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Review of Columbia 38 CB


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Columbia 38 CB is a sailboat designed by the maritime architect Charles Morgan in the mid sixties. Less than 100 boats have been produced.

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Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.


Rig

The Columbia 38 CB is equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.


Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Columbia 38 CB is 1.68, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.


Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.9 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.


Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Columbia 38 CB is about 175 kg/cm, alternatively 985 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 175 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 985 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.


Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Columbia 38 CB is 35.8.

Low High 82% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 82% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Columbia 38 CB is 3.65.

Wide Slim 82% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 82% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Columbia 38 CB is 395 which categorizes this boat among 'heavy cruisers'.

Heavy Light 5% 0 50 100
5% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Columbia 38 CB with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.1, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 19.1.

Low High 34% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 34% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Maintenance

Rig

Dimensions of sail for masthead rig.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications

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If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.



Guiding dimensions of running rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 30.1 m(98.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard30.1 m(98.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker halyard30.1 m(98.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Jib sheet 11.9 m(38.9 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet11.9 m(38.9 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet 29.6 m(97.3 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet26.1 m(85.6 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Cunningham4.9 m(16.0 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Kickingstrap9.8 m(32.0 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Clew-outhaul9.8 m(32.0 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

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Finally

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References