The Columbia 43 shared its 12-foot-4-inch beam with the larger Columbia 50. The first hull also borrowed the 50’s deck, house, and cockpit outright. Tripp’s hand shows in the graceful sheer, flush deck, and low doghouse, a combination that still looks purposeful more than half a century later.
Design and Construction
Columbia built 153 of these boats. Production began in Costa Mesa, California; after the company relocated, a third of the boats were built in Portsmouth, Virginia.
The hull is heavily built in hand-laid fiberglass, with matts of hand-laid cloth strengthening the structure rather than cheaper alternatives. From below the waterline to just above it, the hull has balsa coring. A few original buyers chose the expensive option of a fully cored hull for additional stiffness and some insulation.
The decks are cored with end-grain balsa. Plywood replaces the balsa at the mast partners, shrouds, and mooring cleats, where loads are concentrated.
The galley cabinets, dinette, and other furniture form part of a molded fiberglass interior pan installed before the deck goes on. That pan proved poorly bonded to the hull, however, and some owners report that it seems to float inside the shell.
Rig, Keel, and Handling
The Columbia 43 is rigged as a masthead sloop with a keel-stepped mast, hounds three-quarters of the way up, and a 10-foot-long aft cockpit. The Mk I and Mk II require 58 feet of bridge clearance.
Most boats are Mk I models, with a cast-iron deep fin keel drawing 6 feet 11 inches. The Mk II is a keel-centerboarder that draws 4 feet 11 inches with the board raised.
The later Mk III received a mast six feet taller, a boom one foot shorter, and a six-inch bow extension. Together, these changes created a higher-aspect-ratio sail plan with the large foretriangle favored by the IOR. Columbia also reworked the underbody, fitting a lead-ballasted keel to reduce wetted surface and replacing the spade rudder with a skeg-hung rudder.
Encore demonstrated the design’s potential in 1971, taking first in class and eleventh overall in the Transpac to Honolulu, according to a period review. One owner has also logged his Adios surfing at more than 15 knots under a small headsail alone.
Accommodations and Tankage
Below, the Columbia 43 was laid out for serious cruising. The port-side galley has double sinks centered on the boat’s midline and two top-loading iceboxes. Headroom in the galley and at the starboard U-shaped dinette is 6 feet 7 inches, and the dinette seats six or more.
In the saloon, facing settees convert into four proper sea berths beneath 6 feet 2 inches of headroom. The forward owner’s cabin has 6 feet 4 inches of headroom, a large V-berth, and a hanging locker on each side.
The standard boat carried 48 gallons of fuel and 50 gallons of water beneath the settees. Many owners specified the optional 70-gallon tank under the V-berth.
Known Issues
The interior pan’s weak bond to the hull is the main structural caveat for a surveyor to examine, because a floating pan transmits little structural load.
The end-grain balsa-cored decks also call for a careful inspection for soft spots, particularly around fittings. One experienced owner has flagged the 3-inch rudder stock as undersized for a boat with this much rudder area, a concern prospective owners should weigh when considering steering loads.
Engines, Refits, and Ownership
The standard engine was a Universal Atomic 4 gas engine, though some boats had Palmers. Most original owners paid extra for the Perkins 4-107 diesel instead, so a good number of surviving boats already have that engine.
The winches and deck-mounted rigging have proved durable. The broad flush deck remains a genuine asset both under way and at anchor.
Before undertaking a repower or rig work, it’s worth establishing whether a boat is a Mk III. Its taller rig and lead keel make the later model meaningfully different in tune and balance.
The Verdict
The Columbia 43 remains a genuinely dual-purpose Tripp design: quick enough to win its Transpac class, yet equipped with enough sea berths and tankage for extended cruising. Its poorly bonded interior pan and balsa-cored decks are identifiable, bounded weaknesses. What remains is a boat whose flush-deck hull and sail plan can still be rewarding to own.
Pros
- Light-displacement hull with documented offshore racing speed
- Beam and house tooling shared with the larger Columbia 50
- Berth and tankage layout suited to serious cruising
- Durable deck-mounted rigging and winches
Cons
- Interior pan is poorly bonded to the hull
- Balsa-cored decks require vigilant inspection for soft spots
- An experienced owner considers the rudder stock undersized
