Oday Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Oday Widgeon by Cynthia

Year built
Location of boat	Lake Arthur, Pennsylvania
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	1997
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes I would. This was my first boat beyond the sunfish.
Gear that's been added	I added a masthead fly. A small trolling motor would be nice, but I don't want to add any weight to the boat. Also an automatic bailer would be nice. From my understanding some were made with spinnakers available. That would be an added bonus in that it would be a great boat on which to begin to learn the secrets of that sail!
Structural or complex improvements	No.
The boat's best features	For me, the best feature of my little boat is to be able to single-hand it. It is very easy to trailer, rig, launch and sail. It's a stable little digny, however when the wind picks up your skills are put to the test.It has many components of a larger daysailer such as a jib and a vang which make it a great little boat for an advanced beginner on up.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The centerboard has given me problems. It doesn't want to stay up and when I raise it on the water, water is forced through the lever fitting on the centerboard trunk. Of course the boat is over 30 years old.
Sailing characterisitcs	It's a very responsive little boat, however it points terribly. When I tack I have to make sure I'm at least 110 degrees a beam of my point. The lighter the crew the better, that's why single-handing it is great.
Motoring characterisitcs
Liveability	It's not designed for anything more than daysailing.
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 wish the Widgeon was still in production!

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