That competition pedigree produced real results: a 1966 Miami-Nassau SORC win, plus second, third, and fifth places in Class C on the same circuit. Yet the factory also described the Columbia 40 as a real yacht, intended to go to sea in comfort while giving top performance.
Design and Construction
Morgan’s route to the Columbia 40 began with Paper Tiger, which won the Southern Ocean Racing Circuit overall in 1961 and 1962. Next came Sabre, the one-off prototype that developed into the production boat.
The design’s most unusual structural feature was a steel backbone molded into the fiberglass shell. This wasn’t merely added stiffening. The steel tube frame was designed to absorb standing-rigging loads and transmit them through the hull bulkheads and deck structure. The Columbia 40 may be the only model in the range to use a steel skeleton both to reinforce the hull and, more importantly, to spread the shroud loads.
The hull is solid fiberglass with wood trim. It carries 8,400 pounds of lead ballast inside a fixed long keel, along with a hydraulically raised centerboard.
Rig, Centerboard, and Performance
The standard rig is a masthead sloop, although an optional yawl configuration with a mizzen was offered after production began. A 7/8-inch track mast and boom carry a 347-square-foot mainsail and a 167-percent genoa measuring 544 square feet.
With the centerboard raised, draft is 4 feet 6 inches; with it lowered, draft increases to 9 feet. This allows the boat to trade wetted surface for lateral grip as conditions require. The board is hydraulically controlled from the cockpit and was intended to be raised off the wind, reducing drag in the manner of a dinghy.
The builder claimed a CCA rating near 26.0. An owner-reported PHRF rating of 167 places the Columbia 40 among period racer-cruisers of moderate pace.
Accommodations and Machinery
Belowdecks, the Columbia 40 sleeps seven. Forward, the bow V-berth is separated from the enclosed head just aft by a privacy door.
The galley is to port at the foot of the companionway and includes a three-burner stove. In the main cabin, the dinette drops to form a double berth, with a single berth also provided. The factory highlighted the complete galley and what it called a unique navigator’s table as distinguishing features.
Standard power was a 30-horsepower Universal Atomic 4 gasoline engine.
Variations and Points to Verify
Ballast figures changed across Columbia’s sales literature. A 1963 sheet listed 6,430 pounds, a 1964 brochure gave 7,300 pounds, a 1967 drawing showed 7,400 pounds, and 1966 literature specified 8,400 pounds. The lead load of any particular hull should therefore be checked against its own documentation.
Rudder arrangements may also vary. Hull #44 carries what its owner believes is an original foss-foam spade rudder, with its stock angled toward the stern rather than the bow. The owner describes it as a factory add-on, and it isn’t typical of the keel-mounted rudder shown in the base specification.
The Verdict
The Columbia 40 is a genuinely dual-purpose design. Its racing ancestry is real rather than cosmetic, while its steel-framed structure provides a coherence of load path that was unusual for its era. The centerboard arrangement and seven-berth interior make it a versatile used-classic candidate, although the gasoline Atomic 4 and hydraulic centerboard systems call for buyer diligence.
Pros
- Direct competition lineage from Paper Tiger through Sabre to a proven SORC winner
- Steel skeleton that spreads shroud loads through the hull and deck structure
- Hydraulic centerboard for adjustable draft and reduced drag downwind
- Seven-berth cruising layout with an enclosed head and dedicated navigator’s station
Cons
- Gasoline Universal Atomic 4 as standard power
- Documented hull-to-hull variation in rudder type and ballast weight
- Optional yawl rigs and spade-rudder examples complicate specification checks
