Equipment list for Pacific crossing

[Don C L]

Ok, I had a Columbia 24 for many years and now have a Columbia 29.
First off, go to atomvoyages.com and see what Mr. Baldwin has written and how he has modified some pocket cruisers.
Second, the Grampian is not a good choice. Sorry. And this is coming from someone who has done some goofy things. In my youth a friend of mine outfitted his Columbia 24 to go to Hawaii (from Santa Barbara.) We headed out for a few days and my poor friend was so sea-sick the whole time we decided to return to try it some other time. But the boat was fine and was just barely able to carry all the stuff we needed. But we didn't need much. In those days (1981) we had no electronics to speak of. No solar. No GPS. And only a home-made QME windvane (which worked great BTW)
The Columbia 26 MK1 is a possibility, yes. And to my mind, has the advantage of the outboard well which is covered and with some minor modification allows the engine to be tilted up and remain enclosed. You'll need all the interior space you can find so not having an inboard is not necessarily a deal breaker. You need to know what you are looking at in terms of how the boat was constructed and many of the 60s boats are still strong. That particular 26 is also a little faster than the tubbier life-boat kind of designs. Speed and tankage/stowage are the two main liabilities in a pocket cruiser imo.
Now if your requirement is a good "bluewater" boat you can also trailer behind a good pick-up well the Columbia 26, and others in that range and displacement could work. But realistically I think you are better advised to get a boat that is in the displacement neighborhood of 6000# and up, and with a displacement to length ratio of at least 300.
Here are some boats I'd push you toward:
COLUMBIA 26 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com
ARIEL 26 (PEARSON) sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com
well, heck, here's Baldwin's list, he's done the homework...
Atom Voyages - Good Old Boats List

This thread may have some useful stuff too for you:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...al-153058.html

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...-175409-2.html

Cruisers & Sailing Forums - The Small Boat Cruiser

Good luck and don't let old farts like me discourage you too much. It's a lot of fun to go out and make your own way, we'll just try to steer you clear of the really big and dumb mistakes that we survived.