Oday Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Oday Mariner by Barry Waldman

Year built	1976
Location of boat	Canyon Lake, TX
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2009
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	In a heartbeat.
Gear that's been added	Not a whole lot. Added cushions to the cockpit. It really just needed cleaning and shroud adjustment. What it needed most was to be sailed.
Structural or complex improvements	The previous owner had performed the "lower the centerboard too fast" operation and banged the front of the centerboard housing, thus developing a leak there. I've been working on that leak for several months now with marine expoxy and what-not. Since my day-sail is generally limited to no more than 4 hours, it's really not a problem to go into the cabin and bail a few quarts of water every hours or so. Nonetheless, hope to seal it tight this winter.
The boat's best features	I really love this sailboat. It sails the way a sailboat is supposed to sail...perfect in almost every way. Very forgiving. I dry-store my Mariner at the lake on the trailer fully rigged. So, when I get to the lake, all I have to do is prep her by rigging the jib or genoa, removing the sail cover from the main, load the ice chest and we're ready to go. We roll her down the boat ramp, and because she has JUST a 10" draft, she is sooooooo easy to launch and retrieve. That 10" was a huge factor in the purchase. Years ago I owned an O'day 23, so I knew it was a good brand. Didn't know anything about Phillip Rhodes, but learned about his 19", etc, etc.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Very surprising to me that a sailboat built in 1976 is till quite solid. By and large, my Mariner hasn't given any real problems except for aforementioned centerboard housing leak.
Sailing characterisitcs	Thrilling. We've experienced what I call "ginny" days, i.e., 5 - 10 knots, steady under the Genoa. No "white-knuckle" moments, but always moving. Fabulous. On the other hand we've been out in 10 - 20 kts all day under the working jib. Again, thrilling! More work, but very exciting. There were at least a couple of times when we should have reefed the main, but didn't. The Mariner takes it on and just plain sails.
Motoring characterisitcs	I use a 50lb. thrust trolling motor. Just right for me at the marina.
Liveability	For me, strictly day-sailing. I would never attempt to live on her.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Have not.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Have not.
Other comments	I've owned 5 sailboats over my time, the largest being the O'day 23 back in the '80's. I had never sailed a craft in the 19' size. IMHO, the Mariner is the finest 19' ever built. I feel very lucky to have found and purchased this magnificent sailboat.

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