Design and Construction
Payne’s meter-series boats, including the 9.6, had built-up wood interiors rather than molded liners, an approach Practical Sailor’s reviewers preferred. The hull is solid fiberglass laminate, stiffened by longitudinal stringers glassed in beneath the cabin sole and above the waterline. The deck is balsa-cored.
External lead ballast is held by 3/4-inch keel bolts. The rudder is a foam-filled, hollow fiberglass shell built around a stainless steel stock. Practical details include proper bronze seacocks rather than gate valves, underwater metal bonded to a sacrificial zinc, and a molded drip pan beneath the engine to keep oil from migrating into the bilge.
An anodized aluminum toerail serves several purposes: it stiffens the hull-deck joint and provides a track for shackling blocks anywhere along its length. Overall, the basic structure was judged strong and suitable for offshore sailing.
The hull’s most distinctive feature is the skeg between the 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. The 9.6 also has an IOR-type transom—a small triangular shape, unlike the wineglass stern of the sister 8.7 Meter—and carried an International Offshore Rule rating of 21.7.
Rig, Dimensions, and Handling
The Columbia 9.6 is a keel-stepped masthead sloop with double lower shrouds. Its sail plan combines a high-aspect mainsail with a large overlapping genoa.
The boat measures 31 feet 6 inches overall, with a 23-foot 9-inch waterline and a 10-foot 2-inch beam. Draft is 5 feet 6 inches, deeper than many 32-footers. The displacement/length ratio is 350, while the sail area/displacement ratio is 15.3.
Owners rate the boat’s upwind speed as excellent. She acquits herself nicely to weather, although she isn’t a screamer. Off the wind, the picture changes: nearly all agree that she doesn’t perform as well, a shortcoming reviewers linked to the IOR-type hull form. A spinnaker helps, but it demands attention at the helm.
Owners also mark the boat down for balance, especially off the wind, while rating stability and seaworthiness as very good. The average PHRF is near 189 seconds per mile, and owners complain that the boat is difficult to sail to its rating.
Accommodations
Columbia offered two interior layouts during the production run. Hulls 1 through 90 had twin pilot berths in the saloon. Later boats used an extension berth and pilot berth to starboard, with a settee/berth to port. They also gained a port quarterberth in the space where the earlier layout placed an ice box with a chart table above.
Both arrangements include a forward V-berth, an enclosed head, and a hanging locker. Maximum headroom is 6 feet 1 inch. The standard cabin sole was wood, with teak and holly available as an option.
Teak-veneer plywood and solid teak trim feature heavily throughout the cabin, while some unfinished hull areas are gelcoated. The result may look dark to some eyes. The pilot berths provide secure sea berths and useful stowage for frequently needed gear. A fabric headliner with zippered panels allows the bulkheads to bond directly to the deck while preserving access to deck-hardware nuts.
Known Issues
Most owners who responded to Practical Sailor’s questionnaire rated the boat’s construction quality as excellent. Even so, nearly all complained about problems at the hull-sump joint. A few also reported gelcoat crazing.
The original small diesels—including the 10-horsepower Volvo MD6B and the MD7—drew widespread complaints for being underpowered. Several owners also said the engine exhaust installation was incorrect and allowed water to backflow into the engine, identifying the exhaust path as the cause of the water intrusion.
Refits and Ownership
Many owners have replaced the underpowered original diesels with larger engines, a common and sensible response to those complaints. Standard steering was by tiller; wheel steering became an option in 1977.
The lightning ground directs current through the mast and shrouds to the water, a reassuring detail for offshore-minded owners.
The Verdict
The Columbia 9.6 is a thoughtfully engineered example of late-era Columbia construction. It combines Payne’s separation-reducing skeg with a stiff, solid-fiberglass hull and a seakindly IOR profile that favors sailing to weather over off-wind performance.
Its built-up wood interior and practical details—including bronze seacocks, bonded underwater metals with a sacrificial zinc, and an engine drip pan—suit a serious cruising boat. The two interior arrangements and their pilot berths work for both liveaboard and coastal use.
The hull-sump joint and exhaust-backflow issues are real but bounded. The weak original diesel can be addressed by repowering, as many owners have done.
Pros
- Strong, offshore-suitable solid-fiberglass hull with longitudinal stringers
- Distinctive skeg designed to reduce weather-side separation when heeled
- Proper bronze seacocks and bonded underwater metals with a sacrificial zinc
- Pilot berths provide secure sea berths in both layouts
Cons
- Nearly all owners report hull-sump joint problems
- Original small diesels are widely judged underpowered, with some reports of exhaust backflow
- Poor off-wind balance and performance, according to owners
- Teak-heavy interior may look dark to some
