Columbia 28 Buyer's Guide
Shopping a used Columbia 28 means looking at a 1967-onward William Crealock design built by Columbia Yachts in 553 recorded examples, a 27-foot 7-inch masthead sloop with a fin keel and spade rudder. These are coastal cruisers with a 343-square-foot rig and modest 18-gallon water and 12-gallon fuel capacity, so the buyer profile is a couple or small family wanting a straightforward older boat rather than a modern yacht.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Columbia 28 carries a solid fiberglass hull with an early all-wood interior on the first hulls and fiberglass interiors on later boats, so the feel below changes with the build sequence. Headroom is 5 feet 10 inches thanks to the bump in the main cabin roof, and the bullet-shaped windows define the cabin visually. A buyer should simply confirm whether the example at hand has wood or molded interior surfaces.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
With no equipment-tier data supplied for this model, the only safe buyer-consequence items to verify are the original rig and systems: the Universal-Atomic gasoline engine with its 12-gallon tank, the 18-gallon water capacity, and the masthead-sloop standing rigging with a possible taller Mk II mast on some hulls. Any generator, watermaker, or canvas upgrade is an owner addition and should be judged on its own condition rather than assumed standard.
What to Inspect
Chainplate leaks have rotted bulkheads on many of these boats, so press the bulkhead faces near the chainplates and look for stained or soft wood rotted bulkheads from chainplate leaks. Deck cores hide soft spots where bolts or hardware pass through the fiberglass, and a gentle probe around winches and stanchion bases will reveal spongy laminate. On Mk II hulls the mast compression post stands in the bilge and stays wet; one owner and surveyor found substantial rot there, so sound the post between keelson and floorboards and smell for must. Keel security rests on seven 3/4-inch lag studs from the top, and some owners have replaced corroded bolts, so inspect the nuts and washers for rust and check for weeping at the keel-hull joint.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Before committing, run through these checks:
- Sound the bulkheads at every chainplate for rot.
- Probe deck penetrations for soft core.
- Inspect the Mk II compression post in the bilge for wet rot.
- Check the seven keel lag bolts for corrosion.
- Confirm whether the mast is the tall Mk II version.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Columbia 28. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 1 row
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25 | 1 | $1,800 | — |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
2 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catalina 28 | 28.5' | $ 25,000 | 38 | 7 |
| Colvic Countess 28 | 28' | $ 10,488 | 23 | 3 |