The Columbia 34 Mark II is an American

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminolo ...

that was designed by

William H. Tripp Jr. William H. Tripp Jr (1920–1971) was an Americans, American naval architect who created many popular wooden and later fiberglass sailboat designs. Tripp used the diminutive, ''Bill'', as his usual first name. Life Tripp was a native of Long Isl ...

as a coastal cruising sailboat and first built in 1970. The Columbia 34 Mark II's hull molds were later used to develop the

Coronado 35 The Coronado 35 is an American sailboat that was designed by William H. Tripp Jr. as a cruiser and first built in 1971. The Coronado 35 design was developed into the Portman 36 in 1978 and later into the Watkins 36 and the Watkins 36C. Devel ...

and also the

Hughes 36 The Hughes 36 is a Canadian sailboat that was designed by William H. Tripp Jr. and first built in 1971. The Hughes 36 is a development of the Columbia 34 Mark II hull design, being built using tooling and moulds acquired from Columbia Yachts ...

and the

Hughes-Columbia 36 The Hughes-Columbia 36 is a Canadian sailboat that was designed by William H. Tripp Jr. and first built in 1979. The Hughes-Columbia 36 is a development of Hughes 36, which is in turn derived from the Columbia 34 Mark II hull design, built u ...

Production

The Columbia 34 Mark II was a new design built by

Columbia Yachts Columbia Yachts is a US manufacturer of sailboats, with offices and production facilities in Southern California. History Richard “Dick” Valdes and Maurice V. Threinen founded Glass Laminates, a fiberglass contract company, in 1958. Amo ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

as a follow-on to the unrelated

Columbia 34 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. T ...

. The company produced 352 examples of the Mark II between 1970 and 1975, but it is now out of production.

Design

The Columbia 34 Mark II is a recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

, with wood trim. It has a

masthead sloop A masthead rig on a sailing vessel consists of a forestay and backstay both attached at the top of the mast. The Bermuda rig can be split into two groups: the masthead rig and the fractional rig. The masthead rig has larger and more headsails, ...

rig, a spooned

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a

reverse transom A transom is the vertical reinforcement which strengthens the stern of a boat. This flat termination of the stern is typically above the waterline. The term was used as far back as Middle English in the 1300s, having come from Latin ''transvers ...

, an internally mounted spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

or optional wheel and a fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

, or optional shoal draft keel or stub keel with a centerboard. Accommodation includes a bow "V"-berth, a main cabin dinette table that drops to form a double berth, a main cabin settee for a single berth, a quarter berth opposite the galley. The galley includes a stainless steel sink, four

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

drawers, a

gimballed A gimbal is a pivoted support that permits rotation of an object about an axis. A set of three gimbals, one mounted on the other with orthogonal pivot axes, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain independent of ...

two-burner alcohol-fired stove, a top-loading

icebox An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrige ...

. Refrigeration and pressurized hot and cold water were factory options. There is a main cabin navigation table that slides out of the way when not in use. Engine access requires removing the companionway steps. An

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄ� ...

locker is fitted in the bow.

Variants

;Columbia 34 Mark II :This model was introduced in 1970 and produced until 1975. It displaces and carries of iron ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel fitted. The boat has a Palmer P-60

gasoline engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...

of or optional Albin

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

, driving a two-bladed propeller. The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . ;Columbia 34 Mark II CB :This model features a short keel and centerboard. It was introduced in 1970 and produced until 1975. It displaces and carries of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of with the centeroard up and with it down. The boat is fitted with a

Universal Atomic 4 The Universal Atomic 4 is a four-cylinder, gasoline engine produced by the Universal Motor Company between 1949 and 1984 for use as auxiliary power on sailboats. Both and versions of the engine were produced. Over 40,000 of the engines were pro ...

. The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . ;Columbia 34 Mark II SD :This shoal draft keel model was introduced in 1970 and eventually replaced the Mark II CB in production. It has the same short keel as the "CB", but lacks the retractable centerboard. It displaces and carries of ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard shoal draft keel fitted. The boat has a Universal Atomic 4 diesel engine.

Operational history

A review by Dave Smith notes, "When the ... Columbia 34 MKII first came out it ... it was billed as "The Seven Sleeper for Seven Footers", and "The room of a 38 footer for the price you would expect in a 32 footer". Both slogans capture the allure of the MKII Columbia 34." He notes, " The boat does not have a generous sail plan (about the same sail area as a Columbia 30), so it doesn’t perform well in light air. With the high freeboard, it isn’t as good up wind as some other designs, and it likes to be reefed early when going to windward. A cute little characteristic of the 34 is that the galley and head sinks slip below the waterline when the boat is heeled beyond 15 degrees, so you learn to close these through hull fittings before sailing or risk letting in a lot of water."

References

External links