Colgate 26
Description
The Colgate 26 is an American trailerable daysailer and racer-cruiser designed by naval architect Jim Taylor in collaboration with Olympic sailor Steve Colgate (founder of Offshore Sailing School) and his wife Doris. Introduced in 1996, it's built for safety, ease of handling, and fun, with positive foam flotation making it unsinkable—a key feature for training and family use. Initially produced by Precision Boat Works, production shifted to Tartan Yachts in 2024 and Waterline Systems LLC in 2020 for some builds, with over 375 units made to date. It's celebrated as Sailing World's 1997 Boat of the Year for bridging novice-friendly stability with performance potential, and fleets serve the US Coast Guard, US Navy (as the Navy 26), and Maine Maritime Academy.
Construction Details
| Designer | Jim Taylor |
|---|---|
| Builder | Waterline Systems LLC |
| Length | 26.000 ft |
| LOA | 25.670 ft |
| LWL | 20.000 ft |
| Beam | 8.500 ft |
| Displacement | 2600 lb |
| Max Draft | 4.500 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 27.75 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 8.25 ft |
| p | 29.75 ft |
| e | 11.17 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27.75 ft | 8.25 ft | 29.75 ft | 11.17 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
| Sail Type | MAINSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 29.75 ft - (9068 mm) |
| Foot | * 11.17 ft - (3405 mm) |
| Leech | * 31.17 ft - (9501 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 31.41 ft - (9574 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 5.25 in - (133 mm) |
| Area | * 171.77 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 23.16 ft - (7059 mm) |
| Foot | * 10.8 ft - (3292 mm) |
| Leech | * 20.33 ft - (6197 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 114.91 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 9.48 ft - (2890 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12.08 ° |
| Area | * 109.77 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 27.5 ft - (8382 mm) |
| Foot | 9 ft - (2743 mm) |
| Leech | 24.5 ft - (7468 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 95.76 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 7.9 ft - (2408 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12.05 ° |
| Area | * 108.64 ft² |
| Sail Type | GENOA |
|---|---|
| Luff | 26.5 ft - (8077 mm) |
| Foot | 12.75 ft - (3886 mm) |
| Leech | 25.25 ft - (7696 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 145.58 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 12.01 ft - (3661 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 3.09 ° |
| Area | * 159.1 ft² |
| Sail Type | GENOA |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 27.5 ft - (8382 mm) |
| Foot | * 13.22 ft - (4029 mm) |
| Leech | * 26 ft - (7925 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150.06 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 12.38 ft - (3773 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 3.98 ° |
| Area | * 170.23 ft² |
| Sail Type | ASYMMETRICAL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 28 ft - (8534 mm) |
| Foot | 14.5 ft - (4420 mm) |
| Leech | 26 ft - (7925 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 165 % |
| Area | * 304 ft² |
| Sail Type | SPINNAKER |
|---|---|
| Stays | * 27.5 ft - (8382 mm) |
| MidGirth | * 14.85 ft - (4526 mm) |
| Foot | * 14.85 ft - (4526 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 180 % |
| Area | * 347 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.