 | |
| Formerly | Glass Laminates and Glass Marine Industries (GMI) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fiberglass boats |
| Founded | 1958 in United States |
| Founder | Richard "Dick" Valdes and Maurice V. Thrienen |
| Defunct | 28 September 2011  |
| Owner | Whittaker Marine Group |
Columbia Yachts is a US manufacturer of sailboats, with offices and production facilities in Southern California.
Richard “Dick” Valdes and Maurice V. Threinen founded Glass Laminates, a fiberglass contract company, in 1958. Among the early products were camper shells and producing canoes for Sears. The company eventually focused its development expertise on sailboats and became Glass Marine Industries (GMI), marketing their boats under the Columbia nameplate. Early models included the Columbia 24 and Columbia 29 (Sparkman & Stephens design). By 1964 company sales passed $2.5 Million.
In 1965, GMI changed its name to Columbia, and introduced the Columbia 50, at the time the world's largest fiberglass production sailboat. The classic beauty, exceptional comfort, and race performance made this design a success. During the mid sixties Columbia produced a few motor yachts.
By the late 1960s,the company was the world's largest fiberglass sailboat manufacturer, with manufacturing plants throughout the world. Valdes and Threinen sold the company to Whittaker (listed on the NYSE), but Valdes continued as president of the subsidiary Columbia Yacht Corporation, and helped to develop Whittaker Marine Group, which ultimately included Bertram Yachts, Trojan Yachts, Riva, Desco Marine, Kettenburg, Balboa Marine, and Coronado Yachts. Total sales of the Whittaker Marine Group reached between $250 and $350 Million in the early 70's during Valdes' tenure. A side note is that Frank Butler, the owner of Coronado Yachts came into Whittaker with the merger, but left about a year later to form Catalina Yachts.
Following Dick Valdes' departure from Columbia Yachts in 1972, the company offices and plant were relocated to Virginia, and eventually sold to Hughes Boat Works based in Huron Park, Ontario, Canada in 1979, and later to Aura Yachts also based in Huron Park, Ontario in 1982. In the mid-80s Canadian boat designer Howard Hughes regained control of the company. Eventually, the Columbia Yachts brand faded into history.
In September, 2001 the new Columbia Yacht Corporation was incorporated, with Dick's son Vincent Valdes as President and CEO, co-founder Justin Wallin as COO and with Dick Valdes among the founding directors. The new company’s first offering was the Columbia 30 Sports Sailor, designed by Tim Kernan, with a Southern California OWC PHRF rating of 51. The company currently produces the Carbon 32 and Antrim 25.
Catalina Yachts is a U.S.-based builder of fiberglass monohull sloop-rigged sailboats ranging in sizes from eight to 54 feet in length. It was founded in 1969 in Hollywood, California by Frank Butler . Catalina Yachts is one of the largest boat manufacturers in the world, with over 80,000 boats manufactured to date. Though Catalina produces boats from as small as eight feet under their Capri nameplate, the company is best known for its production of mid-sized cruisers.
George Anton Hinterhoeller (1928–1999) was a Canadian boat designer and builder, a significant contributor to the Canadian sailboat industry for almost forty years.
Coronado Yachts was a US sailboat manufacturer located in Southern California which produced several popular lines in the 1960s and early 1970s. Many of the boats they built are still sailing and racing today.
C&C Yachts was a builder of high-performance fiberglass monohull sailboats with production facilities in Canada, Germany, and the United States. C&C designed and constructed a full range of production line cruiser-racer boats, as well as custom one-off and short production run racing and cruising boats. C&C boats ranged in size from as small as 21 ft (6.4 m) to as large as 67 ft (20.4 m). C&C also produced a line of bluewater cruising boats in the 35 ft (10.7 m) to 48 ft (14.6 m) range under its Landfall brand. In addition, C&C designed sailboats for production by a number of other manufacturers such as CS Yachts, Mirage Yachts, Northern Yachts, Ontario Yachts, Paceship Yachts, and Tanzer Industries.
Cal Yachts was a manufacturer of performance oriented fiberglass sailboats from the 1960s to the 1980s. The Costa Mesa, California, headquartered company was founded in 1957, among the earliest of all-fiberglass, mass-production sailboat builders. Although the brand has been out of production since 1989, the existing fleet is still substantially active in racing and cruising.
Frank Willis Butler was the founder of Catalina Yachts, one of the biggest boat designers and manufacturers in the world.
Pearson Yachts was a sailboat manufacturer founded by Everett Pearson and Clinton Pearson in 1956. One of the first fiberglass sailboat manufacturers, they grew rapidly during the 60s and 70s, while also developing and designing new boats. However, the company changed ownership throughout the 1980s, after which the company filed for bankruptcy, and was eventually sold to Grumman Allied Industries in 1991. The rights to the name are now held by the Pearson Marine Group.
Grampian Marine Limited was a Canadian boat builder based in Oakville, Ontario. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats.
Watkins Yachts and Marine was an American boat builder, based in Clearwater, Florida. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats.
The Columbia 32 is an American sailboat that was designed by William H. Tripp Jr. and first built in 1975.
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The Columbia 34 Mark II is an American sailboat that was designed by William H. Tripp Jr. as a coastal cruising sailboat and first built in 1970.
William H. Tripp Jr (1920–1971) was an American naval architect who created many popular wooden and later fiberglass sailboat designs. Tripp used the diminutive, Bill, as his usual first name.
The Endeavour Yacht Corporation was an American boat builder based in Largo, Florida. Founded in 1974 by John Brooks and Rob Valdes, the company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats. The company went out of business in 1986. It was bought by Bob Vincent and built sailing Cats and Power Cats from 36' to 48' until his passing in 2019. The boats are in very active owners groups.
Irwin Yacht and Marine Corporation, often just called Irwin Yachts, was an American boat builder based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats and became one of the largest producers of sailboats in the United States.
The Columbia T-23, or Columbia T23, is an American sailboat that was designed by Australian Alan Payne and first built in 1973. The "T" designation indicates that the boat is designed to be trailerable.
The Coronado 23, also called the Sailcrafter 23, is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by William Crealock as cruiser-racer and first built in 1969.
The Lancer Yacht Corporation was an American boat builder based in Irvine, California. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats.
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Media related to Columbia Yachts at Wikimedia Commons