Design and Construction
Tripp's 43 shares its 12-foot-4-inch beam with the Columbia 50, and hull number one of the 43 literally carried the deck, house, and cockpit of its larger sibling — a visual and structural kinship that the period record notes looked good in execution. At 18,900 pounds the 43 was regarded as light-displacement for its 1969 debut, a stark 13,000 pounds shy of the 50. The hull layup is a dense, deliberate schedule: gelcoat over layered mat and woven roving, then a 3/8-inch balsa core through the hull from near the keel to just above the waterline, with all decks balsa-cored as well. Columbia substituted plywood at the mast partners, shrouds, mooring cleats, and other high-load points. Most interior furniture — galley cabinets, dinette, and the like — forms a molded fiberglass pan set in before the deck went on, though that pan was not well bonded to the hull, a shortcoming some owners describe as a "floating" interior. A few original buyers, like the boat Adios, took the costly fully cored hull option for added stiffness.
Rig and Handling
Rigged as a masthead sloop with a keel-stepped mast, the 43 carried hounds three-quarters of the way up the mast. The Miii's changes are the telling ones: a mast six feet taller and a boom one foot shorter than the earlier marks, plus a six-inch bow extension, together producing a higher-aspect-ratio sail plan with the large foretriangle the IOR favored. Bridge clearance climbs from 58 feet on the Mk I and II to 64 feet on the Miii. The boat's speed potential was proven in 1971 when Encore, a Columbia 43, took first in class and 11th in fleet in the Transpac to Honolulu, and owner Craig Shaw's Adios was later recorded surfing at 15.5 knots under only a small headsail — a vivid measure of the light hull's downhill capability.
Accommodations
Below, the 43 lays out a versatile plan built around a portside galley with double centerline sinks and two top-loading iceboxes, opposite a starboard U-shaped dinette that seats six or more. Headroom runs 6 feet 7 inches in the galley and dinette, 6 feet 2 inches in the saloon, and 6 feet 4 inches in the forward owner's cabin, which holds a large V-berth and a hanging locker to each side. Facing settees in the saloon convert to four sea berths. Tankage sits under the settees — 48 gallons of fuel and 50 of water as standard, with many owners adding a 70-gallon water tank beneath the V-berth. A large flush deck and a 10-foot cockpit serve both sailing and at-anchor living.
Known Issues
The principal documented structural concern is the poorly bonded interior pan, which leaves the molded furniture loosely related to the hull itself rather than integral to it. On the water, Craig Shaw considers the 3-inch rudder stock undersized for a boat with as large a rudder as the 43 carries. Prospective owners should also note the end-grain balsa decks, which demand checking for soft spots given the core's vulnerability over five decades.
The Verdict
The Columbia 43 Miii is a Tripp-designed light-displacement cruiser-racer with genuine offshore pedigree, a roomy and intelligent interior, and a rule-driven rig that still rewards skilled handling. Its construction is serious but not without the pan-bonding lapse and rudder-stock question that any survey must weigh. For the sailor wanting a beamy, quick 43-foot classic with IOR-era pace, it remains a distinctive choice.
Pros
- Encore's Transpac class win and surfing speeds to 15.5 knots under headsail alone
- Beam and accommodation volume shared with the larger Columbia 50
- Miii's lead-ballasted keel reduces wetted surface; skeg rudder and taller rig update the design
Cons
- Interior pan not well bonded to hull; reported as "floating" by some owners
- 3-inch rudder stock considered undersized for the boat's rudder size
- Balsa-cored decks require careful soft-spot inspection
