Oday Owner Reviews

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Review of the Oday 30 by Eric Blackburn

Year built 1983  
Location of boat Westerly, Rhode Island  
The boat is sailed on Bays, sounds, or protected salt water  
How the boat is used Weekends and longer  
Normal wind strength 10-15 knots  
Average size of crew 2-4  
Liveaboard? No  
Owner bought the boat in 1996  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes, For a 30 footer, her interior volume exceeds many 32-34's. With some upgrades, ie., autopilot, roller furling, re-do head configuration, add GFI to the 110 system and the usual array of repairs and replacements, the boat is ideal as a small family cruiser which can handle some big waters in a pinch. When we bought the boat, unknown to us was a major problem with the Universal diesel, seems some where along the line (before us), it must have run short of oil and turned the rear piston connecting rod elliptical. With a complete overhaul, it has been a very reliable engine. Original owner purchased the boat with all available options. Huge winches (4), spin gear, wheel steering, H  
Gear that's been added ST 400 autopilot, GPS, dodger and awning. Profurl roller furling. Bow anchor roller, additional 26 gal. water tank.  
Structural or complex improvements  
The boat's best features Interior volume, Easy sail handling, sea keeping ability.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. Stantions are poorly braced (no backing plates), not removable, are a real pain to repair/replace. Bridge deck mainsheet, although efficient, made dodger construction an interesting feat. Helm seat uncomfortable, will construct a curved seat from teak this winter. Sound insulation is null. Must add soon! I have added a overflow tank to the fresh water cooling system because the engine sits ever so slightly below the level of the water heater. This situation can create an air block when filling or changing coolant, consequently you could conceivably overheat the engine. However, the engine now runs very cool, never exceeding 150 degrees. Working on that one!  
Sailing characterisitcs Systole is very fast upwind, but tends to be a dog downwind, perhaps a function of the large beam and small mainsail area. Reefing for us happens at about 15 knots of wind. Attention to the vang and backstay tension up to that point will provide an easy, fast ride. The cruising spinnaker works very well in light air. There are times when you can set everything up and the boat takes very little attention to maintain a good course.  
Motoring characterisitcs Not one of her sparkling features! 5-5.5 knots at about 3/4 throttle. Lack of sound insulation makes for a noisy ride. Not intolerable though. Fuel prices don't affect us much, at a qt./hr, and 18 gals. on board, we can go quite a distance w/o worry.  
Liveability Excellent with just the 2 of us. When the kids or friends are on board, things get a bit cluttered, after all it's 30 feet of boat. Daughter and friend use a lot of water, hence the additional tankage! Galley is small, again it's only 30 feet, but one or two pot cooking with a barbeque grill hanging of the rail works just fine for us. Berths are reasonably comfortable, thick cushions provided with the boat are a plus. Showers are ok in the head although the shower sump and auto bilge pump are one and the same and to use the shower one must remember to switch the Y valve before and after. Wish the table would rise up higher.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) [builder]  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any No one was aware of the engine problem, at least that is what I'd like to think. Maybe the flag was up when the owners accepted an offer several thousands less than the asking price. The engine seemed to run ok, on the day of the survey. The engine proceeded to go South on our ride out of the marina where purchased. The salesman spent the next 2 days doing his best helping us to tear the engine apart to find the problem and seek a solution. (He remains a good friend to this day) Old Lyme Marina did an outstanding job of overhauling the engine, despite the nightmare of trying to locate parts.  
Other comments Too bad O'Day is out of business. Great hull design, good hardware overall, excepting stantions. Durable gelcoat.  

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