Colgate 26 Buyer's Guide
The Colgate 26 on the used market is the 25-foot-8-inch sport boat designed by Steve Colgate and Jim Taylor, a day sailor, racer, and training vessel also known as the "Navy 26." She is a solid-fiberglass hull with a cored deck, self-draining cockpit, and positive foam flotation, offered in standard 4-foot-6-inch draft and shoal 3-foot-6-inch draft forms. Buyers shopping used Colgate 26s will find a boat whose simplicity is a feature, but whose age and training pedigree demand a careful look at wear points.
Layouts on the Used Market
Two keel configurations appear. The standard model draws 4 feet 6 inches with 1,050 pounds of lead ballast and displaces 2,600 pounds; the shoal-draft version trades a foot of draft for 1,250 pounds of ballast at 2,800 pounds. Both share the 20-foot waterline, 8-foot-6-inch beam, and fractional sloop rig with 338 square feet of standard sail area. The cockpit seats four adults and sits ahead of an inboard transom with an open stern beyond; below are 7-foot-3-inch V-berths, a portable head, ice chest, and optional sink and alcohol stove. A bracket for an outboard with a dedicated cockpit locker is standard, as is a VHF radio.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Used boats frequently reflect owner priorities rather than factory spec. A short-handed setup is a less common owner upgrade, as are solar panels, spinnakers, autopilots, and chartplotters. For a buyer, the meaningful clusters are power and energy — solar to keep the battery live when the boat sits — and sail handling and navigation, where an autopilot and chartplotter reduce crew load on longer days, while a spinnaker extends downwind versatility already designed into the Harken block leads. None of these are factory-standard expectations; they signal an owner who cruised rather than trained.
What to Inspect
The hull is solid fiberglass with local reinforcement in the bow, under stanchion bases, around the mast support, and at the keel-bolt region, but the joint where stainless keel bolts attach the ballast should be checked for any sign of weep or corrosion. The hull-and-deck flange is chemically bonded and through-bolted under a rubber bumper, so inspect that bumper line for separation. The deck is Core-cell cored, so sound the cabintop and cockpit surrounds for softness that would indicate water intrusion. Self-draining cockpit and lockers are a design strength, but verify the drains are clear. The stout wooden tiller is the only wood aboard; confirm it is not cracked or rot-weakened.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The Colgate 26 is found on the used market in the United States. For a shopper, the short list is: confirm keel-bolt and hull-deck joint integrity, sound the cored deck, check the tiller, verify self-draining paths are open, and decide whether standard-draft stiffness or shoal-draft trailering ease better fits your water. A clean example rewards with a dry, light-helmed boat that handles 5 to 35 knots and can be hosed out below.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Colgate 26. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 8 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25 | 1 | $15,900 | — |
| Jul 25 | 3 | $26,000 | +63.5% |
| Nov 25 | 3 | $25,000 | -3.8% |
| Dec 25 | 1 | $29,000 | +16.0% |
| Apr 26 | 1 | $18,900 | -34.8% |
| May 26 | 2 | $26,000 | +37.6% |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $49,500 | +90.4% |
| Jul 26 | 1 | $18,000 | -63.6% |
Where they're listed
Colgate 26 listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 9.
Country view
9 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $25,000 | 9 | 2 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
3 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sadler 26 | 25.75' | $ 10,821 | 25 | 6 |
| Jeremy Rogers 26 | 25.5' | $ 10,280 | 20 | 3 |
| Colgate 26You are here | — | $ 25,000 | 9 | 2 |