I am thinking about buying a 1978 Columbia 9.6 priced at $9K. The
boat has a 13hp Volvo diesel that seems to run okay. Older main and
jib sail. No roller furling, or any other extras.

The other boat, a 1985 Catalina 30 is $21K, with a 21HP Universal.
Though I have never seen this specific boat, the owners have taken
great care of her.

Does anyone have experience with the Columbia 9.6? I would like to
know how it handles in the water. We are day sailers, and I plan to
use the boat to help teach my kids how to sail on weekends. The boat
will be used in Lake Erie.

Any information on the Columbia 9.6 and how it sails would be
appreciated. Thank-you.

R. Gray


I owned a 9.6 for three very fulfilling years. She'd been repowered by a 19HP Kubota,
did have roller furling. I lived aboard while divorcing and found that as a mobile home,
she made a better sports car. But WHAT a sports-car....she was an absolute witch
under sail--I was the terror of my sailing grounds, single-handedly smoking most relative
peers on all points of sail. I drank a lot then, and was certainly not completely alert
every time I was underway... She was so nimble and precise that I never got into any
trouble. I'd casually sail into my slip with no crew, after three 90-degree turns out of the
channel...

The model is not so carefully built, yet I wager no less stout than the Catalina. Both
employ similar philisophies of design and construction. I truly miss the pilot berths with
which that model is equipped.

I ended up trading that (effective) thirty-two footer for another thirty-two footer weighing
three tons more. I have gobs more living space, and weep every time I raise the sail on
my aquatic minivan....

For daysailing, I'd bet you'll get roughly comparable results from either model you are
considering. I suspect the 9.6 was a little more racing-oriented. For my money, I'd likely
opt for the cheaper Columbia, but I like working on boats and restoring ancient
systems and smiling through various self-inflicted wounds....

Good luck with your process.

Cheers-

Boyd