1990 O'Day Daysailer 3 - sunk in Hurricane Helene

Oct 20, 2024
8
O'Day Daysailor 3 Eagle Creek Reservoir
I owned a 1990 O'Day Daysailer 3 for the last 25 years. This boat provided me and my family with some amazing sailing fun over these years, especially on Lake Michigan each summer.

Several weeks ago when hurricane Helene hit central Indiana one night with sustained winds of 35-40 and gusts of 60 MPH, my boat broke free from its dock, blew down the lake and hit some large rocks. The many holes in the boat filled both the cuddy and bilge with water. However, thanks to the built-in floatation under the seats it never sank completely, and we managed to salvage the boat a few days later and get it back on its trailer. The damage was much more extensive than we thought a huge gash running from the bow down the midline of the hull even past the centerboard slot. It also had several holes in other places in the bottom and a gash in the side where I could put my hand through the hull into the cuddy. So ... last week I left it at the county dump.

All this to say the following to the O'Day Daysailer Owners Forum members: Nothing on the boat was damaged other than the hull. Mast, boom, sails, rigging, rudder, and motor were all unaffected. Several of these items are listed as "free" in the Digital Dumpster Dive forum.

Happy and safe sailing to all you Daysailer enthusiasts!
 
Last edited:
Jan 1, 2006
7,357
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Sorry to hear of your boat's loss.
Sometimes you have to call it a memory. There was a nice Capri 22 here that blew off its anchor/mooring and landed on the rocks of a causeway. I was talking with the salvage guys while they were trying to pump it and commented it didn't look too bad. The deck and rigging were intact and most of the hull was above the water. They said, no it's toast. The whole bottom is ripped open. We'll be lucky to get it to the launch ramp 500 yards away. It didn't make it.
You obviously had a lot of enjoyment from your boat. When it's time to move on, it's time to move on.
 
Sep 25, 2008
7,256
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
Curious - did insurance cover the loss as everything you listed would legally be their property?
 

Dave

Forum Admin, Gen II
Staff member
Feb 1, 2023
86
A reminder that offering items for sale in the Forums is not permitted. The original post was edited to remove mention of those items.

Items available for free, can be listed in the Digital Dumpster Dive forum. For sale items can be listed in the Classifieds. There is no fee for listing items in these two areas.
 
Oct 20, 2024
8
O'Day Daysailor 3 Eagle Creek Reservoir
The original post did not mention offering any items for sale. It mentioned that available items would be free and are listed in the Digital Dumpster Dive forum. I don't believe that is against any forum policy as that is what the Digital Dumpster Dive Forum is for - Free items to forum members.