Its hull was no arbitrary shape. Columbia bought the successful 5.5 Meter Carina from Alexander (Sasha) Von Wetter and took a mold from her. Built in Norway by Sigurd Herburn for the 1956 Olympics, Carina went on to win the 1958 Scandinavian Games Gold Cup. Columbia modified the shape with changes that echoed George O’Day’s championship-winning Minotaur.
The result was a 32.5-foot sloop with a teardrop-shaped hull and flush deck. The same hull also formed the basis of the companion Sabre, a daysailer-cabin variant.
Design and Construction
Columbia mass-produced the 5.5 in fiberglass, then a new boatbuilding material that made it considerably lighter than its wooden contemporaries. The manufacturer described its molded fiberglass hull as one of the most sophisticated racing-yacht designs in the country. The builder also presented it as a one-design racing sloop and daysailor for the discriminating yachtsman.
The boat measures 32'5" overall and 22'7" at the waterline. It displaces 4,500 pounds, including 2,800 pounds of lead ballast, with a 6'3" beam and 4'4" draft. Vertical clearance is 39 feet from the waterline. The fractional sloop rig carries 311 square feet of sail.
Columbia used this hull for both the open-cockpit 5.5 racer/daysailer and the raised-deck Sabre, which had bunks for four. The Sabre proved more prolific.
Rig and Handling
The 5.5 was the open-cockpit racer and daysailer in Columbia’s early range. The builder claimed that it performed with the same speed and characteristics as the International 5.5.
That was a meaningful assertion given the source design. Carina, along with the Minotaur-influenced modifications, drew on boats that had won Olympic and Scandinavian honors. Fiberglass construction also reduced weight compared with the custom wooden fleet.
The one-design premise meant identical hulls racing to a common rule. Combined with the 311-square-foot rig and 22'7" waterline, the design suggests a lively, easily driven platform rather than a cruising load-carrier.
Cockpit and Accommodations
The 5.5 itself had an open cockpit and no cabin accommodations. Owners who wanted shelter and sleeping space could choose the Sabre, which used the identical hull with a raised deck, cabin, and bunks for four.
The 5.5 remained faithful to its daysailing and one-design racing brief. Its flush deck and teardrop-shaped hull reflected styling and performance choices rather than cruising compromises.
Class Rejection and Production
The 5.5’s central historical problem was regulatory rather than structural. Columbia expected fiberglass to be approved for the 5.5 Meter Class and prepared the boat accordingly, including showing the design at the New York Boat Show. But the class declined to approve fiberglass construction, leaving Columbia with an orphan model.
At least initially, the International 5.5 Meter Class banned these lighter designs. Columbia then tried to sell the boats as one-design racers and daysailers, but the effort didn’t work. Fewer than 50 hulls were produced before the 5.5 and Sabre disappeared from Columbia’s lineup by 1969. The builder all but mothballed the design until fairly recently.
The Verdict
The Columbia 5.5 is a fascinating footnote in American fiberglass history: a racing hull with genuine Olympic lineage, commercially stranded when the expected class approval never came. Its Herburn- and O’Day-derived shape and lightweight fiberglass construction made it a sharp daysailer and a promising one-design racer, but the ban and unsuccessful marketing left it rare.
For the right owner, it offers a unique, historically significant racer. For most sailors, the companion Sabre’s cabin makes more practical sense.
Pros
- Direct hull lineage from a 1956 Olympic and 1958 Gold Cup 5.5 Meter design
- Lightweight fiberglass construction compared with its custom wooden contemporaries
- A true one-design racing sloop, with a documented builder’s claim of speed parity with the International 5.5
Cons
- Orphaned by the 5.5 Meter Class’s refusal to approve fiberglass construction
- Fewer than 50 built, with limited class support and parts commonality
- Open cockpit only, with no accommodations except in the Sabre variant
