Oday Owner Reviews

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Review of the Oday 23 by Rick

Year built 1979  
Location of boat White Rocks - Upper Chesapeake - Annap  
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 2002  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? In a heartbeat. Did extensive research before buying O'Day. Quality is evident throughout the boat. Designed with sailing practicality in mind as opposed to "Boat Show Livingroom". Was looking at Catalina 22, Hunter 27, etc. This boat just "fit" better and sailed smoother. Previous owner had taken care of the boat and it was just a matter of giving it a good cleaning to get it in the drink.  
Gear that's been added Autohelm ST50 Depth System, VHF, Perko Nav Lights (Researching replacing all bulbs w/ LEDs). 10.3 Uni-Solar flexible solar panel. Hunting high and low for a roller furler that lets me continue to use "hank on" sails (it came with 7!)  
Structural or complex improvements Water tank, sink, spigot had been removed.  
The boat's best features Toughness, construction quality. Use of "name-brand" hardware as opposed to others use of cheap non-US knock-offs. Hunters have been compared to Chevrolets, if that's the case than this is a little up from that...maybe an Oldsmobile. Ha! Everything works great.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. Pintles/gudgeons are notoriously undersized. Stress cracks around the gudgeons on every 23 I've ever seen. Bow pulpit seems a little undersized.  
Sailing characterisitcs Coming from a sailing career mostly in Tornados and Hobies, this thing is a dog.... hey wait a minute, I'm dry, I can take a ___, I can sleep, watch TV, listen to tunes, drink an icy one right out of the cooler, drop anchor and barbecue.... This boat has it all over "Wet @#$" sailing. I love it. Upwind could be a little tighter, downwind, well, lets just say I don't trust it yet. Actually it has blown the doors off a O25 and a 272, so I don't feel too bad.  
Motoring characterisitcs I use a Nissan 8hp. Gets it up to about 6 knots (according to the GPS). Tends to "squat" a little at speed. Very smooth and relatively quiet.  
Liveability Cushion covers had all rotted/mildewed away. Oddly enough the foam was OK. COckpit very roomy, enclosed head is/was the deciding factor in getting this particular boat (according to she who holds the check book). Wish the sink, water supply was still in the boat.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) [builder]  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any Private party. Once the "fever" hit, just wandered around the boat yards/marinas till I saw the "For Sale" sign. Was told that brokers typically charge about 1-2K for selling a boat, hence the fact that you can't find one in this range advertised or displayed. You just have to "know" what a good boat looks like (remember the old axiom, "Look at one hundred houses before you buy one"....well that holds true for small cruisers too. I almost bought the first one....would have been a huge mistake. That's the other thing, for boats in this price range, a survey sometimes costs more than the boat. No substitute for poking around a minimum of 20 boats before you settle on just the one for you.  
Other comments It's the design, quality, and handling the "make" this boat. I'm 42 and I remember when I was a kid and helped my Dad wash the car, the bumpers where solid chrome as opposed to the cheap junk thats on cars now. The ODay is like the that.... Solid chrome baby!  

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