Built by Columbia Yachts in Costa Mesa, the Columbia 50 combined long, graceful lines with a distinctive bubble-top profile that still looks purposeful half a century later. One reviewer remembered her as sexy, fast, and fun when she came off the line, and noted that she was the first big sailboat that didn’t cost an absolute fortune to build. That democratizing role mattered: the model marked a significant milestone in the transition from wooden to fiberglass construction, at a time when the material was still young.
Design and Construction
Tripp’s hull displaces 32,000 pounds on a 33-foot-3-inch waterline. It carries 14,600 pounds of lead ballast, fixed low in a solid fiberglass shell. Fiberglass boatbuilding was new in the mid-1960s, and boats from this period were usually overbuilt by today’s standards; the Columbia 50 is no exception.
Columbia Yachts built most examples in California as classic fiberglass monohulls. The solid laminate below the waterline reflects the conservative construction practices of the day.
From 1971 to 1974, Columbia also offered the C-50 as a Sailcrafter kit. The Sailcrafter version had an additional skeg between the keel and spade rudder, a feature not found on the standard production hull.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The original Columbia 50 was a masthead sloop carrying roughly 977 square feet of sail. Columbia also offered yawl and schooner rigs, and at least one custom-rigged variant demonstrated how much experimentation the basic platform could accommodate.
A lean racer-cruiser by nature, the Columbia 50 won the 1966 Newport to Ensenada race against a fleet of more than 500 boats. Owners today report that she performs about like a modern boat and is equally happy racing locally or venturing offshore.
The custom Intermezzo was built from the same molds for John Hall as his second 50-foot Columbia. She carried a much taller rig, a mizzen, a bowsprit that extended the foretriangle, and a larger-than-normal rudder. Steve and Linda Dashew later owned Intermezzo and circumnavigated in her. Torben Grael also kept a Columbia 50 among his boats.
Accommodations
Below, the standard layout provides generous accommodation for seven. A master stateroom lies forward, with two heads in the same forward area. A second stateroom aft complements three settee berths in the large saloon.
The central living area includes a dinette, navigation station, and a full galley appropriate to a boat of this length. The engine sits beneath the saloon sole. This placement preserves accommodation volume, but it also complicates access for routine service and shapes any mechanical work.
Intermezzo differed from the standard arrangement. Her interior was built in timber and plywood rather than around the molded liner Columbia adopted during the production run.
Production, Kits, and Ownership
Columbia offered the C-50 under its Sailcrafter banner from 1971 to 1974. The bare-hull or kit route allowed owners to finish the interior to their own tastes, which helps explain the timber-and-plywood custom boats found alongside molded production examples. As a result, kit-built and custom Columbia 50s may differ substantially from the production specification.
Sixty-two hulls were built, although one period review gives the total as fifty-seven. Many remain in use, particularly on the U.S. West Coast. The Owners’ Network cited by period reviewers points to a fleet that remains active.
Verdict
The Columbia 50 is a milestone American fiberglass racer-cruiser. In 1965, she combined size, speed, and relative affordability, while her heavily built construction has allowed many examples to remain in active service.
She suits an owner who values classic Tripp lines and a proven offshore record. Kit-built and custom variants, however, require careful individual assessment because they can vary widely from the standard production boats.
Pros
- The largest U.S. production fiberglass sailboat of her debut year, with a race-winning hull
- Solid fiberglass construction that was overbuilt by period standards
- A choice of rigs
- A seven-berth layout with two staterooms
- An active ownership community and many surviving hulls
Cons
- The engine beneath the saloon sole complicates access for routine service
- Sailcrafter kit boats and custom versions such as Intermezzo can differ widely from the production specification
