Coronado Yachts

Coronado Yachts existed, during most of the years of it’s operation, as an alternate brand to Columbia Yachts. Though it did have it’s own independent origins as a company called Wesco, which began producing boats sometime around 1962. When Wesco ran out of money it was acquired by Frank Butler, who later founded Catalina Yachts. (Butler later described how he stepped in to finish his own yacht that he had ordered. Wesco still exists to this day (2009) as a supplier to Catalina.) The AURORA and the VICTORY 21 were the first 2 models. By 1965 the AVALON 25 and the CORONADO 25 (Butlers own design) were also being built followed 2 years later by the CORONADO 22 and 34. In 1968 the company was sold to the Whittaker Corporation (which had previously bought Columbia Yachts.) and Butler left the company. The original Coronado plant was in Costa Mesa, CA. Larger boats came from one of the two Columbia plants in Virginia. By 1970 the AURORA, VICTORY 21, AVALON 25 and the CORONADO 22 were dropped. (Though the VICTORY 21, of varying iterations, continued to be built by Catalina for a number of years.) The lineup at this time included the CORONADO 23, 25, 27, 30, and 34 with the CORONADO 35 added in 1971,(based on a Columbia version), and the CORONADO 41,(1972), a ‘stretched’ version of the 35, and the CORONADO 32 (1973). 1974 was the last year that Coronado’s were built in a separate (from Columbia) plant, though boats with the Coronado name continued to be introduced (such as the CORONADO 45). All later boats were built by Columbia and many from Columbia molds. (The CORONADO 28 was based on an earlier Columbia hull.) Columbia Yachts continued to use the Coronado nameplate until 1976. The last model built was the CORONADO 35. Columbia Yachts continued to produce boats until the early 1980’s.