Oday Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Oday 272LE by Bob Charlick

Year built	1987
Location of boat	Lake Erie
The boat is sailed on	The Great 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	1987
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	This is a good solid production boat that sails well. I would buy it again if I were on the same budget. Loaded, it was still a good buy at the time.
Gear that's been added	We have added all the basic electronics- knotlog, depth sounder, VHF radio of course, plus auto helm and Loran. We also installed a simple car radio which despite the usual warnng has worked well in marine environments for over ten years.We also have a whisker pool.A few years ago, we replaced the fore hatch. The OME was poorly designed and leaked as well as becoming cloudy. This past season we had JSI make us up a fine set of cockpit cushions which make sitting alot more comfortable.
Structural or complex improvements	Early on, after a few years we took the bottom down to gelcoat and replaced the ablative anti- fouling paint with Teflon VC. We repaint (spray or roll) every few years with minimal prep, and the paint works well in this environment. We have never had a zebra mussel on the bottom.We have had to do some work on the mast wiring and mast head light which has given us fits the past few seasons. At the conclusion of 12-13 seasons the sails, particularly the reefing genoa are worn and need replacement.We also had to replace the presurized water pump, and the marine head at about 10 years. They are easily replaced by an owner with average mechanical skills.
The boat's best features	The boat's best feature is that it sails well. The helm is well balanced on the LE if the mast is set and tuned correctly. The boat obviously sails better to weather and from close haul to broad reach as other reviews have stated. It can lag seriously on a run. For this reason we purchased and use a pole when the wind is not too high, and we wing whenever possible. Running is very clearly its slowest point of sail, however.In a good wind the boat can do over 6 knots on its favorable points of sail. Reefed it can do an easy 5- 5.5 with either a reefed genoa or a reefed main. It sails well in either configuration.Like most pocket cruisers, the 272 sleeps 2-5 people uncomfortably... Its interior comforts are modest, and in stormy weather there is inadequate ventilation below decks for comfort. we have cruised with 5 people. This is the absolute maximum, and I would not advise it for any period unless you want to become enemies...
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The biggest problem with the boat is the integrity of the deck fittings for water leakage. Stains on the carpet material headliner seem inevitable, and one wonders about the integrityover time of the bulkheads to which the chainplates are attached. So far we had made no problem, but we want to avoid the sudden emergence of a demasting in bad weather and check the seal in the chain plate fitting every year or so.The self tailing winches are a godsend, but the main sail winch is underpowered.The Cruising Design roller reefer was simply too cheap a piece to hold up for many years. it worked very well for about seven years, less well for the next 6, and now needs replacement. For the smaller members of the crew, it is too difficult to reef under all but the lightest conditions. when I can afford the $2000 I will replace the reefer with a Harken Model 0.
Sailing characterisitcs	see above... The outboard rudder with wheel configuration is unusual but works well most of the time, if the boat is well tuned. Otherwise the stresses on the wheel cables and rudder could be excessive in chop and heavy seas that we get on Lake Erie.Overall, the boat is a bit light for conditions on Lake Erie, and crossings to Canada can be an adventure if the seas really pick up. It pays to know how to cut the waves. Otherwise, you do alot of uncomfortable bobbing. Nonetheless, even in pretty high winds and fairly bad seas we have never felt that we could not control the boat, and have never come even close to turtleing, probably because of the postive features of the wing keel on so light a boat.
Motoring characterisitcs	The 10-2 Westerbeck is ok for most conditions, but in fairly high seas and wind, it is incapable of pushing the boat more than about 3.5-4 knots, which can make a long and uncomfortable trip home when the wind turns out to be on your nose. In moderate to flat seas, the engine will propel the boat at 6 knots at 3200 rpm. I prefer for engine wear, vibration and noise levels to motor at 3000. When you find yourself in the sudden high wind (15 plus on the nose) this engine at times seems barely adequate to push you and give you descent steering. We have been in thunder storms with sudden bursts of hail where we barely feel like we are moving forward. Fortunately, such conditions don't last long on Lake Erie.
Liveability	see above- sleep 2-5 uncomfortably.In addition, the head, stove (non-pressurized alcohol) and ice box, are minimum cruising equipment, but are fine for day or one overnight sails. The folding table is useful and large enough for four.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	[builder]
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	We purchased the boat from Toledo Yacht Sales which at that time had an affiliated dealer in Cleveland. Commisioning and initial service were good. Warranty service sometimes took a while.
Other comments	All Oday owners should know about Rudy and D&R in Mass, if you need Oday parts. Rudy was the former parts manager for the Oday plant in Fall river and knows everything about where to get original equipment or excellent after market products. As long as Rudy is in bussiness, we will never have a problem getting what we need to keep the fleet in condition.I also hear that several companies have purchased the Oday molds and are producing new boats. I saw a reference to a site odayjapn@aol.com but cannot get it to work. Any information on this would be appreciated...

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