Question:
I have a 1965 Columbia 29, hull #87, built by Whitiker (SP?) Marine in
Norfolk VA. I have some of the original paperwok and can give you some
details if you want. What info would you like?
Answer:
-I own a very nice Columbia 26' believed designed by Tripp
Great boat keep it in Plymouth Harbor would love to hear from other owners
of all Columbias. Hope to build a Columbia home page someday on the web
Looking for an owners manual for the 26' any ideas
-They were one of the first to make fiberglass production sailboats -many
of which are still sailing. Built tough. Many models, many designers.
Plant near Norfolk, VA and one in Costa Mesa, CA. Do you have specific
questions?
-I own a Columbia 31 designed by Charlie Morgan built by
Whitker. The company was then sold to the Lazaro family that later
owned Gulfstar. I under that the mold for the last Columbias are in
Canada.
-I had a Columbia 28 built in 1968 by Columbia Yachts in Orange county (city
boundaries have changed since then but it was probably Costa Mesa) CA. At that time
Dick Valdes was one of the founders of the the company and builders of the boats.
The company was later taken over by Whittaker Corporation. The people who built it
referred to it as "The Condominium" because it was something of a departure from the
way sailboats had traditionally been designed. It was relatively spacious, hence the
nickname, for the time; did not have particularly long overhangs a la the CCA designs
and consequently did not appear very graceful in those years (designs and esthetic
values have changed); and was affordable for a young couple moving up (serially) from
a backyard designed 12' wooden catamaran, a Lido 14, and an Islander Bahama (which
was really a nifty boat).
I still see older Columbias here in southern California, particularly in the Newport
