opinions on the Columbia 10.7

[collgh]

I've been reading Cruisers Forum for several years and have found it very informative, even when just browsing, with no particular subject in mind.

I am now considering buying a Columbia 10.7 of 1979 vintage, with the intention of living aboard and sailing the West Coast of British Columbia for the least a year, to shakeout problems before possibly heading south.

Unfortunately I find little on the Internet that refers to this particular boat and I'm hoping that some of the members might be able to pass on information, opinions or experiences. Thanks

[AnchorageGuy]

I sailed an 8.7 for many years and know the boat well. These are coastal cruisers and not originally built for offshore use. The boat sailed well and was very roomy and comfortable. But the rigging was undersized and the rigging attachment points left something to be desired. Other than that, the boat was fairly well built and suited my purposes fine. Mostly sailed the Chesapeake Bay and ICW. Chuck

[collgh]

thanks for the info, I will certainly pay attention to the rigging etc. I might not have looked at the size, Although I certainly would've looked for damaged shrouds etc.

A couple of years ago, while crossing the Gulf stream we hit some heavy weather and when I went up the mast, eventually,in St. Martin, I found that four of the 19 strands of the jib stay had separated!

Thanks

[jstevens]

Also a former 8.7 owner. I'm familiar with the 10.7, but never sailed one.
Based on the model year, I suspect it was one of the last 10.7s built by Columbia before the molds and name were sold to a Canadian firm.
Beside the rigging (Columbia used aluminum chainplates) check for any water damage around the port lights and deck fittings. If the engine is the original Volvo, expect a re-power is in the near future. The rudders on the 8.7 and the 9.6 were a weak point in the Columbia construction (not sure about the 10.7). The rudders were sheathed in very thin fiberglass and many allowed water into the foam-filled interior causing the shell to crack during a hard freeze in the winter. Also the skeg where the gudgeon fitting for the rudder is attached is hollow and can produce a hard to find leak. I filled the skeg on my 8.7 with epoxy after it almost sank the boat. I think the 10.7 used a similar gudgeon and pintle attachment for the rudder.
Those Alan Payne designed Columbias (8.3, 8.7, 9.6 and 10.7) were all good sailors, especially on a reach. The Columbia construction guality was not an industry leader, but most of the defects could be fixed by the owner or at modest cost.

John

[Bigjim]

This is a very old post but since I just bought a Columbia 10.7 I thought I'd chip in my 2 cents.



My desire for the Columbia 10.7 was for exactly the same purpose as the original post. I am based in the midwest, so haul out and hard freeze is a big issue around here. The boat had been on the hard for several years and the bottom paint was in bad shape. In many places it was cracked and falling off. I had the boat soda blasted at great expense, but it was worth it. It saved me weeks of sanding and scraping. The result looked like this:



One point that's very important. After the soda blasting the hull appeared to be in good shape. But, once we put the first coat of barrier paint on we could see dozens of tiny pin prick holes in the gelcoat that were invisible beforehand. We filled them with epoxy filler. It took several days of effort but we got the barrier coat and the bottom paint on.





The description of the rudder is very accurate. I found a lot of crazing on the rudder gelcoat, indicating that it had had water intrusion and that it had frozen and expanded cracking the paint. I sanded off all the corrupted paint and gelcoat. I used my Dremel to gouge out the cracks and filled them with epoxy filler. Then, I repainted the rudder with gelcoat before adding the barrier coat and bottom paint. However, I think water may be getting into the structure from the strut seal. When sanding various parts of the rudder water weeped from the fiberglass. I tried drilling some holes to allow the water to drain but the design of the rudder compartmentalizes the structure and does not allow water in one section to drain out of another. In the fall, I may try drilling dozens of holes to see if my suspicious are true. I've seen other boat owners do that to drain water.



By this writing, I have had the boat in the water now for almost two months, so my experience is a still a bit limited at this point, but I can say that the boat is pretty stable and maintains course with little or no weather helm, depending on trim.

The boat is heavy and does not move well in light winds especially when pointed into the swell. Don't try to sail in light winds without the genoa. Off the wind she moves well and can get some good speed up in a reach or broad reach. She's a bit wet moving to windward on a close reach, so be prepared to wear foul weather gear in a good wind.

The boat I purchased had lots of water damage around the portlights and portholes. The wood trim in the over head will all need to be replaced. I suspect there is some deck fittings that are also leaking. There are two hatches and both show stress wear and have dogs that no longer hold the hatches down tightly. Both lenses in both hatches had separated from the frames. I sealed one down and now have it watertight again. The other was broken in a corner and needs to be replaced. I may replace the whole hatch if I can find a new one of the same dimensions.

The interior is quite roomy and has over 6' headroom throughout. I'm 6'5" and it has plenty of room for me. That was the major selling point.



My boat is a 1978 model with a Yanmar 2QM20. The engine started the first time we tried even after spending probably 5 or more years on the hard. The transmission was replaced (supposedly) in 2010. The engine is rated at 22 hp and moves the boat at 6 knots at about 75% throttle. My boat has a three bladed prop but the original specs called for a two-bladed prop. The boat is not very nimble in tight spaces and pulls hard to the left whenever the engine is in gear. Don't take your eyes off the road under power or you will be 90 degrees off course in short order.

One tip: when backing to starboard, get some way on and shift into neutral. The torque of the engine in reverse wants to turn to port and cancels out the right rudder. But, if you are in neutral, the rudder will work better. In any case, the boat is NOT easy to maneuver in tight spaces. Be careful.

The boat has lots of freeboard so keep that in mind on windy days when docking or casting off. Keep the lines on the pier until you are ready to start backing out. Also, the boat is very heavy at 10,900 lbs. Don't think you're going to manhandle her into or away from the slip. Get the ropes onto the cleats as soon as you can. Don't try to play tug-of-war. You will lose.

Another selling point for me was the fact that the boat had a full galley. But after buying it we discovered that the stove was decommissioned and did not work anymore. I really didn't care beforehand, because I could see it was old and probably needed to be replaced. I just wanted to have the galley itself.



The space in the galley and saloon is sufficient for two adults and two kids or teenagers. The icebox is quite large but would require good organization if you wanted to use it for extended period. The original boat had a Unifridge cooler installed but it was long defunct before we bought the boat. I would considering looking for some sort of replacement, especially for when we are on shore power.



The boat has a fully enclosed head with sink and fittings for a shower. The shower water drains into the bilge, not my first choice. I would add a drain strainer to catch hair. Don't want that getting into my bilge pumps.

The boat sold with an optional hot water heater, but the one on my boat was removed at some point. I do not see the attachment point or electrical connections but will think about replacing it in the future if we decide to try living aboard.

The boat is very old and many items are wearing out or designed for a different era. The main winches were horribly dirty and clogged with gunk. One winch barely turned, the other turned well but had nearly as much gunk in it. It took nearly 6 hours to disassemble them and clean them. The worst one is better now but still not acceptable. I tried replacing the bearings but the winches are so old that spare parts are not available.

The design of the mainsheet and traveller were very inefficient and hard to use. I have redesigned it to use a more modern configuration. Here are some photos showing the progression of the redesign.





Last week, I spent several days patching and cleaning the water tanks. The two tanks had holes and were leaking. The patches seem to be holding and I flushed them several times and used Marine water tank treatment to clean and disinfect them, plus several cups of bleach.



The old water pump was not pumping water consistently so I had to replace that too. The boat has two separate tanks that are connected together over the top. That means they do not feed each other unless the first tank is overfilled. Then, the overflow fills the second tank.

I replaced all the hoses and circulated the water between the two tanks for over an hour. I also cut holes in the tops of both tanks to add access ports to clean and inspect the tanks. It's amazing to me that the original design didn't include them. I suspect that I will have to completely replace both tanks eventually.

Whenever you buy a used boat you will have work on your hands. If the used boat is also 40 years old, you will have work and lots of things to fix and/or replace. Luckily, the Columbia that I bought had been for sale for many years and the owners were ready to dump it. I got it cheap enough that I have the budget to replace all the broken items. If I had the money, I might have looked for a newer boat or one in better shape, but I'm satisfied that this boat will serve us well in the years to come. And, the next owner will inherit all my hard work and effort to get a much better boat than the one I bought.

[windstalkers]

Thank you nice description

[Bigjim]

I have now had the boat in the water for two years. I replaced my portholes and other portlights last year. I broke my polycarbonate hatch last summer and built a replacement out of plywood and cedar strips using West Systems epoxy.

The boat is heavy and very stable in the wind. This year we raced up to Kenosha in 15-20 winds with 6-8 waves and the boat with the full rig up with no problem. The boat loved the weather.

This year I'm pulling the headliner down and going to replace it with beaded wainscot. I'm also installing LED lights and put some indirect lighting near the deck.