1974 Columbia Mk II

[TMKane]

Goodmorning everyone - I am seeking opinions on the purchase of a Columbia ''73 Mk II w/ a Palmer gas engine. Asking price is $15k, needs to be surveyed and sea trialed. Will use for Florida coastal and Bahamas sailing. Looking for any info on re-powering w/ a diesel, sailing characterisitcs or experience w/ this boat.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Which Columbia MkII? Columbia had models in a number of sizes that were MKII''s of an earlier model. There is a big difference between putting a new diesel in a 31 mk II and a 36 mkII, if you see what I mean.

In any event, in their day, Columbias were pretty much middle of the road, or slightly below, production boats. They were heavily built by today''s standards but that does not mean that they well engineered. Finish wise they were a step down from Pearsons and were not quite as robustly built.

At this point, they do not have a lot of resale value, even in really good condition so piling a lot of money into one is not a great investment. If the boat you are looking at looks great, has really good sails, no blisters, deck rot or other major structural issues, and the rigging and upholstery has been replaced, and deck and interior hardware and electronics have been upgraded with modern gear, this might be a good deal even needing an engine.
Jeff

[TMKane]

Thanks Jeff - this is the 1973 Columbia 34 Mk II w/ shoal draft. I don''t have the hull number. It is supposed to have new main and genoa, running and standing rigging. The deck has just been painted and it has a new head with holding tank. I have looked at the boat and walked around on it and could not find any soft spots or signs of water damage in the interior. There is a patch on the starboard hull, midway between the water line and the deck. The deck hardware has all been pulled and re-bedded. The winches are Barrent and look original. The electronics are non -existant, the propane stove has been rebuilt, it has air cooled refrigeration in the icebox (don''t know how old)and most of the teak shelving and trim is gone from the interior. So the boat is definitely not in "great" shape, but appears (at least at this point in time) to be solid.

The engine appears to be clean and in good condition. It is hooked to a V drive. THe seller claims that it is in great shape. Even so, I would need to eventually re-power the boat an would prefer to do so with a diesel engine.

I don''t have experience with a V drive, repowering or with Columbia. I would be relying on a surveyer to catch any defects in both the hull and the engine. As well as any other wisdom you and others can pass my way.

The size of the interior, the price and the shoal draft are what makes this vessel attactive. The drawbacks appear to tbe the age, the engine and any design defects in the boat that I may learn about.

So any comments are welcome.

Thanks for everyone''s time.