Columbia 9.6 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

Payne's meter-series boats, the 9.6 among them, used built-up wood interiors that Practical Sailor's reviewers preferred to molded liners. The hull itself is solid fiberglass laminate, stiffened by longitudinal stringers glassed in below the cabin sole and above the waterline, and the deck is balsa-cored. External lead ballast is secured with 3/4-inch keel bolts, and the rudder is a foam-filled hollow fiberglass shell on a stainless steel stock. A molded drip pan sits below the engine so oil cannot migrate into the bilge, and all through-hulls are proper bronze seacocks rather than gate valves, with underwater metal bonded to a sacrificial zinc. The toerail is an anodized aluminum extrusion that doubles as a hull-deck joint stiffener and a track for shackling blocks anywhere along its length. The basic structure was judged strong and suitable for offshore sailing anchor.

The most distinctive hull feature is the skeg set between keel and rudder. Payne described it as carefully shaped to remove the separation wave commonly seen on the weather side when a fin-keel hull heels and drives hard anchor. The 9.6 also carries an IOR-type transom, a small triangular shape unlike the wineglass stern of the sister 8.7 Meter, and was rated to the International Offshore Rule at 21.7.

Rig and Handling

The boat is a keel-stepped masthead sloop with double lower shrouds and a high-aspect mainsail paired with a large overlapping genoa. At 31 feet 6 inches overall with a 23-foot 9-inch waterline, a 10-foot 2-inch beam, and 5 feet 6 inches of draft—deeper than many 32-footers—she carries a displacement/length ratio of 350 and a sail area/displacement ratio of 15.3. Owners rate upwind speed as excellent and the boat acquits itself nicely to weather, though she is not a screamer. Off the wind the story changes: nearly all agree she does not perform as well, which reviewers tied to the IOR-type hull form, and a spinnaker helps but demands helm attention. Owners also downgrade her for balance, particularly off the wind, while rating stability and seaworthiness as very good. The average PHRF sits near 189 seconds per mile, and owners complain the boat is difficult to make perform to its rating.

Accommodations

Two interior layouts were offered across the run. Hulls number 1 through 90 held twin pilot berths in the saloon; later hulls substituted an extension berth and pilot berth to starboard with a settee/berth to port, and gained a quarterberth to port where the earlier plan had an ice box with chart table above. Both layouts share a forward V-berth, enclosed head, and hanging locker, with maximum headroom of 6 feet 1 inch. The standard cabin sole was wood, with teak and holly optional, and the interior is heavy with teak veneer plywood and solid teak trim, leaving some unfinished hull areas gelcoated. The result may read dark to some eyes. Pilot berths make secure sea berths and handy stowage for gear used often. A fabric headliner with zippered panels lets bulkheads bond to the deck and gives access to deck-hardware nuts.

Known Issues

Most owners responding to Practical Sailor's questionnaire rated construction quality as excellent, yet nearly all complained about problems at the hull-sump joint anchor. A few noted gelcoat crazing. Several owners reported that the engine exhaust installation was incorrect and permitted water to backflow into the engine. The small diesels originally supplied—including the 10-horsepower Volvo MD6B and the MD7—drew widespread complaint for being underpowered, and several owners said the exhaust path was the culprit in water intrusion.

Refits and Ownership

The underpowered original diesels prompted many owners to repower with larger engines, a common and sensible upgrade given the complaints. Standard steering was a tiller, with wheel steering offered as a 1977 option. The boat's lightning ground directs current through mast and shrouds to the water, a reassuring detail for offshore-minded owners.

The Verdict

The Columbia 9.6 is a thoughtfully engineered late-era Columbia that pairs Payne's separation-reducing skeg with a stiff, solid-glass hull and a seakindly if off-wind-biased IOR profile. Her wood-interior construction and practical details—bronze seacocks, bonded zincs, drip pan—speak to a serious cruiser, while the two-layout interior and pilot berths suit liveaboard and coastal use. The hull-sump joint and exhaust backflow issues are real but bounded, and the weak original diesel is easily addressed.

Pros