Thoughts on a 1962 Columbia 29

[Don C L]

Oh, I went back and checked your photos you posted here and I see that your rail WAS done that way (three strips together.) So you want to do it a different way or with different wood? Or slotted toe rail? The negative about those is that, at least all the ones I have seen, need to be bolted on a flat deck/hull joint. You'd need to find a kind that would bolt through the flanges and look good too! If there is one it may not be a bad idea though. I actually like the slotted rail for its utility, though less so for its (lack of) beauty.

[Columbia29]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Hey Fabio! I'll take some shots this weekend but my toerail is painted so it may not be too helpful. If I were to re-do mine however I'd get long strips of teak, 3/4 in. thick and bend them and sandwich one strip between the inner and outer strips which are wider, then bolting through the fiberglass flanges. My old C24 had the rail that way and it seemed to be the easiest way and it looked good too. It is easier, and will look better, than trying to bend a piece of teak or mahogany that is 2 inches thick with a channel cut in it, as mine is now. (Unless you have a steamer)

This is exactly the design I opted for, with the difference that I am planning to fill the center gap with thickened epoxy and then paint it with two part epoxy topsides paint. I'l like to have a flat surface of at least 1.5 inches to have a comfortable step on it. I'll send picture soon.

[Columbia29]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Oh, I went back and checked your photos you posted here and I see that your rail WAS done that way (three strips together.) So you want to do it a different way or with different wood? Or slotted toe rail? The negative about those is that, at least all the ones I have seen, need to be bolted on a flat deck/hull joint. You'd need to find a kind that would bolt through the flanges and look good too! If there is one it may not be a bad idea though. I actually like the slotted rail for its utility, though less so for its (lack of) beauty.

I bought some cheap teak online, and in fact the quality is not very good especially the aesthehic. I was planning to follow the same desing, using a U slotted piece of teak (roughly 1.75x1.75 inches) and bend it over the fiberglass lip. The teak I have unfortunately won't look that good and good teak is super expensive. I am also worried about experimenting steam bending for the first time with an expensive wood. So I decided to use the bad teak for structural purpose, fastening it through the fiberglass, like a sandwich and then paint over it. Do you this is how your toerails are done?

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Columbia29

I bought some cheap teak online, and in fact the quality is not very good especially the aesthehic. I was planning to follow the same desing, using a U slotted piece of teak (roughly 1.75x1.75 inches) and bend it over the fiberglass lip. The teak I have unfortunately won't look that good and good teak is super expensive. I am also worried about experimenting steam bending for the first time with an expensive wood. So I decided to use the bad teak for structural purpose, fastening it through the fiberglass, like a sandwich and then paint over it. Do you this is how your toerails are done?

My old boat had the three strips of teak sandwiched over the fiberglass flange. I haven't stripped the whole rail yet, but mine is not teak I discovered but mahogany with a channel routed in it and bent into shape (I don't know if it was steamed.) I don't know how much it is but maybe mahogany is a possibility for you. I have been trying to avoid tropical hardwoods. If you are going to paint the rail there are more wood options, maybe a plastic composite material? I have been experimenting with a composite decking they sell at the local home improvement stores, called Trex. It is not the only one, but it was available here. I used it to make a support block for a stern roller. It is strong and was easy to cut and drill. I was even able to sand it with the belt sander and so far the paint has held pretty well. Paint and glue adhesion is my main concern at this point so still experimenting. I will be making a few more blocks soon. By the way I also started experimenting with two 11 foot oars as auxilliary power! The preliminary results are: Standing and pushing I can steer with my legs and I can move the 29 foot 8000# boat in calm water one half a nautical mile in 20 minutes! (then the engine overheated and required cold beer to recover. Hey, it was a hot day!) But I got these just for getting in and out of a calm harbor or anchorage when I have no other propulsive force. So far, so good, more testing soon!

[Columbia29]

Wow, oars!! That sounds like extreme to me, bu I like it! What do you use for oar locks? To practice with that in Coastal Georgia it's going to be problematic because of currents (up to 2 knots)...

[Don C L]

Yes, so far so good. I would not be able to beat a current but I can reasonably get in and out of a slip, calm harbor or anchorage, or just poke along the coast (1 knot is my limit so far!) I am using Carlisle 11 foot oars with oarlocks (White water rafting oars.) Oarlocks are mounted in blocks bolted to the cockpit coaming aft of the jib sheet cleats. The oars break down to 9 foot shafts and 2 foot blades which can be stored below decks. I don't anticipate these will allow me to go completely engineless except for those trips when I have enough time to wait around until noon or so for the usual wind everyday. Still experimenting. I'll post photos when I get them. How is your refitting coming along?

[Columbia29]

The refit is coming, slow and steady, if I don't run out of steam Tranquility should be in a decent shape enough to take on sailing again by winter/spring. Companionway is done, next project is new drainage channels for the cockpit locker.

[Don C L]

I am green with envy. My companionway calls out to me in ugly grunts every time I look at it, but at least it is still dry. But I have bought a trailer for the boat so this winter I will take her out onto the hard and HOPE to be doing some major surgery too! The mast step is probably the first job....

[Columbia29]

Yes, I think the compression post is the priority especially if the companonway is dry. Mine wasn't so I had to address the issue anway. The CP is a relative easy job, especially if the floors need surgery too as mine did. Sometimes I think we should make a website for columbia29, the problem is there are not many around, at least on the internet...

[Don C L]

In my case I have the mast stepped on the deck between the bulkheads and I am still debating the pros and cons of making a new arch that will mount on the deck and span the bulkheads (stainless steel arch) vs. build an arch for the inside to support it from below. Any other C29 owners out there with the early mk1 who have done this? I am leaning toward the inside arch though I didn't really want to add obstruction to the v- berth. Supposedly the mast step can be subjected to a force roughly equivalent to the displacement! And I'd really like to see more photos of main hatch and sea hood from ours and others' similar boats!

[Columbia29]

Do you have a center cabin with two bunks on each side? My 1965 mki have an offset companionway, a narrow galley on starboard and a big double bed that transforms into a table with settee. This way the port side bulkhead come all the way to the mast and connect to a compression post used to rest on a beam attached to the bilge, but now has a hardwood block that rests on the keel.
I see many people with similar issued adding a beam from the inside, usually a cery thick piece of hardwood plus a stainless plate. It takes few inches in headroom so I've seen some sort of padding added in case you bump you're head onto it.

[Don C L]

Yes I am quite prone to bumping my head on it already! And I have to keep every brain cell I got! I am sending along shots of the arch that supports the mast base now. The previous owner did some work adding the stainless straps but there is still some flexing apparently because after this summer's trips I see some hairline cracks appearing. No leaks but I'd rather that be rock solid. The fly in the ointment is that adding an arch also will include cutting and changing the doors for the head and locker. It's a bit of an aesthetic challenge too. And if I ever want to go farther afield I will add chainplates as you have, through-bolted through the hull, though actually I have to say I have seen zero problems with my current rig as it is.

[Don C L]

... and yes we could start a Columbia 29 website for the 6 or 7 of us! You know I am still puzzled at myself, I have sailed different boats, heavy and light, big and small, crewed on a few too... but will someone please explain to me why I enjoy THIS particular boat so much? I think I need some professional help! It's a pretty little boat but not spectacularly beautiful. It's fast for its vintage, but not by modern standards. There is nothing high tech about it. It's a little tender which a lot of folks find uncomfortable and undesirable. This boat just has a blend of performance, ease of handling, sea-kindliness, versatility and strength/simplicity that endears one to it, or endears US to it anyway! I have a good old friend who has been working on and sailing boats of ALL sizes his whole life and he too often sings the praises of our boats. I don't know, it's mysterious... to me anyway.

[Columbia29]

I know it's mysterious to me too. Especially why I am investing so much work in this old plastic boat. I keep telling me it's a learning quest, otherwise I would have given up already.
Considering what else you could be doing or NOT be doing I think that falling for an old boat is not too bad at all.

[Columbia29]

I have few updates from my Columbia 29 mki. Drainage channels for cockpit locker completed. Looking forward to complete dock restoration and painting by the end of November.

https://lapossibilitadiunisola.wordp...tial-concerns/