Records show 130 hulls launched between 1975 and 1977. The T-26 replaced the C-26 MkII in 1977. Payne, who designed several Columbia models in the mid-to-late 1970s, gave it a modest but purposeful footprint: 22 feet 10 inches on the waterline, a beam of 7 feet 11½ inches, and a notably shallow draft of 2 feet 1 inch. That combination made trailering and shallow-water gunkholing straightforward.
Design and Construction
The T-26 has a solid-fiberglass hull and a full-keel configuration, with 1,400 pounds of lead ballast contributing to a displacement of 4,400 pounds. Its ballast-to-displacement ratio is 31.8 percent.
The boat dates from Columbia’s Whittaker Corporation era. Its design reflects Payne’s mid-1970s work for the marque rather than Columbia’s earlier Sparkman & Stephens or Tripp designs. The shallow 2-foot 1-inch draft and ballast ratio point to a boat intended for easy launching and sheltered-water cruising rather than offshore passage work.
On the Columbia-built version, the forward hatch sits on the flat deck. This detail distinguishes the original from boats later produced from derivative molds.
Rig and Sail Plan
The T-26 is a masthead sloop with a specified sail area of 270 square feet. The manufacturer documented a 132-square-foot main and a 138-square-foot 100 percent jib. Rig dimensions are I: 29.33 feet and J: 9.42 feet.
The working sail inventory includes:
- A Dacron main with a 25-foot 2-inch luff and a 10-foot 5-inch foot
- A 126-square-foot working jib
- A 125 percent genoa of 163 square feet
- A 150 percent genoa of 203 square feet
The builder specified Bainbridge Dacron or equal, with a fill-to-bias ratio not exceeding 1 to 4, along with a 3/8-inch bolt rope on the main luff and foot. Sail-data records confirm the rig geometry and list asymmetric and spinnaker options. The spinnaker measures 422 square feet for downwind sailing.
Accommodations and Layout
Documentation of the Columbia-built T-26’s cabin details is limited. Its port configuration and flat-foredeck hatch, however, clearly distinguish it from the later Commodore edition.
Owners report that the Commodore-built derivative has considerable teak in the cabin. Its forward hatch is mounted in a forward trunk, and all of its ports open rather than using a mixed arrangement. That version also differs mechanically and under sail: it has a fractional rig, wheel steering, and an outboard engine instead of the Columbia boat’s masthead-sloop arrangement.
Production Lineage and Known Variants
The mold history warrants attention. A former Columbia owner reports that another company purchased the T-26 molds. One owner describes a Commodore-built T-26 from 1982 with substantially different specifications: displacement of 4,225 pounds, ballast of 1,500 pounds, a fractional rig, six opening ports, wheel steering, and outboard power.
A 1983 Horizon 26 is also claimed to have been built from the Columbia T-26 mold. Because these derivative boats differ from the Payne-designed original in dimensions and rig, they should be assessed on their own merits.
The Verdict
The Columbia T-26 is a modest, well-documented trailerable sloop from Columbia’s Virginia-era production, designed by Alan Payne. Its shallow draft and manageable sail plan suit lake and coastal cruising, while the documented production run of 130 hulls helps with ownership research. Buyers should be aware that other builders later used the molds to produce different boats under related names.
Pros
- Shallow 2-foot 1-inch draft simplifies trailering and shallow-water anchoring
- Documented 270-square-foot masthead-sloop rig and Dacron sail inventory
- Production run of 130 hulls, with a surviving number-one hull record for provenance
Cons
- Flat-deck forward hatch provides less trunk-cabin ventilation than later derivatives
- Molds were sold onward, and non-Columbia boats differ in rig, ballast, and engine arrangement
