who knows a columbia 29?

[flo617]

Hi,

I recently saw a columbia 29 (1967) for sale. It looked nice and clean overall, deck seemed pretty solid and I liked her lines (I don't like beamy boats so much and a long keel seems to be a smarter choice for such an old boat and for the SF bay area(shallow and possibly heavy outside the gate). However there are a few issues that bugged me and so I would like to get some advice.

Main issue is that the chainplates for the shrouds are glassed over and embedded in the hull. So it is virtually impossible to get to them without removing the fiberglass. How confident can I be about their state of health?

Additionally, the boat does not have a boom vang. Is it a hard job for a yard to add the fixture?

Finally, I checked the internet and got a few info on the boat but not that many opinion and no actual review. Can someone who approached them can give me a balanced view on their construction? I understand that the quality of the boats from Columbia varied quite a bit during the years, what about this one? Could it be modified with little cost to perform passages (not planning to do that for a while but the idea is out there...).


I would really appreciate some feedback from experienced folks

Thank you in advance,

Florent

[Faster]

There is a lightly used boat review section here on Sailnet...

http://www.sailnet.com/boatchk/showp...cat=140&page=1

Not a lot of info, but it's something to have a look at.

Here's the Columbia owner's assoc.

Columbia Yacht Owners Association

You may well have found these already.

Fitting a vang is easy to do, not necessarily something you need to get a yard to do - and I recommend you do so sooner rather than later, esp if you're going to be sailing the heavier breezes like SF bay. It can take the form of a simple block and tackle, or there are a variety of rigid vangs that help support the boom as well as limit and control boom lift. Garhauer in California is econimical and very easy to deal with.

Garhauer Marine Hardware -2023047 (check the front page)

As for the chainplates, that does make assessing their condition more difficult. With no other signs of moisture or leakage, you may be OK.. but it's an older vessel and so "knowing" would be nice.... a picture would help to see just what the setup is.

Congrats....enjoy the boat and keep us posted

[flo617]

Thank you for your reply.

I checked the reviews on this website they are good but of course everyone loves their boats so little to learn there (note that this is not a bad thing at all )

I've posted a couple pictures of the shrouds and one of a chainplate (or rather its signature).

I've also posted a message on the Columbia owner website. We'll see if anyone there has an opinion


Florent

[sailingdog]

Removing glassed in chainplates is RPITA. Inspecting them is too. I'd point out that they're far more likely to have suffered from crevice corrosion than ones not glassed in. Sometimes you can tell they're suffering from crevice corrosion because the expansion from the corrosion will cause the fiberglass to crack.

Boom vangs are pretty easy to add.

[flo617]

Thank you for the info SailingDog.

Now, I'm trying to figure out the cost of changing those chainplates to external for the sake of safety in addition to changing most of the thru-hulls and glassing shut the rest of them

She's a pretty boat, seem well cared for overall, and I really like her lines but I wouldn't want to purchase a boat that will end up costing me the equivalent of a sturdier, more recent 32' ship.

Thanks again,

Florent