Mystery Boat

[FourPoints]

This boat belongs to my (distant) Uncle. I was told by him that it is a (1976?)center cockpit Columbia 40' (42' LOA).



I have dug through sailboatdata.com and all other sites that I can think of for pictures to corroborate his claim that it's a Columbia 40, however every image or line drawing of a Columbia from that vintage in the 40 foot range looks quote a bit different. Most notably they are not flush deck with a simple center cockpit.


In case it helps, while onboard about 5 or 6 years ago I snapped the following pic from under the boat with the keel somewhat visible. Since I know it probably won't show up well once the site compresses / shrinks the image, I traced the keel shape with a black line.



Does anyone have an idea what boat this really is?

 

[heritage]

There is a Columbia 45 in the slip next to us. It has a vast flat deck forward of the mast and a huge forward hatch like the one in your photo. It has the look of a Columbia. Most of them had a raised salon with large ports above the deck. Perhaps your uncle's boat without the raised salon had the ports below the deck.

 

[Tom G P-21]

My guess Coronado 35

Specifically a 35 MS, See the listing

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1971/Coronado-35-center-cockpit-2466537/Bayfield/WI/United-States

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=1374

 

[Patrick17430]

It's definitely a Coronado 35. Strange look walking up to it. Really nice boat down below.

 

[FourPoints]

Thanks! a few years of mystery finally solved!

I know it's noot the 35, it's the 41 as I'm certain that he said it's 40.5 w/o the bow sprit.
http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=1907

 

[Tom G P-21]

Columbia bought out Coronado, so your uncle was half right. They probably used a Columbia nameplate but the model number on HIN was a Coronado.

 

[FourPoints]

Columbia bought out Coronado, so your uncle was half right. They probably used a Columbia nameplate but the model number on HIN was a Coronado.

That can certainly explain some of the confusion.... however there is no HIN on a 1975, which makes it harder to track down.

 

[RobertLangdirect]

That can certainly explain some of the confusion.... however there is no HIN on a 1975, which makes it harder to track down.

Really? No HIN or none that you found? When did the REQUIREMENT to have a HIN begin?

Thanks!

 

[RobertLangdirect]

All boats manufactured or imported on or after November 1, 1972 must bear a HIN. The HIN is a 12 character serial number that uniquely identifies your boat. The HIN has an important safety purpose. It enables manufacturers to clearly identify for boat owners the boats that are involved in a defect notification and recall campaign. A HIN is not the same as a State registration number, which may be required to be displayed on the bow of your boat. The HIN is a Federal requirement; your boat’s registration number is a State requirement similar to the license plate on your car. The HIN, however, is required to be shown on the State certificate of registration.

 

[RobertLangdirect]

Individuals building boats for their own use and not for the purposes of sale are what are referred to as "backyard boat builders." They must obtain a 12 character HIN from their State boating agency. The Manufacturer Identification Code at the beginning of the HIN for a "home built" boat is an abbreviation for the State followed by a "Z" which indicates that it is a State identification.

 

[FourPoints]

I thought the requirement for the HIN was later in the 70's... 78' was specifically the year I had in my mind... Guess I was a couple of years off.

Either way this hull either (barely) predates the HIN requirement, or you just simply cannot make it out anymore. The hull was Awlgrip'd after being sanded down to get rid of some rough spots when he bought the boat 15+ years ago, and I'm sure he had it down by a "friend" doing work "on the side", so maintaining any record of the HIN would have been an afterthought. There is no HIN that can be made out now.

I'm sure there is paperwork somewhere that has it, however Puerto Ricans have a funny way of getting around tax laws, there are "professional friends" down there that (for a small fee) will legally own things (like cars and boats) for other people, their "friends" who don't want to have anything registered in their name. They will then provide a piece of paperwork that appoints the "friend" the captain of the boat, and authorizes him to do anything he wants with it. With nothing legally registered in their name, and all income under the table, they get forgotten about in the system, and no-one ever comes looking for taxes...

I'm told this practice is fairly common (maybe 5-10% of the population), and I can personally attest that it caused virtually no issues when going through customs, they took his "captains authorization" paperwork at face value as if it was a very common thing for them to see.

The point all that; finding any paperwork with the old HIN on it would be too complicated just to answer curiosity...

 

[Tom G P-21]

Looks like they were use plastic serilization plates at one time. Probably got lost over the years. See link and click on hull numbers.

http://www.columbia-yachts.com/

 

[RobertLangdirect]

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...65919739.27741.100001466303231&type=3&theater

Does it look like this?

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

Most boatbuilders were providing HINs by about 1973 or 1974. I do not know when the legal requirement began but if memory serves most of the best builders were already using the system and the rule was instituted basically to get the others to catch up. At Cherubini we built 3 or 4 boats without them (custom/owner-finished) and were including them by 1977. Hunter used them from the beginning (1972-73). Essex did as well.

The boat in question is a 1972-1978 Coronado 35 sloop designed by Bill Tripp. It appears ungainly due to the typically-Bill Tripp high freeboard but has eight berths and a separate after stateroom with a walk-through and full standing headroom. It's about the best layout for living aboard in a boat of this size you could imagine (and many people use these boats for just that). The boat is a little nerve-wracking when it heels, which it does, because the cockpit seems like little more than a playpen sitting on the otherwise flush deck. But the boat is fast, seaworthy, roomy and well-built.

I would have one in a split second if I could find one that wasn't too 'molested' by POs, which unfortunately most of them are these days.

 

[FourPoints]

Robert - yes that's it.

Diana - thanks for the insight, a little perspective on how/why something was done is always nice. As for the layout, I can concur, it is spacious and accommodating. I have had her pretty well heeled over on past trips, never felt uncomfortable to me (but I grew up sailing dinghys, so I'm not the best reference to heeling comfort!). I will pay closer attention when I get back out on her next week. I'm in San Juan right now, about to head to Cuelbra for a few days of diving, then Tuesday we are heading out for a few days on the boat.