Islander vs Columbia vs Catalina

[Domenic]

Originally Posted by btrayfors

Catalina - Yes
Islander - Yes
Ericson - Yes
Bristol - Yes (there used to be a bunch of B27's in San Francisco Bay)
Columbia - NO!

Mostly, I agree with the others.

Bill

I agree the Columbia in stock condition would be...NO. The hulls of these boats are built like tanks. The 28 has a hull thickness of 1.25"-1.5" hand lay up.
Her weak points:
Cockpit hatch. (floor over engine.) This leaks, and needs to be raised.
Chain plate for upper shroud(port side) is mounted to inner linner, and plywood bulkhead. Replace outboard part of bulkhead, and seal.
Large tear drop windows. These leak, and need to be sealed.
Topping lift. Stock boats have none. The boom needs a topping lift.
Table. The table in these boats is junk. Peel off the top 1/4" and save to reface chain plate bulkhead. Build new table.
Fuel tank. The location is under starboard quarter berth. The tank is built into the hull. (FG.) Ethanol will eat a hole in the tank. Put a plastic 13 gal tank in the lazerett, and use the old one as a tool locker.
Engine. All Columbia's have the Atomic Four. These engines will last longer than any other marine engine ever built. parts are easy to get. (Moyer Marine.) Easy to repair,and you can do it yourself.
Spade rudder, and fin keel. These boats will turn on a dime. But, you can't leave the helm for two seconds. If you do, she will do a 180. A second hand on board, or a wind vane will keep her on track.
Cost of a Columbia 28 or 30. $1800, $4000, $12000. take your pick.
Cost to do the needed above. $500-$1000. If you do it yourself.

[zeehag]

let me modify my no to columbia--ther eare some that work and some not--the trunk cabin 26 and 28 are decent boats and many here in mazatlan, so they can sail. they are tough and i would do one of those over catalina of similar vintage. you can find em for as low as500 dollars and as high as you wish to pay.
i prefer the islander and ericsons. but i sail a formosa, so.......

[JRM]

Originally Posted by xcountry rider

I am afraid a 30 something sail boat may be a bit small. We will be renting 28' Catalina in a couple of weeks and a 32' Catalina in a couple of months. When I get my certs we will be renting larger boats to check them out. The only problem I see is that the boats we rent will be much newer than what we will be able to buy. I just hope the admirals don't get discouraged

I'd be hesitant to take the wife out to the islands (assuming you're coming somewhere down SB to LA to charter) in a Catalina 28. It's a nice boat, but the ones they charter around here have a shallow draft wing keel, and roll at anchor something awful. I would consider that discouraging. The difference at anchor out at the islands between the 28 footer they charter at the SB Sailing Center and the 30 foot Catalina we own is huge. My wife did really enjoy the charter of the Catalina 320, though.

If you are indeed renting out of Santa Barbara, or just passing through on your way, drop me a PM and I'll be happy to show you our Catalina 30. I've had another CF member view her during their purchase research, and they decided to get a bigger boat for the family. The added bonus is that depending on your timing my wife might be able to be there as well, and as a convert from "extreme boating skeptic (we'll never own a boat)" to "full boating partner (we need a boat that can go further)" she's a walking sales pitch for significant others. And to think, not that long ago I was here looking for advice on how to get her to buy in. Turns out the trick all along was take her out for nice trips to the islands and let nature do the selling!

JRM

[zeehag]

there is an islander 30 for sale here in mazatlan for not much money......at mazatlan yachts....just in case you are interested. yes it did make it here from up there.

[redcobra]

Originally Posted by xcountry rider

Hello everyone,

Two other couples, my wife and I are planning on forming a partnership to purchase our first sailboat. We will be looking for a boat in the 27 to 34 foot range. Things that are impotant to us are safety, seaworthiness, ease of sail (newbies), aft cockpit, decent condition and deisel. We will be doing mostly day sailing with the ocasional couple day trip to the Channel Islands. Down the road we may even head to Mexico for a couple of weeks.

What are your thoughts on tiller vs wheel and sloop vs cutter. I have never sailed a cutter.

I was wondering about these three boats due to number of boats on the market close by and in our price range. It seems that there are a lot of Catalina 30s around and they seem to be roomy. Could I get your guys input on possitives and negatives about these boats. And if you have any other suggetions about any other boats in the 20-25k range that you think would be suitable.

Thanks in advance, your wisdom is much appreciated!

John

I hate to say this but.....
I have had 5 different boats...all great.
The third boat was a boat in partnership with a former good friend....note I say former.
My worst boating experiences have been due to the partnership.
Before I would buy another boat with a partner I would buy a smaller boat by myself. Just sayin....

[Jim Woodall]

I've had limited experience with Islanders, but found them to be well-built and moderately good sailing boats. I have no experience with Columbia sailboats. I've owned a Catalina 30 for eight years and sailed it extensively. I've done trips of up to 6 days throughout the Pamlico Sound and the nearby creeks and rivers. I've also done short offshore hops of 24-36 hours in good weather. I've found the Catalina to be a good coastal cruiser with plenty of room for 2 people on trips of up to 5 or 6 days. I've done 2-3 day trips with 4 people onboard. The boat is as good as it gets in a 30 footer for that type of sailing. I've been in very rough weather on the Pamlico and she has always been safe and performed well. In short, I think the Catalina 30 is hard to beat as a coastal cruiser in the 28'-32' range.

[offline]

Originally Posted by Domenic

I agree the Columbia in stock condition would be...NO. The hulls of these boats are built like tanks. The 28 has a hull thickness of 1.25"-1.5" hand lay up.

Engine. All Columbia's have the Atomic Four. These engines will last longer than any other marine engine ever built. parts are easy to get. (Moyer Marine.) Easy to repair,and you can do it yourself.

Columbia's up to 1979 are heavily built.. solid, thick boats..

Just a note Volvo Diesel's were an option... and our Columbia 8.3 hull that had an original Yanmar according to records. Go figure.

[Domenic]

Originally Posted by offline

Columbia's up to 1979 are heavily built.. solid, thick boats..

Just a note Volvo Diesel's were an option... and our Columbia 8.3 hull that had an original Yanmar according to records. Go figure.

Columbia Yachts used only the Atomic 4. Dick Valdez who owned Columbia Yachts said they used the A4 because it was the best marine engine (for sailboats) on the market. Columbia paid $500 for those engines. They never used the Yanmar?

[sinbadwr]

I am not in a partnership, but I wish I was. I know there can be problems with dealing with any group of people. And often problems, mechanical or otherwise on a boat. But consider that you will have use of a boat for some percentage of the year. Probably much more than you will actually use the boat. And besides that you will have friends who can crew, that know and care about the boat that you can invite out with you, and who, if you are not an ass, will probably invite you out also.
Lets do some numbers:
My current boat, a columbia 26. I bought cheap and with refitting is now worth about $3000. My dockage is $8 a foot or around $200 a month. I already have new sails, the boat uses an outboard (9.9 yahama 4st high thrust) that moves the boat at about 4k and charges the batteries. It is a very basic boat. The hull is very strong and there isn't that much there that can go wrong. So a potential partner(s) I think that 3-4 parties would be great. Lets start with 4 parties, I would have use of the boat for at least one week a month for $3000 in an escrow account and $50 a month. Yes there will be more costs down the line. But think about it. $50 for at least week of sailing every month. Probably more. And have access to crew that own and care about the boat. That would be worth a lot more than $100 a month
By the way, the boat is near key largo, and I am looking for partners. You could have it for 3 months of the year instead 1 week a month.