Oday Owner Reviews

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Review of the Oday 27 by Steve LaBroad

Year built 1977  
Location of boat Lake St. Clair, MI  
The boat is sailed on The Great Lakes  
How the boat is used Weekends and longer  
Normal wind strength less than 10 knots  
Average size of crew solo  
Liveaboard? No  
Owner bought the boat in 1985  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? This model, yes, this boat, perhaps no. The boat was well equipped when I bought it. Spinnaker gear (pole and secondary winches), reaching strut, extra bulkhead compasses, inboard genoa tracks, elaborate instrumentation including below deck repeaters, etc. I picture the previous owner wandering the boat with a drill in one hand and a cocktail in the other. There are countless examples of his relocating equipment and badly filling the previous holes. I wish I knew then what I know now. The deck is getting soft all over.  
Gear that's been added GORI folding prop, Harken furling, Lazy Jacks, autopilot, split backstay and adjuster.  
Structural or complex improvements I've replaced both main cabin bulkheads at one time or another.  
The boat's best features Easy to single hand, a stable boat, stand up headroom (about 5'11" in main cabin), Atomic 4, secure feeling in rough weather.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. Lousy design of the lifeline stanchion through deck mounting. Ports mounted in a hollow fiberglas sandwich making it difficult to eliminate leaks.  
Sailing characterisitcs My boat has a fair amount of weather helm. Is prone to hobbyhorsing in light chop. Wants 15 degrees of heel.  
Motoring characterisitcs Atomic 4 has been pretty much bullet proof (knock on wood). Good cruising speed about 5-5.2 knots but can be forced to hull speed. Rigging shakes like a wet puppy much over 5.5.  
Liveability I mostly solo and therefore find plenty of room.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) [builder]  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any Broker was ok. Had it trucked from Lake Michigan side of Michigan to Lake St. Clair. Minor carb problem fixed at launch with no aggravation. However, I suspect one of his kids got to go to Harvard because I was pretty naive about prices.  
Other comments I'm very happy with the O'Day product. The boat's problems stem from the first owner's enthusiasm for drilling paired with his apparent fear of caulking. If I hadn't been so inexperienced I might have understood what was happening a little sooner and stemmed the damage.  

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