boat.
As with any hull now pushing sixty years old, a buyer should expect a survey to focus on the keel bolts and their surrounding laminate, the condition of the rudder’s keel-hung fittings, and whatever the auxiliary engine situation has become after six decades of owners. The small size and full keel keep this boat cheap to buy and simple to maintain compared with newer, more complex 26-footers, which is much of its appeal as an entry-level bluewater-capable boat.
