Rate my bubbletop!?!

[upnorthfrank]

Hey guys all this discussion of older boats, IOR, roomy cabins, sailing to windward etc, got me thinking about my 'other' boat, a '70 Columbia 26MKII that was given to me by a retired gentleman who could no longer afford her upkeep. She's in the water, sails real nice, & keeps me sane while I toil over my beloved Onamuni (E38 #77) which has proven to be a major undertaking of course. I'm wondering if anyone else here has sailed these boats, & what their thoughts might be. I could sign up @ the columbia site, but I thought I might get a more unbiased opinion here, assuming the cult following is for another brand...

Everyone I've spoken w/ around the marina & on the water who knows about these boats seems to really like them. I tend to agree, but I'm a greenhorn.

Thoughts?!? How does she fare against the Ericson of comparable dimensions???

I've also been told she's in better shape than a lot of the other bubbletops bobbing around south texas.....I feel lucky!!!

 

[upnorthfrank]

A pic for your enjoyment

Here she is, our bubbletop baby!!! Her name is Bless Ed, because she is a blessing, & an education...

Not many good interior pics, but this one kind of shows her clean interior, no bad smells!!!

 

[Loren Beach]

Never sailed one, but back in the early 80's there was a Mk2 here that beat just about everyone in local club racing. My impression was that it was indeed a good sailing boat with enough interior for cruising for a weekend or a week.

Looks like you have a Good Old Boat!
I betcha you are also a subscriber to that magazine...


I get a chuckle out of the interior photo, too. Except for a guitar we would also pack a lot of "stuff" inside our former Niagara 26 for a three week vacation...


Loren

 

[upnorthfrank]

Yes the guitars are a major pain & we still haven't figured out where the drum kit goes!!!

I have a kid size guitar that becomes the weapon of choice when we get serious about loading/unloading the boat for sailing. Vehicles & trailer packed to the overheads, good luck stealing my truck, you'll have to unpack it first-

We stay on her a lot, & stuff accumulates fast. I developed a system however, where all the various stuff goes into bins etc. & out, or strapped down stowed etc. She sails on her ear nicely w/ a load of useless crap

 

[upnorthfrank]

Not a subscriber to 'Good Old Boat' but I do pick it up & look when I see it. In regards to my E38, after hearing her history I thought about trying to start a magazine named 'Poor Old boat' & make her the feature. It's sad, 'cause she really is a very nice boat, & according to the locals was in pristine shape internally when the original PO started taking a sawzall to the interior teak!?!

She also had a fresh bottom job, but never went back into the water, 10+ yrs. ago.....

I'm almost to the point where I'm ready to start going the other way w/ renovation, a lot of tearout. I'm planning another thread here, got design/engineering questions re: bulkheads etc. At this point I think it'll be easier for me to go custom w/ the design, I'd wanted to take her back to original but I'm missing so much stuff, it'll be tough to recreate some of the interior appointments w/o a reference boat nearby or some blueprints, etc.

Another boat that, when I mention her, folks who know react w/ obvious respect for the line. Being a quality-oriented guy I get happy feelings when this occurs. No question here, when she's ready enough she'll be sailing as far as she (we)can go. The plan is moving to the NW w/ her after she splashes (or truck her over). Maybe another year, we'll see. We're poor so we gotta scratch & scrape, less beer, more boat etc.