Oday Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Oday Widgeon by Gary C

Year built	1974
Location of boat	Northern Wisconsin lake
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	less than 10 knots
Average size of crew	solo
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	1975
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Absolutely! We are the original owners of this Widgeon (#3833) having purchased it for $1,200 at Russell Marina in Madison, Wisconsin. It is moored at the dock in front of our house all ready to go except for running up the sails. It has been a great boat for sailing. I used to trailor it until we moved out to the lake. Lovely little boat--great for introducing people to the joys of sailing. A fine teaching tool, indeed (I was a sailing instructor for the U. of Wisconsin Hoofers club back in the \'60s & \'70s).
Gear that's been added	I changed the mainsheet setup. Originally the mainsheet was tied off at the end of the boom, then went down to the starboard transom through an eyebolt over to an eyebolt on the port side. It then went back up the end of the boom (forming a triangle), then to another block in the middle of the boom down to the locking block on the centerboard housing. An unusual arrangement that wasn\'t great for setting the sail for running downwind. I replace it with a line going to the eyebolts and a double Harken block that could run back and forth easily. I\'ve also placed a Windex wind indicator at the top of the mast, plus tell-tales on the mainsail and shrouds. The original teak hatch covers eventually had to be replaced. But otherwise it is all original except for the jib sheets which I\'ve replaced.
Structural or complex improvements	None
The boat's best features	Ease of setup and sailing stability. I\'ve tipped it over and turtled it once or twice, but no problems getting it back up. It\'s just an easy boat to sail with enough spunk to make it really fun.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Other than the rigging of the mainsheet, nothing.
Sailing characterisitcs	Fun Fun Fun! I do wish it was a little better at heading into the wind.
Motoring characterisitcs	None
Liveability	Not gonna happen.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	N/A
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Long time ago--the marina is now out of business.
Other comments	Well built and designed boat.

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