I have a 1976 O'Day 25 C/B and a previous owner has removed the original equipment inboard engine. As I sail the boat now, I'm noticing that it seems a little "more tender" than we like. To that end I am consideraing adding ballast to the boat to bring it back to as near it's original trim as possible. I will be using lead for this, and I will place it on the mounting platform for the original engine, but I don't know what engine came with this boat originally and how much ballast I need to consider adding. From my research in the A4 engine, I'm estimating that approx. 300 lbs. is about the appropriate amount to ballast to start with, does anyone know what the original inboard options were for this boat? From there I can extrapolate approximate weight and get going on this project. BTW - As you might expect, the boat currently sits about an inch "high" in the water. Thanks in advance, Geof s/v Day-O
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
G
Greg Jones
Inboard for O'D 25
Geof, I've got a 1984 O'Day 26 with an inboard Yanmar 1GM diesel that the manual says weighs 176# dry. My previous 1976 O'Day 25 had an outboard but as I remember it, it was very similar to the 26 I now have in size and layout so I would guess that a small diesel could have been an option for it although perhaps you are right that it was an Atomic 4. In any case the diesel weight is about half what you've guessed for the Atomic 4 so I might try a lower weight ballast first to see if it works for you. BTW my 26 seems more tender than the older 25 - I am guessing that it has to do with the heavier duty construction of the older fiberglass boats in general. Good luck - Greg Jones s/v Encore
Geof, I've got a 1984 O'Day 26 with an inboard Yanmar 1GM diesel that the manual says weighs 176# dry. My previous 1976 O'Day 25 had an outboard but as I remember it, it was very similar to the 26 I now have in size and layout so I would guess that a small diesel could have been an option for it although perhaps you are right that it was an Atomic 4. In any case the diesel weight is about half what you've guessed for the Atomic 4 so I might try a lower weight ballast first to see if it works for you. BTW my 26 seems more tender than the older 25 - I am guessing that it has to do with the heavier duty construction of the older fiberglass boats in general. Good luck - Greg Jones s/v Encore
J
Justin - O'day Owners' Web
I would reef earlier
Geof - If I were you I would simply reef earlier. Adding ballast will make the boat slower in lighter air and will increase your draft. If you misplace it you will wind up dragging the stern or pushing the bow, increasing drag and messing up steering trim. Not the question you asked but its my opinion. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
Geof - If I were you I would simply reef earlier. Adding ballast will make the boat slower in lighter air and will increase your draft. If you misplace it you will wind up dragging the stern or pushing the bow, increasing drag and messing up steering trim. Not the question you asked but its my opinion. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
M
Mike
It's a tender boat no matter what you do
I suspect that less than 200 lbs. of ballast is not going to significantly affect how tender the boat is. All of the Oday trailer sailers have high sides and relatively high-sitting ballast; this is necessary to allow the boats to maximize headroom in the cabin while maintaining shallow enough draft to allow trailering. This translates into a tender sailer; my Oday 23 will heel to 10 degrees in less than 15 knots of wind. She is stable, just tender. If you have a good sized outboard on your boat, you have already gone a long way towards replacing the weight lost when removing the inboard. In fact, I bet the outboard sits almost as low as the inboard did. If you do go ahead, you should check the archives of this site. I seem to remember that someone posted their plans on how they had increased the ballast in the keel of their Oday 23 or 25.
I suspect that less than 200 lbs. of ballast is not going to significantly affect how tender the boat is. All of the Oday trailer sailers have high sides and relatively high-sitting ballast; this is necessary to allow the boats to maximize headroom in the cabin while maintaining shallow enough draft to allow trailering. This translates into a tender sailer; my Oday 23 will heel to 10 degrees in less than 15 knots of wind. She is stable, just tender. If you have a good sized outboard on your boat, you have already gone a long way towards replacing the weight lost when removing the inboard. In fact, I bet the outboard sits almost as low as the inboard did. If you do go ahead, you should check the archives of this site. I seem to remember that someone posted their plans on how they had increased the ballast in the keel of their Oday 23 or 25.
D
Don Evans
Ballast....
The 25 was never designed for an inboard, so it would have been a special request for the factory to install one. Cabinetry would have to be altered, and other nontrivial modifications made to accomodate an inboard. There is no factory trim to aim for as the boat was designed for an outboard, not an inboard. I am aware though of some owners who did request inboards and the options ranged from the Vire7, Westerbeke 10, Volvo MD1 and the Atomic4 (18 hp). Having installed a diesel aboard my 76 OD25 I know it has affected the stability (increased), and decreased the performance in light air, as Justin has pointed out. This is not necessarily a bad thing though depending on your type of sailing. I do not race mine. To satisfy your curiousity you might want to start with adding a couple of hundred pounds of water, in jugs, sand in bags or whatever in the old engine compartment and see if you like the change in performance/stability at various wind speeds. You may or may not like what you see. Don
The 25 was never designed for an inboard, so it would have been a special request for the factory to install one. Cabinetry would have to be altered, and other nontrivial modifications made to accomodate an inboard. There is no factory trim to aim for as the boat was designed for an outboard, not an inboard. I am aware though of some owners who did request inboards and the options ranged from the Vire7, Westerbeke 10, Volvo MD1 and the Atomic4 (18 hp). Having installed a diesel aboard my 76 OD25 I know it has affected the stability (increased), and decreased the performance in light air, as Justin has pointed out. This is not necessarily a bad thing though depending on your type of sailing. I do not race mine. To satisfy your curiousity you might want to start with adding a couple of hundred pounds of water, in jugs, sand in bags or whatever in the old engine compartment and see if you like the change in performance/stability at various wind speeds. You may or may not like what you see. Don
C
cee-bee
add a reef,
reading your inquiry, and I think Justin replied to reef sooner. I say correct based on my new aquaintence: 25' c/b tall rig w/ inboard. adding weight to centerboard would strain original design raise/lower ability. adding weight at or above w.l. is only practical when location is always to wind... adding a crew person on rail. shifting drive area lower to reduce heel is working here, Lake MI. Mine has a reef line at about 18" maybe more and then again at 36"-48" at 25 deg. heel I use the first reef, and a lapper jib to compensate for the decreased area in the main. then to 100% jib,and 1st reef. Then to 2nd reef, and 100%. And sew on! an inexpensive way to "play" with a tender boat. check into a jiffy set up. no-no dont slow her down
reading your inquiry, and I think Justin replied to reef sooner. I say correct based on my new aquaintence: 25' c/b tall rig w/ inboard. adding weight to centerboard would strain original design raise/lower ability. adding weight at or above w.l. is only practical when location is always to wind... adding a crew person on rail. shifting drive area lower to reduce heel is working here, Lake MI. Mine has a reef line at about 18" maybe more and then again at 36"-48" at 25 deg. heel I use the first reef, and a lapper jib to compensate for the decreased area in the main. then to 100% jib,and 1st reef. Then to 2nd reef, and 100%. And sew on! an inexpensive way to "play" with a tender boat. check into a jiffy set up. no-no dont slow her down
- Status
- Not open for further replies.