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1980 Custom Columbia 56
Rigging Type: Sloop LOA: 56.50 ft / 17.22 m LWL: 40.67 ft / 12.40 m Beam: 13.00 ft / 3.96 m S.A.: 952.00 ft2 / 88.44 m2 Draft (max): 8.00 ft / 2.44 m Displacement: 45,000 lb / 20,412 kg Ballast: 22,000 lb / 9,979 kg S.A./Disp.: 12.09 Bal./Disp.: 48.89 Disp./Len.: 298.64 Construction: FG Ballast Type: Lead Keel Designer: William Tripp Jr. Custom built for deep water cruising. Hull and deck were laid up by Columbia Yachts and custom finished by Marine Engineering in Costa Mesa, CA. Now "Better-Than-New", she was built by Paul Alfrey, an Engineer, and Lusty was designed to meet the requirements of a very experienced Blue Water Cruising sailor. Paul desired and built a safe and dependable vessel for himself and his two daughters that would be easy to sail and safe in any weather in any sea.
History of Lusty The epoxy saturated end grain balsa core hull and deck was designed by Bill Trip and was laid up by Columbia Yachts. The deck was joined and the rest of the boat was custom built by Marine Engineering and Paul Alfrey in Costa Mesa California. Her hull is over 1” thick of solid fiberglass below the waterline. Marine Engineering's business was designing innovative and special need systems, including electrical and electronic systems for large yachts, both motor and sail. The hull and deck were purchased from Columbia as two chunks of fiberglass and the yacht was built as a family home. The priority in design was cruising safety and comfort. The yacht was completed originally ketch rigged. The yacht was named "Lusty", which means, "a lust for life, courageous and adventurous, healthy and strong, full of vigor." Lusty was used for cruising and dive chartering in the Caribbean. After many years exploring the Caribbean, she was sailed back to the Pacific and cruised the California and Mexico Pacific coast for a decade. Lusty had zero problems with the boat in all her previous travels. A shrimp boat in Mexico rammed her and they had to repair the dingy and the davits. She rammed a floating huge teak log off of Costa Rica - and the speed log impeller was damaged and had to be replaced. Lusty became a cruisers' tow and rescue boat in the Caribbean when a boat was in trouble and we were close enough to assist. She towed many large and small boats that had problems. Once, she towed a 46 ft sail boat from St Martin to St Thomas that was disabled. It was only necessary to increase the engine RPMs from 1600 to 1700 to maintain hull speed! After fifteen plus years of sailing, chartering and cruising, the yacht was hauled and a very intensive retrofit began to restore the yacht to "better than new" for another cruise across the Pacific to Australia and New Zealand. The boat is an efficient and comfortable sailor, and has the power and range to motor through any condition. At 8 knots hull speed, under power alone, the 4-53 Detroit diesel engine runs at 1400 to 1500 rpm and consumes about one gallon per hour in a normal sea. Down wind, or when motorsailing, the consumption is lower. The fuel tanks hold about 350 gallons which is about 3000 or more knots on the engine alone! Lloyd's of London rated Lusty for unlimited cruising. The Detroit engine injection system was optimized at the Detroit factory for the specific application as power for Lusty during the rebuild. The propeller was realigned to provide thrust parallel to the water surface, decreasing fuel consumption at cruising speed. After a decade of solid cruising, Lusty was getting tired and starting to show her age. The yacht was hauled and about $400,000 was spent over 20 years, making the yacht better than new.  Lusty, original configuration, sailing in the Caribbean The Refit There is nothing on this boat that is not new, with the exception of the mast and boom which were stripped and painted in 2020. Every wire, hose, bolt, and fitting has been replaced. Lusty was reconfigured to sloop rig. 100% factory rebuilt engine, new 10kw Northern Lights diesel generator, new fuel, water and holding tanks (all epoxy and fiber glass), new ZF transmission, new shaft, and a new propeller located close to the rudder. The propeller move required a major revising of the aft hull to allow the propeller to be moved close to the rudder and set at a no angle. The rudder and post were rebuilt to strengthen the rudder. Rebuilt hydraulic steering system. Rebuilt heavy duty anchor windlass. New 600 ft of 3/8 chain, new bow roller, new anchor. About 200 feet of chain is stowed in the bow. 400 feet of chain is stowed aft at the main mast step location. For anchoring in 25 feet of water, the chain in the bow locker is used. For deeper anchoring the continuous chain from amid ship is feed through a PVC pipe to the bow chain locker. New encapsulated keel. The lead keel was cleaned and encapsulated with fiberglass so to end the problem of bottom paint on lead. The Epoxy saturated balsa core hull was tested with ultra sonic by the surveyor and found no problems. The hull and deck were ground down, re-fiberglassed, faired, and reworked to new condition. The hull and deck stripped of all coatings and re-coated with five coats of gel coats. All out side teak and aluminum was replaced with stainless or fiber glass. New chain plates. The decks were coated in Kiwigrip. New solid fiberglass hard top was fabricated to fully enclose the cockpit and to provide comfort in bad weather. The original steering binnacle was removed to open up the cockpit. A new steering station was fabricated on the port side cabin top and a comfortable pilot's chair was installed. This modification enables a large teak table to become the focus point of the cockpit. All through hulls removed and replaced with one single through hull for a salt water intake, strainer and manifold. All used water is plumbed to the stern and exhausted above waterline. New custom designed engine and generator exhaust systems, with above-the-waterline mufflers which separate the cooling water from the exhaust gases. The cooling water being separated ends the swooshing noise associated with cooling water and exhaust gases in one pipe. The engine was mounted on standard engine soft silencing mounts. As the engine is below the water line, the engine salt water pump for cooling was changed from a rubber impeller type to a bronze centrifugal pump. A drive shaft with u joints was installed between the engine and the propeller shaft to make the engine quieter and end alignment problems. A new style no drip shaft seal was installed. The new ZF transmission is a work boat model that has an shaft seed control as well as a the forward and reverse. The shaft speed control allows the engine to run at a constant set RPM with the shaft speed set by the pilot with a separate lever control. An electric bow thruster was installed. A second Balmar alternator was installed. Providing one alternator for each battery bank. Bank one is a massive 1,120ah of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePo4) house batteries. Bank two is a single Battle Born LiFePo4 starting battery for the engine and the generator with a Renogy 12v-12v charger managing its alternator and solar charging. 1,980w of solar were added to the deck providing nearly 160a of on demand power! The deck house was reinforced with 0.25” of additional fiber glass to end the big windows leakage problem in heavy rain or weather. Major equipment added in 2020-2023: Quantum Sails Crusing Triple Reef Main Northern Lights 10kw Generator All new AC and DC Wiring (ALL of it) All Whale Push-Connect Fresh Water Fittings and Hoses PSS Dripless Shaft Seal (plus mounted spare) Solid Lasercut Stainless Steel Toerail Danfoss Fridge /Freezer Compressors All Tables, Countertops, Settees, Windows, Hatches, Ports, Windows. PLEASE CONTACT MAXSON SMITH FOR INFORMATION! |
