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Review of the Oday 40 by Barry Edstene

Year built 1987  
Location of boat East Chicago IN  
The boat is sailed on The Great Lakes  
How the boat is used Multi-week coastal cruising  
Normal wind strength 10-15 knots  
Average size of crew 2-4  
Liveaboard? No  
Owner bought the boat in 1998  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? After two seasons with this boat and getting to spend a lot of time working on her, I know I would do it all over again. My wife went below the first time when she was in dry dock in Annapolis and said this is the one! And I think she was right.  
Gear that's been added The first addition was a three blade Max Prop. We found that the boat was underpowered or under-propelled with the original equipment two-blade prop. We had no power in reverse and it was lacking in power in heavy seas in forward. The previous owner expressed the same concern over the prop. We now have a good two-blade spare and good performance in forward and reverse and the feathering prop makes for better speed under sail. When we purchased the Oday, she was electronically a bare bone boat with only VHF, depth/speed and a Link 5000 by Datamarine. The second concern was to address our house power needs and it was done with a combination of equipment. The boat came with two banks of one battery each. I replaced this by adding a battery to each house bank and adding a starting battery that is separate from the house banks. Now with a three bank five-battery system in place, I separated the charging and discharging with a Heart Pathmaker. The pathmaker keeps you from over discharging one battery bank and lets you charge all banks without switching batteries manually. I find this great since I tend to forget important things when the sunset is just perfect and the single malt is over ice. We then added a Heart Interface inverter/charger to handle charging at dockside and any of our AC power needs when under way. The pathmaker and inverter were installed in the area that used to hold the sink in the Pullman head in the aft berth. We did not see the need for two heads on a boat with two people on board most of the time. And we felt that the space was better served as an equipment bay. All of the electrical system is monitored using a Heart Interface Link 2000 inverter controller and dual battery monitor. This panel sets at the nav station under the Pathmaker remote panel, making all power control and monitoring convenient. The boat had no autopilot so we chose a Windhunter self-steering unit with a 150-amp wind and sea generator to feed our battery banks while under sail and at anchor. This unit uses fluid logic instead of electronics to steer the vessel with a hydraulic ram attached to the quadrant to move the rudder. Most of the equipment is fitted below deck. This puts nothing but the windvane and generator mounted on the stern rail. We like the fact that the cockpit is clear and that nothing is hanging off the stern obstructing the swim platform. The equipment went in with no problems. The next addition was to address the icebox. We decided to refrigerate and after much discussion with other cruisers picked the Grunert Polar Mate. We chose the12 volt DC air/water cooled model and found the conversion to take a full two days to complete. We removed the gas stove and mounted the compressor condenser unit behind the stove on an added shelf with the fan exhausting under the sink unit. We found that gives us good cooling and keeps the area under the sink dry and odor free. I might add that the instructions for the Grunert were quite clear and it went in as advertised with no surprises. After we started running the refrigerator, We found the Oday box was under insulated, we found that we would get frost around the cover and that the top of the cooler would get a lot of condensation. I have added some foam insulation, but the cover is going to need to be completely refitted before we head out for long term cruising. The VHF was upgraded to a Standard Intrepid GX1260S with remote station at the helm. We have also installed a shower on the swim platform to get the salt off after a swim. And we mounted a blipper radar reflector in the mast to make us a little more visible.  
Structural or complex improvements  
The boat's best features I think the layout of the boat is great, the balance of cockpit space and salon space is just right. The galley layout works well and the nav station is comfortable and workable. On deck the boat feels good under sail; it points well for a shoal draft. The cockpit is not cluttered and it is easy to single-hand after you get underway.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. I think that the under insulated icebox is the only problem we have located to date.  
Sailing characterisitcs This boat points fine to windward well even with the shoal draft keel. It balances well and we feel quite secure and comfortable even in heavy seas. We tend to be a little sluggish down wind in light air but we do not have a drifter or spinnaker so this is to be expected. All in all we find her to be very forgiving and a joy to sail.  
Motoring characterisitcs We have not motored much, and at this time don’t have a lot of comment. We take her out of the birth and hoist sail as soon as we clear the harbor. And on the return runs we drop sail at the last minute to take her home. The new prop has made a huge difference  
Liveability The Oday 40 is very comfortable for two people to live on, and equally comfortable to entertain guests on. We have had six adults in the salon for dinner and it was very comfortable. We have entertained eight adults in the cockpit for snacks and cocktails, also comfortably. We added a teak cockpit table that folds down against the binnacle, which is very handy.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) [builder]  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any  
Other comments All in all this is really a great all around cruiser the designers did a good job making a comfortable yet nimble boat.  

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