Columbia
To answer your questions, yes, yes, and not usually. Before spending any money (at least more than $1,000) on a boat, I would get a good mrine survey by someone who knows sailboats and, if possible, Columbias. We columbia owners love our boats. They are built like tanks. They sail well. But beware of deck problems. I know of a couple of columbias that have or had rotted deck cores, and the repair is very labor intensive. I know of a cxouple of individuals who removed the deck completely and recored their columbias. I also know of a couple that drilled into soggy spots, used forced air to dry olut the area and injected epoxy into the coring. It seemed to work fine. I went the other way. I found a Columbia with solid deck and hull and bought her. Good Luck--She is a fine boat. Cam
