The design has a tangled sales lineage. Coronado Yachts offered the same design as the Coronado 32 beginning in 1973, while Sailcrafter sold it as the Sailcrafter 32 from 1977. It was later developed into the Watkins 32 in 1982.
Design and Construction
The Columbia 32 is a fiberglass monohull with wood trim. She has a raked stem, an angled transom, a fixed fin keel, and a skeg-mounted rudder controlled by a tiller.
She measures 32.08 feet overall and 26.50 feet on the waterline, with a beam of 9.50 feet. Displacement is 9,450 pounds, including 4,040 pounds of ballast. These figures give her a moderate displacement-to-length character suited to coastal cruising rather than all-out speed. Her hull speed of 6.9 knots reflects the modest waterline length.
The standard keel draws 5.50 feet. That draft keeps her manageable in shallow anchorages without resorting to a centerboard arrangement.
Rig and Handling
The Columbia 32 carries a masthead-sloop Bermuda rig with 515.29 square feet of sail: a 222-square-foot mainsail and a 293.29-square-foot jib or genoa. The foretriangle measures 42.20 feet in height and has a 13.90-foot base. The mainsail luff is 37.00 feet, and its foot is 12.00 feet.
Paired with the fin keel, the tiller-steered, skeg-hung rudder gives the boat predictable steering characteristics for her size.
Accommodations
Below, the main saloon centers on a folding, drop-down table. Two flanking settees convert into upper and lower pilot berths, allowing the cabin to serve as both daytime living space and overnight accommodation.
The galley has a 75-pound-capacity icebox and a stainless steel sink. The head is fully enclosed, a notable privacy feature on a boat of this length, when many contemporaries used curtained quarter berths. Fresh-water capacity is 50 gallons, supporting short coastal cruises without constant tank-watching.
Propulsion and Tankage
A gasoline inboard engine turns a two-bladed bronze propeller. It was a period-correct choice, rather than the diesel engines adopted by many later boats.
Fuel capacity is 20 U.S. gallons, while the water tank holds 50 gallons. Together, that modest tankage defines the boat’s self-sufficiency on the hook and suits a design intended for weekend and coastal use rather than long-range passage-making.
The Verdict
The Columbia 32 is a compact, thoughtfully laid-out cruiser from a respected designer. She combines a tiller-steered fin-keel hull, a straightforward rig, and a practical interior. Her short production run and several badge-engineered siblings make her recognizable but uncommon. For modern buyers accustomed to diesel power, the gasoline inboard is an important consideration.
Pros
- Enclosed head and convertible pilot-berth settees make good use of the 32-foot interior
- Tripp-designed masthead-sloop rig with a sensible 515 square feet of sail
- Skeg-mounted rudder and fin keel with 5.5-foot draft balance control and access
Cons
- Gasoline inboard rather than diesel, with only 20 gallons of fuel capacity
- Two-year production run and just 80 boats built, limiting fleet size and spares commonality
- Icebox-based galley cooling rather than modern refrigeration as standard
