Oday Owner Reviews

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Review of the Oday 37 by John Fryer

Year built 1979  
Location of boat Berkeley, CA  
The boat is sailed on Bays, sounds, or protected salt water  
How the boat is used Weekends and longer  
Normal wind strength 16-22 knots  
Average size of crew solo  
Liveaboard? Yes  
Owner bought the boat in 2000  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yeah  
Gear that's been added I’ve have not really added to much “gear” to the boat but I have made various system upgrades which have taken a fair amount of effort over time.  
Structural or complex improvements No structural alterations but I have made changes and system upgrades. I’ve lived on this boat for the last 7 years and while the boat appears to have a nice and roomy aft stateroom and V- birth, the truth is that they are just a little “off” in design. The aft bunk sloped forward on my Oday causing an annoying slide forward when you slept. Additionally, the bunk is huge at the front and tapers to the rear, which meant that there was really no way to put a sheet on the thing. My solution was to build a frame and shelf system with storage around the “bunk” such that a “double sized” mattress would fit. To do this I cantilevered the bunk forward nine inches or so (slats did the leveling below the mattress and provide better ventilation). This has really made the aft cabin a dreamy place to sleep. Note: It turned out to be just a tad too small for a full double sized mattress so I use foam. The v- birth is fine for one but too tight for two and I’ll reconfigure it before too long by taking out the small cabinet to starboard and reducing the standing area at the entrance. All the wiring was pretty much cooked and so I fully rewired the boat, mast etc… built a new panel with battery switches AC and DC switchboards. The icebox insulation was a joke so I added two inches of foam to the inside and glassed it. I added a AC/DC refer unit and it works great. I pulled the salon table out as well because it takes up too much room and eventually I’ll put a bulkhead table on as another mentioned. I have a second non-insulted icebox to the right of the main sink, which I drilled a hole in and use for drying dishes. I bagged the drop boards (9 or 10 total fore and aft) and built two pairs of doors. The aft doors really kick ass because you can lean against them when at the helm. Its tight around the doors aft but no big deal. The forward head is all new with a new holding tank in the port settee locker. I put in a new water heater three years ago and built a nice wood slat floor for the forward head, which while tight, makes for a nice hot shower dockside or if you’ve been motoring enough to heat the water via a heat exchanger my water heater has. Unfortunately, I have not addressed the rear head yet. The holding tank for the rear head was inaccessible behind a starboard fiberglass bulkhead which I had to cut open to get to a leaking tank. I’m looking at abandoning this aft head altogether and converting it to a nav station if I can make it all fit. The space is just really too small for anything and demonstrates some interior design layout flaws the boat has. On my 79 Oday the main salon backrest cushions suck and there uncomfortable. I’ve been wrestling with a way to reconfigure them that doesn’t mean a total re-design but I have not come up with it. I had to pull the replacement Volvo diesel to replace the timing case cover, which was leaking oil and I replaced all the plastic sea-cocks with bronze valves. My below the water line through hull fittings are bronze when I got the boat and are fine. The hull is OK with some micro blisters that are not with going after (in my opinion) although my rudder has some larger blisters that have been stable for 7 years and four haul outs… I’ll probably remove the rudder and get it repaired at the next haul this winter. This all might sound bad but every boat has issues and I don’t feel these are/were major.  
The boat's best features I love the center cockpit which I had fully enclosed with a great dodger frame and panels from Pacific Coast Canvas in Alameda, CA. It turns the cockpit into another room fantastic for dinners, hanging out and having drinks, cold rainy nights in marinas and it’s pretty much completely dry on high wind days on the bay. You have to be sitting aft to get a hit with water and I love it every time a guest is hit!  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.  
Sailing characterisitcs I love the way this boat sails and I take her out single handed often for short sails from Berkeley. Very balanced helm and I can leave her unattended for as long as I need to on close reaches. I reduced the 130% genoa down to a 100% maybe 105% because of sun damage but before I did that, I loved the light wind performance I was getting. Downwind wing and wing with the reduced gib she’s great. I know everyone else said this boat needs high wind but I never had an issue.  
Motoring characterisitcs Actually backs reasonable well in the right direction :)  
Liveability The V-birth and Aft cabin do create to separate sleeping areas and when I have had guests over night, the separation is nice.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any  
Other comments I think the ODAY is a great boat for the price. I paid 35,000 in 2000. My open ocean sailing experience is limited to crewing up to San Diego from La Paz Mexico. If I wanted to go offshore, I would change out all the port lights, upgrade the forward hatch and maybe upgrade the cockpit drains to a larger diameter. The hull is thin at 1/4 inch to 3/8 and that’s not allot of glass but she’s also light and easy to move around for a big boat.  

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