New to sailing, just picked up an ODay 23.

[1979Oday23]

Hello everyone,
I've been around the water since my teenage years, have my USCG 6pack, and just fullfilled a lifetime goal/dream of owning a sailboat.
As funny as it may sound, I watched a few YouTube videos and took her out for my first sail this past Saturday. Used the kicker to get into the bay, then raised the mainsale and sailing I went! The lack of motor noise, and the sound of the water and sails was amazing.
Going straight seems almost too simple, but I seem to be having a problem tacking. Seems I have to go farther and faster than I thought you had to. I mistakenly believed you could tightly zig zag your way into the wind. Kept losing the wind and stalling the rudder (for lack of a better term). So I just started to watch the other boats on the bay and imitated their tacks.
Absolutely LOVE this boat and I'm having the time of my life even though I have no idea what I'm doing, so to speak.
The only thing that has me a little concerned is pulling it out at the end of the season. I've been watching YouTube videos on lowering the mast and it does not look easy.

 

[JRT]

Congratulation and enjoy the fun times! I've zero mast raising / lowering experience so I'll let others chime in. I think most make a gin pole, there are several YouTube videos out there even with the 23. My 25 has a simple kit, which I have yet to use, but will be trying at some point this year with help from others at our club.

 

[Sunbird22358]

The big problem many new sailors have when tacking is over-steering. You want to make a smooth turn and not turn the rudder too far, as that will stall the turn. You need to turn in such a way that you maintain momentum thru the wind, but not turn the rudder so far that it becomes like a brake, slowing the boat down, often resulting in a "missed" tack that gets you "in irons" (sails luffing, unable to fall off on the new tack). It definitely takes practice! You need to turn fast enough to make that smooth turn thru the wind, but not so fast that you over-steer. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

 

[Will Gilmore]

Welcome to SBO, you will find participation on this site one of the best decisions you have made, outside getting a sailboat, that is. Someone will know how to answer your questions and all of us will want to help.
Sailing has some additional elements to it from powerboating, as you've found out.
Sunbird is right on. Tacking needs a smooth arc through it. Don't go hard over with the helm, you can see old fashion sailingships often have chains attached to either side of the rudder to prevent just that mistake. But, come about "with feewing" (sorry, a reference to an old movie) do it like you mean it. Also, if you don't have the jib set, you will probably find it harder to tack. Learn a little about the balance between center of effort (CE) and center of lateral resistance (CLR). The wind also helps. Is not all about the rudder. Different points of sail to the wind and different strengths of wind will require slight adjustments to technique. You will learn to feel your way around the turn.

As far as mast lowering, my mast is 24' on an O'Day Mariner 19, a little shorter than yours. I can raise and lower mine single handed without difficulty. The important part is a clear path aft of the mast so you can walk it back. It is best to have a buddy. One person on the forestay and one catching the mast. Don't, and I mean DO NOT, fall down the companionway hatch. Close it first. Have a plan on where you will put it once it is cradled in your hands.
The tabernacle will hold the foot until it is down, then just slide it backwards an inch or so.
It isn't as big of an issue on the way down, but raising the mast means keeping track of the stays so they don't catch or kink on something. Make sure the turnbuckles are straight and not twisted or you can bend them or the chainplates.
#1 watch for powerlines and other overhead obstructions. Have a thorough inspection of the launch area so you don't drive into something low in the sky. Don't electrocute yourself.

It is great to welcome you to SBO. We all want to follow along on your new adventure, so keep us posted.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Will Gilmore]

Oh, by the way. Nice looking boat. I've never sailed a 23, but I think O'Day made very nice boats. You'll be happy with her.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Peter Sai-Ngarm]

Congratulations! Definitely learn the basics of sailing. It's fun and it's pretty easy.
Here's my list of recommendations to do on your oday 23-2:
- tighten the winch and other deck Hardware
- remove the rub rail with a heat gun and tighten the hull deck joint screws. Add a hardwood backing strip on the inside of the hull if you are sailing in heavier weather
- for unstepping the mast, you either need two strong guys, or a gin pole and a 4 to 1 block with a really long line. You also need something to catch the Mast over the top of the rudder (about 5 feet over the cockpit sole) especially if doing this solo. I would recommend a steel pole with a roller (attached via the rudder gudgeons) on it so you can roll the mast backwards and forward for easy stepping. for the 4 to 1 block i use my mainsheet which has a really long line. The Gin pole attaches to the Mast base and the forestay. main sheet attaches to the on the other side of the gin Pole and the front tip of the boat, on the hull. Before disconnecting the forestay from the hull, use the jib halyard as a temporary forstay. Start letting out line and be sure to catch the mast and keep it straight so it doesn't swing to either side and destroy your Mast base. I start on the cabin top, and then move my way to the back of the cockpit as the Mast lowers.

Typed from my cell phone. Sorry for weird formatting. P.m. me if you want me to go more in-depth or give me a call about setting up and take down.

 

[rschuss]

If you can afford it, get a "Mast-up" from Catalina. It fits in your gudgeons. It extends about 8 feet. This way it can hold the mast up at a sufficient angle while you tape your shrouds into position, so they won't snag and get bent. Since the angle is fairly large from horizontal, the weight will be greatly reduced; and you may be able to raise it yourself. My wife and I are over 80 years old and we do our O'Day 22-2 that way.

 

[rschuss]

I use to have an O'Day Mariner. When I was younger I could raise it myself. In the later years it became harder alone. That's when I bought the Mast-up. Using the same technique on my O'Day 22-2, I found that although the mast section is larger, the mast is actually easier to raise. That's because you get a better angle, from the coach roof to the mast step, to work with.

 

[Peter Sai-Ngarm]

Yikes, the oday 23-2 is not a lightweight trailer sailor type mast. It's heavy and tall, especially compared with an oday 22, cat 22, macgregor 26 etc. If you're going to experiment with a method that requires 50x more brute strength, do it when you're trying to lift the mast, not catch it! With a system like in this video and a 4:1 block, I could raise a much heavier mast with one hand.

Do it this way and you won't need to break a sweat:

 

[glaufman]

On tacking... Will is right... Without the jib working you won't be able to point as high, so the main will stop working and start dragging earlier, and it'll stay dragging and not fill and work later, so you're tacking more slowly through a wider angle... More important than ever not to create any more drag wit with the rudder than necessary... Try limiting your tiller angle to where the tip is over the corner of the seat... If that works you can try adding more rudder for just a second once the sail is in full luff...

 

[Captmayhem]

Peter is right, the 23 mast is not for the faint of heart, I'm lucky, our club has a manual mast raising crane, which I use twice a year
On the other hand, the 23-2 is a great boat to learn on, it's forgiving, but just fast enough to have fun with when the wind gets up.
You'll really enjoy the space as well.

 

[rschuss]

Yikes, it's the same mast, O'Day 22-2 or 23-2. Except the 23-2 is a masthead rig. Same waterline length, same width. They just made the 23-2 more volume-metric and added more weight. Too bad, because they just slowed it down a bit. Good video, and there are other options out there. I'm just brute force; and it works for us.

 

[rschuss]

By the way, when racing it's the main that turns the mark. The jib trims in last. Yes, easy on the rudder when tacking; not to slow the boat speed.

 

[Peter Sai-Ngarm]

Yikes, it's the same mast, O'Day 22-2 or 23-2. Except the 23-2 is a masthead rig. Same waterline length, same width. They just made the 23-2 more volume-metric and added more weight. Too bad, because they just slowed it down a bit. Good video, and there are other options out there. I'm just brute force; and it works for us.

According to sailboat data, the 23 has 50 ft2 more sail area and a longer lwl. Via online sources, mast appears to be a different kenyon model, about 40% heavier, which follows the boat displacement increase.
Regardless, serious props if you're over 80 and sailing...and stepping masts. May we all get that far that well. And the mast-up system does look faster for viable boats.

To the OP, I hope to hear more updates as to your progress!
-P

 

[glaufman]

By the way, when racing it's the main that turns the mark. The jib trims in last.

Hmm. Don't want to hijack but please explain in more detail

 

[rschuss]

When turning the mark, the main flops over first and the jib flails across and set to the power configuration until finally trimming for speed.

 

[rschuss]

I have here SailboatData.com. LWL for an O'Day 23-2, 19.5'. Same data source, O'Day 22-2, LWL 19.58'. The P measurement is about the same fractionally; therefore I assume that from a manufacturing stand point the mast would be the same. The big difference is in the jib, since 23-2 is masthead rigged and the J measurement is larger and the I measurement larger; therefore adding the extra footage. I didn't check with Dyer for the mast cross section; but it seems to me the mast would be about the same because of the P measurement. I could be corrected. Also note that the main of the 22-2 is larger than the 23-2; so the power for the 23-2 is from the jib. Just comparing. I like the layout of the 23-2; but I'm comfortable with my 22-2.

 

[Will Gilmore]

the main flops over first and the jib flails across and set to the power configuration until finally trimming for speed.

You probably don't want to just let the jib sheet go for your turn, either. Letting it back wind a little can really help facilitate the turn. I often have wind in the main, on the new tack, before releasing the jib completely.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[glaufman]

I've done that on Scots bu prefer not to my O'23... With the overlaping Genny at least...

 

[Sunbird22358]

The Mast section (extrusion size) is definitely larger on the 23-2 than the 22 (1980-83 with fractional rig). Even the later 222 used a smaller section than the 23-2. I think the 22 fractional rig used the same basic mast as the MARINER (19') and 1976-78 O'DAY 20. The 23-2 has a much "beefier" mast than the 22, the 23 mast weighed 50# according to O'DAY, the 22 fractional rig mast was 42# although I suspect both figures are a bit low. That 8# may not seem like much, but when distributed over 27' of mast....it makes a BIG difference! The Mast on my DS II is just under 25' long and I can carry it easily alone, but that 27# mast gets pretty unwieldy when I am holding it only 6-7' from the bottom and trying to hold it vertical.