Oday Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Oday Tempest by Joe Francis

Year built	1969
Location of boat	Buzzards Bay, MA
The boat is sailed on	Bays, sounds, or protected salt water
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?	Absolutely! I’m 99% sure when I was 13, I crewed on this very boat during weekly races on Buzzards Bay and we kick butt! Last year I moved back home and got the sailing bug again and found my Tempest for sale, had to have it. My wife had never sailed before and now she out with me every weekend, putting the Tempest through the paces.
Gear that's been added	Bow rail, stern rail, lifelines, custom anchor pulpit, remote control spot light, custom swim platform, jib furler, VHF, marine stereo, 9.9 Sailmaster
Structural or complex improvements	We’ve made two structure changes to support the addition of the Swim Platform and the ability to tilt the outboard. As you may know, the tempest has an enclosed Motor Well, the good thing about the Motor Well is that you don’t have the outboard hanging off the Transom; the bad thing is the outboard sits in the water all the time. So what we did was reinforce the inside of the Transom, doubling the thickness to support the new swim platform and allow us to create an opening to allow the outboard to be tilted up when not being used. We also rebuilt the cabin; All new bunks, floors, added custom storage and custom electronics panel.
The boat's best features	First and foremost, it’s got to be the 8 ft Cockpit! We generally sail with a crew of 4, sometimes 6; we have had up to 8 onboard. Secondly, the way she handles, I hadn’t sailed for 25 years, and to say I was a little rusty would be a great understatement. She handled every mistake I through at her! Thank you Philip Rhodes, for designing a fast, well balance sailboat for us average people that just enjoy sailing.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	I’d have to say the way the Chainplates are affixed to the hull. I know there is a problem, or at least I know I have to deal with it sooner than later (next years list of “To Do’s”). I can tell a previous owner (there has been only 4 over the past 41 years and we all live in the same small town) attempted to fix the issue, which is the chainplates are separating from the inside of the hull, they are attached securely, but don’t look right to me, need to do more research to come to a final solution.
Sailing characterisitcs	Gusts up to 25 knots no problem, this boat can handle it! This is a very heavy boat for its size, turns on a dime; she’ll point wherever you want. Sailing down wind, wing to wing; she’ll do almost 9 knots; in a beam reach she’ll do 6 – 8 knots, got to love it!
Motoring characterisitcs	Last year she had a 4 hp two stroke long shaft, forget even thinking of going in reverse, going forward in the calmest water, would only get you about 1.5 knots. In the chop, the prop would come out of the water. This year I bought her a 9.9 Sailmaster (extra long shaft), now she’ll back up, in 1 foot seas, she’ll do 5.5 knots, and no long has any problem with prop in the chop.
Liveability	This is a day sailor; with the option to get out of the weather. My wife is a good sport, but she refuses to even think about an overnight. We are planning a trip to Martha’s Vineyard this summer, my wife is planning to get a hotel room…I’m going to try sleeping on board, but I’m keeping the dingy, just in case.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Wish they were still in Business, they produced a great boat!
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	N/A
Other comments	It was built to last, classic lines, handles great. After our first summer sailing her, my wife and I went to the Newport boat show and looked at the offerings from E Sailing Yachts, Alerion Express and Morris Yachts. We loved these sailboats, they had the looks of our Tempest, large cockpits we have to have, and then we look at the price, WOW! The prices ran from 125k – 190k, and you still can’t live on them!. That’s when my wife and I decided to invest in the Tempest; we will never get our investment back if we sell it, but we can enjoy our improvements, and leave most of our money in the bank…

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