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  #26   IP: 24.152.131.220
Old 09-16-2011, 12:38 PM
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Their drawing is of course much better than mine but in my defense I threw mine together this morning from memories of 40 years ago.

I was fortunate to live in the area and during the time the fiberglass sailboat industry began, fortunate to work in that industry during its heyday and fortunate to be associated with a forum where I can share the experiences.

What can I say, it's what I bring to the party. Thank you for the compliment though.

In addition to Columbia and Coronado I can provide similar info for Newport, Cal, Ranger, O'Day, Islander, Freeport and Westsail sailboats, Luhrs and Defever power boats. Plus I have plenty of stories of what went on at the plants, conversations with naval architects, mishaps, etc.

One day a Columbia 45 burst into flames right in the mold. I stood 5 feet in front of the conflagration in pitch black smoke manning the only fire hose with the engine man on our line, a retired navy fireman. The mold was ultimately repaired and back in service within a week while he and I, after returning from the hospital for smoke inhalation, were called into the office and severely reprimanded for foolishly putting ourselves at risk.

Stuff like that.
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1977 Catalina 30
San Pedro, California
prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22
Had my hands in a few others

Last edited by ndutton; 09-16-2011 at 09:03 PM.
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  #27   IP: 69.156.58.20
Old 09-16-2011, 08:27 PM
weephee weephee is offline
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Care to 'Talk story'?

On the 8.3 Columbia the chain plates are bolted to the bulk head and are easily viewed and accessible behind sliding door cupboards in the head and in sliding door cupboards above the starboard locker. I have never experienced any water leakage between the hull to deck joint. There is a fairly large aluminum toe rail along this joint. One of the best of many goods features in the 8.3 is the access to the Atomic 4. There is no part of the engine that I can't see, touch or remove. Only the mechanical fuel pump is a bit of a bi---h to remove which I have had to do twice now. Neil, did you ever work on construction of the 8.3 and do you have any constructive criticism of this craft.
Larry
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  #28   IP: 24.152.131.220
Old 09-16-2011, 08:55 PM
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The 8.3 was after my time so I'm afraid I can't contribute. The last new product I saw at Columbia was the center cockpit Coronado 32 from tooling through hull #1. By mid 1972 I had moved on.

Columbia had a penchant for bringing new products to market that weren't new at all. They would take an existing hull, add a bustle and a different deck and shazam, new boat. The bustles were actually small molds that were bolted onto the original mold in lieu of the transom. Each hull had a seam line on both sides at the stern that had to be cosmetically repaired. Take a close look at any of the following models and you'll see the telltale repair.

The Coronado 27 was the Columbia 26, even used the exact same interior. The Coronado 32 was the Columbia 30. Coronado 35 = Columbia 34, center cockpit Coronado 41 = Columbia 39, Columbia 45 motorsailer = Columbia 43 hull. I can't say whether the 8.3 was a clone of anything else.

No other company I worked for did this. The only other boat that came close was the Newport 28. The original hull plug started as a Newport 27 and it's true they added a 1 foot bustle but they also added about 8 inches of freeboard and widened the hull for a little more beam. Sighting the sheer curve carefully you can see the effect of spalling out the beam. Unlike Columbia, the Newport 28 hulls were laminated in their own mold.
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1977 Catalina 30
San Pedro, California
prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22
Had my hands in a few others
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  #29   IP: 24.152.132.140
Old 05-05-2019, 10:38 AM
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Eight years later I re-read this thread and felt a better H metal (hull and deck joining system) drawing with more detail was in order for our Columbia friends, attached here.
Attached Images
File Type: pdf H Metal.pdf (39.4 KB, 834 views)
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Neil
1977 Catalina 30
San Pedro, California
prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22
Had my hands in a few others

Last edited by ndutton; 05-06-2019 at 07:10 AM.
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lat 64 (05-06-2019)
  #30   IP: 107.77.97.101
Old 05-06-2019, 02:34 AM
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Thumbs up Weekend update

Wow, memory lane.
I did finally replace my whole bulkhead and with new chainplates in the last two years. Cut some inspection ports and just put a standard plastic vent in the hole. Ill post some pics soon here. Im in Homer this month working on the boat. Stay tuned.
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"Since when is napping doing nothing?"
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  #31   IP: 74.88.0.97
Old 05-06-2019, 04:57 AM
nyvoyager nyvoyager is offline
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interesting read - thanks guys.
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  #32   IP: 107.77.97.102
Old 05-10-2019, 01:07 AM
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Photos of new bulkhead. Made from baltic birch ply epoxy covered and painted white.made in three parts to fit in. Joint covered with more ply (visible from back side in second photo).
Third pic shows plastic vent to cover access hole for new chainplate bolts.
Sorry about lame graphics, just a prepaid cheapo phone to do art with.
Perhaps this helps another Columbia owner with rotten bulkhead,
Cheers,
R.
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Whiskeyjack a '68 Columbia 36 rebuilt A-4 with 2:1

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  #33   IP: 24.152.132.140
Old 05-10-2019, 09:33 PM
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Picture 3 has an excellent view of the inboard side of the H metal. Cool.
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1977 Catalina 30
San Pedro, California
prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22
Had my hands in a few others
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