The Columbia 34 is an American sailboat that was designed by Wirth Munroe and Richard Valdez as a cruiser and first built in 1966. The Columbia 34 is a development of the Columbia 33 Caribbean, using a deck adapted from the

Columbia 40 The Columbia 40 is an American sailboat that was designed by Charles Morgan as a racer-cruiser and first built in 1964. The design was based upon Morgan's ''Sabre'', a one-off racing boat that was successful in competition, winning Class C 19 ...

. The Columbia 34 was replaced in the company product line in 1970, by the unrelated William H. Tripp Jr. designed Columbia 34 Mark II.

Production

The design was built by Columbia Yachts in the United States, but it is now out of production. Some of the boats were sold as kits for owner completion.

Design

Dick Valdes described how the Columbia 34 design came about, in a talk given at the Long Beach Rendezvous on 23 February 2002. He said, "The C-33 was a fast and comfortable boat from Wirth Monroe who had designed and raced Commanche in the SORC. The boat was a direct descendent of Commanche but Wirth didn't have an eye for looks and we all called the C-33 the "Guanno" boat cause it looked like ----.! (Mike, a C-33 owner notes: they still had the nerve to market it as a "flagship" in the brochures). So after about fifty boats we decided to see if we could make a change. So we took a C-40 deck we had laying around and set it on a C-33 and it pretty much fit, and looked much better, so we took a saw and trimmed off all the overhangs and that's how the C-34 was born." The Columbia 34 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a masthead sloop rig, a spooned raked stem, a raised counter,

transom Transom may refer to: * Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar * Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet * Operation Tran ...

, an internally mounted spade-type rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed stub long keel, with a

centerboard A centreboard or centerboard (US) is a retractable hull appendage which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a ''centreboard trunk'' (UK) or ''centerboard case'' (US). The retractability allows the centreboard to be raised t ...

. It displaces and carries of ballast. The boat has a draft of with the centreboard extended and with it retracted. The boat is fitted with a Universal Atomic 4 gasoline engine for docking and maneuvering. The

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

is located on the port side at the bottom of the companionway steps and features a two-burner stove. The

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...

has a privacy door and is located forward, just aft of the bow "V"-berth and opposite the hanging locker. Additional sleeping accommodation includes the main cabin dinette table, which can be converted into a double berth, a single berth on the starboard side and an aft port side quarter berth. The raised stern counter configuration precludes an aft stateroom.

References

{{Columbia Yachts Keelboats 1960s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Wirth Munroe Sailboat type designs by Richard Valdez Sailboat types built by Columbia Yachts

Production

Design

See also

References