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Review of the Oday 272 by Thomas Ehmke

Year built 1986  
Location of boat Catawba Island, Ohio  
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 solo  
Liveaboard? No  
Owner bought the boat in 1995  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? I would readily buy this boat again. It has all the amenities of a larger cruiser,i.e. galley with two-burner stove, sink with hand pump, 30 gal. water tank, quarter berth, v-berth, salon with fold-up table and two settees which double as cabin berths, adequate storage, head w/holding tank, vanity and inboard diesel. I often single-hand this boat and find it enjoyable to sail. I find the sail-handling gear convenient and am able to handle the boat in most weather I've sailed in. It is an ideal boat for a couple for day-sailing and medium-range cruising. We have grandkids and the cockpit will seat four in comfort. The boat is tiller-steered which restricts the seating arrangements. I would not want to be on a boat of this size for a long period of time with more than three people because of its size limitations. It is, after all, 27' boat and there are limits as to how many people and how much gear can be brought aboard and maintain comfort and a certain amount of privacy.  
Gear that's been added My log is filled with upgrades and additions to make sailing more comfortable and fulfilling. All lines now lead to the cockpit which allows me to single-hand w/o as many trips forward. Greiner Sails in Toledo,Ohio built a new cruising 155% genoa and full-roach main for the boat in 1997. I have installed a second battery in the lazerette together with a West Marine battery combiner to facilitate balanced battery charging. I have on board high quality safety gear including double jack lines and safety harnesses for five people. My plan for the 2001 season is to install a tiller pilot. I have maintained and repaired many of the systems on the boat in the past five years, and am in the process of improving the vent system for the holding tank.  
Structural or complex improvements In the Spring of the 2000 season I stripped all the bottom paint down to the gelcoat and put on seven coats of West Marine barrier coat as a preventative measure. My rationale was that I am now still young enough to endure crawling around beneath the boat now to do something which will obviate the need to do major bottom work 5-10 yrs. from now when I may not be as agile as I am now. I then put on two coats of black West Marine ablative paint and two coats of West Marine blue ablative( the color which blends with the hull and trim). I will repaint or touch up as the black begins to show through the blue. Last year the lead keel was lowered and recaulked after a grounding in a severe thunderstorm. I have made several alterations to the interior, mainly to create more storage or improve existing storage. No plans at this time to do any major work on the topsides, as everything seems to be in bristol condition. I have installed a simple device called a "tiller tamer" which allows me to move about for limited amounts of time while she self-steers. When the helm is balanced, I can relax, and she self-steers for longer periods, but that is a rare experience with a shallow wing keel and a flattish bottom shape.  
The boat's best features This boat is an excellent blend of a pocket cruiser and day-sailor. It can be both at any time. We often go to the boat for a day, but it requires only some provisioning to make a pleasureable weekend (or longer) cruise. It is easily single-handed, but with a crew of one or two, cruising is a pleasure with adequate storage and privacy. Many others who sail boats in the 25-28' range have commented on the roominess and attractiveness of the interior layout. The boat is never a chore to sail. She is very responsive to the tiller, similar to a day-sailor, and with a wing keel drawing just under 3', we are able to get around where other boats can't go. I have often turned her "on a dime" to retrieve a hat or some other object blown overboard in 10-15 knots of wind.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. The 272 is rudder-steered and in May of 1999, I lost control of the boat in 15 k. winds because the lower pintle broke making the rudder useless. I was able to ship the rudder on board, but had to call for a tow as she was unsteerable. I replaced both the upper and lower pintle and tightened the gudgeons, which, of course, are located behind the fuel tank. I would prefer a larger diesel engine. The Westerbeke 10-2 will not push the boat at hull speed, and in rough seas, she is underpowered. The boat doesn't sail well to weather, seldom pointing any closer than 55 degrees to the wind. Her best point of sail is close-reaching to beam-reaching. Downwind speed falls off even when I sail wing and wing. The boat has a starboard list which I attribute to the amount of weight on the starboard side which is not counter-balanced by weight to port. The head, galley, batteries and cockpit storage are all on the starboard side with only the water tank under the port settee to counterbalance them. I try to keep the water tank topped off to add as much weight as I can to port, but she sails better on starboard tack because the extra weight makes her less tender. The CDI furling system seems hard to haul at times, but I have no basis of comparison, as this system is standard on the 272, and I have no experience with other furling systems.  
Sailing characterisitcs The boat performs well when the wind reaches 7-10 knots. As mentioned earlier, she sails a lot like a large day-sailor, being sensitive to the tiller and easy to manage single-handed. I have sailed the boat in no wind with the iron jenny, and with the first reef in the main and the jenny reefed on the furler in a good blow, feeling comfortable. I had a second set of reef points installed in the main in 1998, but have never yet used them.  
Motoring characterisitcs The boat is powered by a Westerbeke 10-2 inboard diesel. Hull speed for the 272 is 6.4+ knots, but the little 10-2 will not push the boat to that speed. Maximum rpm is 3500 and I run the engine at 3000rpm some of the time. At 2500 rpm she will do 5.5k. That is my normal motoring speed. This boat moves well in reverse. I have read many of the stories about sailors having no idea where the boat intends to go in reverse gear, but I have had no such experience with the 272. With the tiller placed aft of the prop, she steers well in reverse. I have been sideways to the wind in such conditions that I chose to back out of a channel rather than to go forward because of the good steering in reverse. There is some vibration when under power, and the noise is just under the level where I would call it annoying. We can still hear the radio and converse normally when motoring, but I would prefer it if it were quieter. I guess we all would like the benefits of the engine without knowing it's there... The engine has always been reliable. I have had trouble with batteries in the last three years. The slip we dock in doesn't have shore power, and we are not able to use a battery charger to keep the batteries topped off. Sometimes when we are away from the boat for a couple of weeks, the batteries are low when we attempt to start the engine, and I have to jump start the engine by bringing our auto battery on board.  
Liveability The boat has all the amenities of a cruiser, being self-contained in many areas. Entering the cabin on the starboard side is the galley with sink and two-burner stove with storage behind the stove and sink and below the stove and sink. Just beneath the companionway ladder is the engine compartment. Forward of the galley to starboard is the smaller settee and beneath it is a storage area and the seacock for the head intake. Above the starboard settee is shelf storage with sliding doors and an open top shelf which is fiddled. To port when entering the cabin from the cockpit is the instrument area with vhf radio and a stereo. Below the instruments is a storage area and a small navigation table. Forward of the nav area is the larger port settee. Beneath the port settee is the 30 gal. water tank. There is additional storage forward of the water tank beneath the settee. Above the port settee is shelf storage. Moving forward is a private head area. There are folding doors enclosing the head from the main cabin area and the forward v-berth. The head is connected to a holding tank which is strapped into place below the v-berth. Opposite the head in this space is a vanity with sink and medicine cabinet with mirror. The v-berth is forward of the head area and has lift-out cushions to allow access to storage beneath the v-berth and to the holding tank. There is a hatch above the v-berth for ventilation. There are two opening ports in the head area, and I have installed two opening ports, one above the galley and one opposite the galley on the port side for cross ventilation. All in all, this is a very liveable boat. Its limitation is simply its size. There is a great deal of living space and storage in this small cruiser, but it is, nonetheless, a small cruiser.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) [builder]  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any  
Other comments I would like to encourage all O'Day 272 owners to log into this site and hopefully develop a network of information for ourselves and others who are considering this fine little cruiser.  

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