Oday Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997
Contact us
 
 
 

Review of the Oday 222 by mike mehne

Year built 1985  
Location of boat wisconsin  
The boat is sailed on The Great Lakes  
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 1988  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes! Bought the boat damanaged to repair and sell. I was impressed w/ the factory glass work and overall workmanship making the problems (all boats have them) very reparable. Finished major repairs, sailed it, have yet to put up for sale and prob. will not. An excellence boat in its class.  
Gear that's been added New rudder and center board, this year new lines, chain plates, and single hand set-up.  
Structural or complex improvements Rudder and center board are the boats major problem area. If you have or are looking at a 222 know that the "foam filled" should be replaced. The next would be to add area to the chain plates above and bellow deck. Over all the boat is very well construted.  
The boat's best features A very good compromise in size, performance,and cost. Hard to beat for a boat that is easly towed, rigged, launched, has good room below and will sail with the best of them.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. Rudder and centerboard. If on a tight budget (who isn't) start with the rudder and replace it as soon as possable as the boat can and will sail surprising well without the center board.  
Sailing characterisitcs Well ballanced, goes into the wind well, forgives many of my mistakes and is comfortable. Does all that and still performes well.  
Motoring characterisitcs I had a 10hp Honda 4 stroke in my shop that I used to first launch the 222. At 100 lbs the motors at the top end of weight for this boat and the power at 1/3 is all that you would probally ever need. I often need to wait for 2 bridges to open to get out into the lake. The channel has lots of traffic and gusty, changable winds. Making way under sail very difficult. The Honda is smooth, quiet, reliable, and sips fuel. I can feel the thrust of the motor on the tiller but there is little prop walk in forward or reverse.  
Liveability the boat is comfortable for most situtations. But: After 3days and bad weather I wanted to stand up when dressing or changing clothes or sit up in the foward bunk without ducking. My wife would love to have a bathroom not a porta-potty and we often seem to run out of storage. These are only "I wish" things that we can easly deal with while we enjoy the many "Im glad we have" qualitys of the 222.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) I have not.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any Did not use a dealer or broker  
Other comments The 222 is as good as any and better than most boats in its class. The overall quality of most Odays make improvments or repairs worthwhile. The layout and the performance of the boat is well done but can easly be modifyed to suit the wants, needs, or budget of the owner. The boat has been around long enough to allow most of the faults to show up yet the design is still very current and cost is fully depreacated. On the water its probably about as small as you can go without getting knocked around by gusts, waves, currents. On the hard its about as big a sailboat that you can easly set up and launch in 2 feet of water. In a race the 222 leaves the Cats, Macs,and Hunters for dead.  

Contact
About
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Limited Liability
Advertise Here
Copyright 1997-2024 SB Owners, LLC
All rights reserved.

OdayOwners.com is not endorsed by or affiliated with any sailboat manufacturer.

Other Sailboat Owners web sites:
CatalinaOwners.com | HunterOwners.com | MacgregorOwners.com | OdayOwners.com | SailboatOwners.com | 10,000 Boat Names |