The Columbia 34 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 terminology ...

that was designed by

Wirth Munroe Wirth Middleton Munroe (November 29, 1902 – October 21, 1968) was a North American yacht designer and son of Ralph Middleton Munroe. Munroe was born at the Barnacle, now the Barnacle Historic State Park. In 1933 he married Mary Kimball P ...

and Richard Valdez as a cruiser and first built in 1966. The Columbia 34 is a development of the

Columbia 33 Caribbean The Columbia 33 Caribbean is an American sailboat that was designed by Wirth Munroe as deep water cruiser and first built in 1963. The Columbia 33 Caribbean is a development of the Arco 33, which was built by Crystaliner, who completed 15 ...

, using a deck adapted from the Columbia 40. The Columbia 34 was replaced in the company product line in 1970, by the unrelated

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 ...

designed

Columbia 34 Mark II The Columbia 34 Mark II is an American sailboat that was designed by William H. Tripp Jr. 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 and also the Hugh ...

Production

The design was 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, 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 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 wat ...

, 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 cloth ...

, 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, a ...

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 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 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 aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

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. ...

and a fixed stub long

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 ...

, 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 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 ...

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 ...

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