O'Day 39's and 40's?

hinghambaysailors · #1 (**permalink**) 09-04-2006

I'm looking for any input sailnet members might have on these boats!
I understand that they are a Jeanneau design.

We're looking for a new boat and narrowing our list of racer/cruisers offering space, style, speed, and privacy/comfort below, all at a decent price. These seem to fit the bill. We enjoy racing on Weds. nights and coastal cruising on the weekends. Thanks.

Gene T · #2 (**permalink**) 09-04-2006

The design may have been Jeanneau but the construction was different. O'day used a pan liner instead of bonded ribs and stringers like Jeanneau used in that era. I also believe they were caryover IOR designs.

GreenBoat · #3 (**permalink**) 09-04-2006

I keep seeing posts for O'Days on this site and every time I read them, they are positive. I haven't had all that much experience with them, and definitely none recently, but what little experience I had was not at all positive. In fact, my boyfriend and I used to call them Oy Vays.

We worked on a brand new 26' O'Day for a couple and they also owned a 25' Dufour that was several years (decades?) old. There was no comparison. The O'Day was total pain in the a*s to sail. And the Dufour was sweet. We were given the option to sail either and always chose the older, uglier Dufour.

The O'Day just seemed really cheaply constructed and the running rigging was not intuitive at all. In fact, I could say honestly that I hated that boat. The word 'dog' springs to mind when I think of it.

It seemed like it was built for people with little knowledge of sailing or boat construction. It looked great on the surface, but once you actually sailied it or took a closer look, it revealed its true nature -- ill-conceived and cheap. Maybe that has changed -- after all, this was many years ago (late 80's).

So, I'd like to know if O'Days are different now. Maybe they really polished up their act and are now constructing well-built, smartly rigged boats. If so, then great. If not, you couldn't pay me to take one on. I'd keep looking and ask someone with lots of experience to look with you.

If you were talking about a day sailor, I wouldn't worry so much, but a new 40 footer has got to be a chunk of change and worth considerable research. Good luck and hope I'm wrong about O'Days.

sailingdog · #4 (**permalink**) 09-04-2006

Just remember if one was an older boat, the rigging may have been heavily modified to get it "right". That is often a problem on a lot of the newer boats, where the factory rigging isn't "right" for the easiest use.

Bluesmoods · #5 (**permalink**) 09-05-2006

It seems that ajust about all current or previous Dufour owners have or have had very positive experiences with thir boats. I have met those caught in severe storms off-shore and in the Lakes in even 25' Dufours that still rave about those boats and "those days". Dufour still builds them so i guess there is some sort of mechanism for parts and getting questions resolved. O'Day doen not.

I like the looks of the O'Day 40 quite a bit. the interiors are rather nicely put together as well. I was considering one a while back . Blisters pretty much terminated those discussions.

Oh well.......

hinghambaysailors · #6 (**permalink**) 09-05-2006

Thanks for all of the input. We are also considering Jeanneaus and Beneteaus around the same size and from the same vintage (80's). Oh, this boat would be "new" for us, but not new of course- O'Day no longer makes these boats and we don't have the budget for a new 40 footer! We currently sail a 1970 35' C&C and, while we love the boat, are looking for more space and privacy.

GreenBoat · #7 (**permalink**) 09-05-2006

I did not realize O'Days were out of production. I guess I HAVE been out of the loop for a while

, but in this case, I guess that's a good thing as my memory of the 80's O'Day is fresh.

I'd pass if I were you. While the rigging problems might have been addressed, the overall quality of the boat will still be the same.

As far as the Dufour I was referring to, the rigging had not been modified. It was just a MUCH better boat.

Have you checked out the reviews on the Practical Sailor site? They might be helpful in your search.

midlifesailor · #8 (**permalink**) 09-06-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenBoat

I did not realize O'Days were out of production. I guess I HAVE been out of the loop for a while

, but in this case, I guess that's a good thing as my memory of the 80's O'Day is fresh.

I'd pass if I were you. While the rigging problems might have been addressed, the overall quality of the boat will still be the same.

As far as the Dufour I was referring to, the rigging had not been modified. It was just a MUCH better boat.

Have you checked out the reviews on the Practical Sailor site? They might be helpful in your search.

I don't know what you were comparing to, but I was told by both Hunter and Catalina dealers that build quality of mid 80's Oday's was considered a cut above H's and C's of the same vintage. I looked a lot of both before we settled on our Oday 322. Of course I'm new to sailing so maybe I'm stupid, or maybe the build quality on the bigger Oday's was better than their smaller boats but every thing I found on the web (including Practical Sailor) and in talking to brokers (one's who were not trying to sell me an Oday) were very positive.

I can't provide first hand knowledge of how my boat sails compared to others, because I only have the one point of reference, but I can tell you it's comfortable for weekending and as newbies we've had no problems with the way the boat is rigged. All lines are led aft, the main has jiffy reefing, etc.

Hinghambay may want to check out the O'day specific sites for the particular model he/she is interested in.

www.odayowners.com

http://oday.home.att.net/

camaraderie · #9 (**permalink**) 09-06-2006

I would not hesitate to buy an O'day again as we were quite happy for a number of years on our 32. As to construction, I'd say they are VERY SLIGHTY better than the Hunt/Bene's of that era and had more livable space which made them very nice weekender boats. Sailing performance suffered a bit as a result but they still performed decently and since we are not racers, had no problems in that regard.
The big issue with these boats today of couse is that they are orphans and finding specific parts like overhead lighting etc. is difficult. Otherwise, they face the same issues of wear, care, blisters, moisture ingress, etc. as similar boats of the same era and a survey is mandated.

GEORGEJBARLOW · #10 (**permalink**) 09-07-2006

I have owned an O'Day 40 built in 1989 for the past eight years and to put in simply, it's the biggest and best boat for the money. For me it's been the ideal coastal cruiser, but I have not raced this boat. For your information the hull mold was from the Jenneau Sunkist 39 and I could talk all day about the boat, but if you want more, you can contact me through Sailnet. My email address is posted. Good luck with your search.