37 LY is way more than you strictly need to get to Colonia - the thinnest bit is crossing the first spiral arm gap just coreward of Sol, and then it's completely straightforward from there. Anything over 20 LY should have no problems making the route.
Could probably do it with 10-12 light years...that first gap you mention is passable with this range if you go above the galactic horizon about 200ly.
My vette had just about 20ly on the way back, and it was mostly a straight shot, with almost no manual corrections needed.