The Columbia 40 is an American

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

that was designed by Charles Morgan as a racer-cruiser and first built in 1964. The design was based upon Morgan's ''Sabre'', a one-off racing boat that was successful in competition, winning Class C 1964 Southern Ocean Racing Circuit (SORC) and second place overall. ''Sabre'' was derived from the racing

ketch A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch f ...

''Paper Tiger'' which was the overall winner of the 1961 and 1962 SORC racing series.

Production

The design was built by Columbia Yachts in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The company built 55 examples of the type from 1964 to 1969.

Design

The factory sales brochure described the design goals, "A real yacht designed to go to sea in comfort while giving top performance." The Columbia 40 is a recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

, with wood trim. It has a steel frame molded into the fiberglass structure. It has a

masthead sloop A masthead rig on a sailing vessel consists of a forestay and backstay both attached at the top of the mast. The Bermuda rig can be split into two groups: the masthead rig and the fractional rig. The masthead rig has larger and more headsails, a ...

rig, or optional

yawl A yawl is a type of boat. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan), to the hull type or to the use which the vessel is put. As a rig, a yawl is a two masted, fore and aft rigged sailing vessel with the mizzen mast ...

rig, with the additional of a

mizzen mast The mast of a sailing ship, sailing vessel is a tall spar (sailing), spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median plane, median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, givi ...

. Features include a

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a raised counter transom, a keel-mounted

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn ...

and a fixed long

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

with a hydraulically raised, retractable

centerboard A centreboard or centerboard (US) is a retractable hull appendage which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a ''centreboard trunk'' (UK) or ''centerboard case'' (US). The retractability allows the centreboard to be raised t ...

. It displaces and carries of ballast. The steel tube frame was designed to take the

standing rigging Standing rigging comprises the fixed lines, wires, or rods, which support each mast or bowsprit on a sailing vessel and reinforce those spars against wind loads transferred from the sails. This term is used in contrast to running rigging, w ...

loads and pass them through the steel structure to the hull bulkheads and the deck structure. This allowed very high tensions on the cabling, for example on the

forestay On a sailing vessel, a forestay, sometimes just called a stay, is a piece of standing rigging which keeps a mast from falling backwards. It is attached either at the very top of the mast, or in fractional rigs between about 1/8 and 1/4 from the t ...

and allowed a very precise sail shape, providing better performance in light and heavier winds. The boat has a draft of with the centreboard extended and with it retracted. Being hydraulically actuated, the centerboard was intended to be raised when sailing downwind to reduce whetted area and drag, as in dinghy sailing. The boat is fitted with a

Universal Atomic 4 The Universal Atomic 4 is a four-cylinder, gasoline engine produced by the Universal Motor Company between 1949 and 1984 for use as auxiliary power on sailboats. Both and versions of the engine were produced. Over 40,000 of the engines were pro ...

gasoline engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American and Canadian English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as Autogas, liquefied petroleum gas and Common ...

for docking and maneuvering. The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . The

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

is located on the port side at the bottom of the companionway steps, and includes a three-burner stove. The

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

is located forward, just aft of the bow "V"-berth, and has a privacy door. Additional sleeping accommodation is provided in the main cabin, including a dinette table that can be dropped to form a double berth, and a single berth. The Columbia 34 was created in 1966 with the addition of a deck adapted from the Columbia 40 mated to the hull of the Columbia 33 Caribbean design. The

Columbia 38 The Columbia 38 is an American sailboat that was designed by Charley Morgan, Charles Morgan as racer-cruiser and first built in 1965. The Columbia 38 is a development of the Columbia 40. Production The design was built by Columbia Yachts in t ...

was also developed from the Columbia 40.

Operational history

The design was used to win the 1966 SORC Miami-Nassau race and also took second, third and fifth places in SORC Class C.

References

{{Columbia Yachts Keelboats 1960s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Charley Morgan Sailboat types built by Columbia Yachts

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References