Columbia 34 Mk II Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

Tripp’s bubble-top Columbia 34 Mk II sits on a solid fiberglass hull with an external cast-iron bolted-on keel and a spade rudder. The deck-to-hull joint is glued and riveted, and the mast is deck-stepped, leaning on a large solid teak compression post inside rather than loading the keel directly. That arrangement places considerable load into the deck itself. Lower shrouds attach to the deck via large backing plates, a method the period review noted is not as strong as tying them to a bulkhead or the hull. In the after quarters, bulkhead spacing is long, leaving the hull rather flexible there, and some boats show permanent oil canning with a “flexible” feel aft. A few hulls were built with a balsa core below the waterline, but the factory removed core around all through-hulls. The spade rudder, while handy, is acknowledged as less robust than a skeg-hung or full-keel barn-door rudder, and the boat was never intended as a blue-water passage-maker.

Rig and Handling

The sloop rig is straightforward, with 526 square feet of sail—about the same area as a Columbia 30—and a cutter rig was a factory option. The mast steps on deck with the teak post beneath, and several surveyed boats revealed deck compression around the mast step. Under sail the boat is no speed demon; the modest rig and tall freeboard leave her underwhelmed in light air and not as weatherly upwind as lower-sided designs, so she likes to be reefed early on the wind. Motoring tells a better story: with the original Palmer and a two-bladed prop, she typically tops 5 knots at 2,000 rpm and sips under a gallon per hour. The ride is notably dry, keeping water off the deck and out of the cockpit. A tiller was standard, with a Yacht Specialties wheel offered as an option.

Accommodations

Forward, the V-berth is traditional and generous, with an anchor locker and shelves edged in teak pin rail; some boats gained drawers or top-access lockers beneath, and a few carried optional teak ceiling cabinets. A central gelcoat locker under the berth could be converted to a 100-plus-gallon water tank. Aft to port sit two hanging lockers, while starboard holds the head with a teak cabinet, mirror, overhead deck port, and on some boats a shower with pressure water. The starboard U-dinette seats four and drops to a double, opposite a long settee that folds to a second bunk. The port quarter galley has a stainless sink, four teak drawers, sliding-doored cabinets, and a gimbaled alcohol stove-oven; its top-load icebox drains to the bilge. A starboard quarter berth and sliding nav desk round out the layout. Salon headroom is 7 feet, forward 6'4". Some hulls carry hull portlights behind the settees, well bedded and seldom leaking.

Known Issues

Heeling exposes a quirk: the galley and head sinks drop below the waterline past 15 degrees of heel, and the starboard sink specifically sits under water at 30 degrees on that tack. Decks on these boats very commonly suffer delaminated and rotten plywood cores. Keel bolts on 1970s Columbias always warrant a close look. The sparse aft bulkheads invite flexibility and oil canning, and deck compression at the mast step has shown up on several boats. The sloping galley floor slightly hinders working at sea.

Refits and Ownership

Engine access is through removable fiberglass stairs, giving good reach to the Palmer. Stock propulsion bits are well documented: the Palmer P-60 used a 16x11 RH fixed prop or 16x10 RH Martec folder, with left-hand versions specified for the optional Albin or Perkins diesels. Water lives in a 40-gallon fiberglass tank under the port settee; 30 gallons of gas sit in a steel tank beneath the dinette forward end.

The Verdict

The Columbia 34 Mk II is a dry, stable coastal cruiser with a roomy bubble-top interior and easy engine access, but her flexible aft structure, deck-cored rot, and heel-induced sink submersion are real ownership considerations. She is not a light-air performer and was never meant for offshore abuse, yet she can handle long trips and heavy weather.

Pros