12ft Widgeon serial number

[zaneroni]

Hi
I just bought an O'Day Widgeon for $100 for a restoration project, this is my first sail boat. It has a small plate on the front seat showing Ser.# 21691 , Class #1457. Any idea what year this boat is? It has the wooden benches and open bow.

The hull seems to be in a pretty good shape from the outside. I noticed a crack in the aft compartment that can be easily fiber glassed. there is also a drain plug on the rear compartment that drains into the cockpit. There are some water in there that I'm not sure how to get it out yet.

I guess I can go on with questions, but for now, I would appreciate if someone can help me figure out the year.

Thank you

 

[Bruce]

Being a fellow Widgeon lover, I couldn’t resist doing some quick research on this. Here’s some info member Rod Johnson posted back in 2003 on the subject: “12-digit hull id numbers were used on all Widgeons built after 1973. Boats built prior to that have a metal plate (located usually in the cockpit) that has 2 numbers on it. The first number is a "HULL #" the second is a "CLASS #", hull# refers to total O'Day sailboat production, Class# refers to total for that model.” Taking just a quick look at the hull and class numbers in the owner’s directory on this site, there is member named Charles who has a 1965 Widgeon with a Hull# of 20097 and a class number of 1411. This seems to be in line with other older Widgeon numbers. Since your boat was the 1457th to be built, I would estimate the year to be a ’65 or maybe a very early ’66.

 

[zaneroni]

Thank you Bruce, this is good information.

I started cleaning the cockpit yesterday, washing away all the dirt from over 10 years of outdoor storage.

As it looks cleaner, I noticed some old FG repair aft of the CB trunk that is pealing away, I figured I will grind all that out and redo it. I also will reinforce the whole truck by laying on 2 layers of 10oz FG and epoxy.

I'm going to start taking some pictures for the restoration project.

 

[Bruce]

Good luck with your new '65 Widgeon! This site has been a boon to me for advice and ideas for my '79 Widgeon, so I try to pass on what I can. As a novice shipwright, I also found Don Casey's guidance on this site to be invaluable. http://www.boatus.com/boattech/howto_lib.htm
Happy sailing!

 

[Sunbird22358]

Well, I was going to explain the old 2-number system that O'DAY used.. But my words appeared before I started typing <GRIN!>

Anyway, for further reference, my boat was Hull# 22698 and Class#1791 and was assumed to be a 1969 model. My research based on the guestimate production numbers that O'DAY printed in their sales brochures leads me to agree with the 1969 date of manufacture.
One other detail is that since the HULL# is based on total O'DAY Sailboats produced, you can use the Hull#s of any O'DAY to help narrow down the estimated year of manufacture of any other O'DAY. In other words, If I found a MARINER that was HULL# 22679 and had proof that she was a 1969, it would further back up that my boat was a 1969.

I think O'DAY did have more than one factory at times..... and although I hate to say it....... I have found that the numbers don't always add up, in other words I found another WIDGEON where the difference (between that boat and mine) in the HULL# and the difference in the CLASS# were not the same. Still, it is reasonable safe to use these numbers to figure out age of the boat (I wouldn't worry about being off by 1 year or so). See below for that ID plate from another Widgeon. (H#22655 C#1666)

PS: I have an expanded version of the O'DAY supplied Owners Manual.Rigging guide for the Widgeon (1963-2003 models) and can make copies.

 

[zaneroni]

Thank you guys, the web site has some great information.
I started working on grinding out the finish a the base of the center board to prepare it for FG enforcement.

The stuff smells really bad, I imagine it must be poly resin. I plan to run a fillet of thickened epoxy and 4 inch 10 oz tape along both sides of the trunk.

I read so many posts about using epoxy over poly or the other way around, it seems like nothing really adheres to poly very well. Its more of a mechanical bond than anything else. So I'll use the epoxy on the bottom and will fabricate a brace to the front seat. I only made a cardboard pattern. will take a pic and post it as soon as I know how to post pictures.

 

[Sunbird22358]

Epoxy will stick to polyester OK, just sand well to give it a good "tooth" to adhere to. Polyester does not stick well to Epoxy, so it is often hard to apply a gelcoat over an epoxy repair, use a good paint instead (Epoxy is adversely affected by UV rays, so must be protected by a paint (or a UV-resistant varnish for a clear finish.