hell yes
Nothing better than stepping up to the plate!
With the New Year comes a commitment to a new boat- The Offshore Columbia 32! The bro and crew of Urge has rallied and determined that we go faster, harder and farther. We took a close look at the 40′ options (particularly the J125) but decided that we had fun keeping together a small crew of close friends and of course it is much nicer on the pocketbook.
Our older Columbia (Uncontrollable Urge) has seen many upgrades over the years and in over 16K racing miles (in sometimes hairy conditions) has never let us down- but it demands some compromises for offshore racing that has limited it’s potential.
Vince from Columbia Yachts approached us last year after our strong finish in the Pacific Cup with a very tantalizing offer: leverage the best of the older Columbia, by designing a new boat with no compromises for offshore work: it would be substantially lighter and stiffer via carbon fiber, have a 7/8 hoist to give 17% more sail area, external sprit, retractable keel (allows for trailer delivery on cargo containers), 15hp Yanmar diesel with retractable prop drive, redesigned companionway and hatch (based on experiences with the Pogo), repositioned forward hatch, etc…and a minimal no-nonsense offshore interior with dedicated nav station.
The catch- a super aggressive price of $99K. We did what any sane person would do…and said "Hell Yes."
So the money was delivered yesterday and the build started- but there is still room for mods, particularly on the interior set-up.
We will post build updates to the forum and look forward to substantive input. Or tits.
And if any of you want to jump on and get your offshore mojo going in your area take a serious look- it is a lot more fun to race against similar boats!
JungleJim
Columbia 30
Uncontrollable Urge
USA 56603
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