1978 25ft O'Day

svchickadee · Aug 13, 2012

I bought an O'Day 25 1978 last year. I owned an O'Day 22, Albin Vega and an Irwin 41 prior to this boat. The O'Day 25 had been on the hard for two years. Look for water penetration in the deck and in the transom. I looked carefully at the deck but did not think the transom would get soggy on the hard. The cockpit drain was not bedded properly and rain water penetrated the transom thru that. I looked at a half-dozen or so that were in really bad shape before finding this boat. Lots of them to choose from.

cb32863 · Aug 14, 2012

I bought my 77 in November. Check the deck around the mast plate and the chain plates. Mine has wet core in the area of the mast plate and I swapped out my bulkheads due to years of neglect with the chainplate penetration areas on the deck.

Indysailor · Aug 14, 2012

Full keel, tall rig- sounds like a potentially great boat.

Look at the bottom of the bulkheads. That's where the water sits. And probe around the chainplates for softness. All boats with a similar configuration- bulkhead mounted chainplates- have this issue and a year's worth of deferred maintenance by some previous owner is all you need to cause a problem. As a friend of mine who owns an Oday 25 told me when I bought my 23, "It's not a matter of if you replace the bulkheads, but when."
Luckily, it's not difficult.

My boat had leaks at the mast step and stbd chainplates. Bulkheads were replaced this year at a cost of probably $250 in materials, a relatively easy DIY job. The cost of having a yard do it will probably exceed the value of the boat.

OdayDave · Aug 14, 2012

I bought the shoal keel version a couple of years ago and did have to fix water intrusion under the mast step and while the job was a little messy, it was doable. I haven't replaced the bulkheads yet but will at some point as cheap insurance given that there was leakage there at one point.

All in all though, I'm very happy with the boat, and I was actually happy with the O'Day 222 that I upgraded from. It's a very capable boat for Lake Michigan sailing and it's comfortable even when spending a week or so on it.

Don't be deterred by the water intrusion issues. These are common problems on lots of old boats and they are certainly fixable. You just need to know what you are getting into, and of course the price should reflect its condition.

Post some pic's when you get a chance.

Dave
s/v Lagniappe
O'Day 25

RichBone · Aug 14, 2012

Yeah, what these guys said.

sailpdx · Aug 19, 2012

Merus said:
Hey people,
I'm in the process of buying a 78 25ft o'day, it will be my first boat. Any advices Would be appreciated i will be visiting her soon and other the a 14 page check list that someone made me print I don't know what to verify on this type of boat. It's the one with the full keel and the taller mast.

Thank you for all your advices

I've owned a 76 O'day 25 for five years now, and I absolutely love it. The boat in its original setup is rather sparse on rigging and systems for any kind of serious sailing. For example I had to bring the lines aft to the cockpit which involved installing a mast plate, blocks, deck organizer, rope clutches and a new winch. So it helps if you're handy as there are projects on this boat that require some work. The swing keel is also problematic in that it swells up and gets stuck in the housing. Tuning the mast is also somewhat of a challenge with the factory turnbuckles as they are hard to turn. The jib sheet block is not on a track, and its fixed location makes sail trim difficult. The main traveler is also difficult to move in its factory setup. But once she is ship shape, and some needed modifications have been made, she's a lot of fun to sail.

Shoaldrafter · Aug 20, 2012

center board

sailpdx said:
I've owned a 76 O'day 25 for five years now, and I absolutely love it. The boat in its original setup is rather sparse on rigging and systems for any kind of serious sailing. For example I had to bring the lines aft to the cockpit which involved installing a mast plate, blocks, deck organizer, rope clutches and a new winch. So it helps if you're handy as there are projects on this boat that require some work. The swing keel is also problematic in that it swells up and gets stuck in the housing. Tuning the mast is also somewhat of a challenge with the factory turnbuckles as they are hard to turn. The jib sheet block is not on a track, and its fixed location makes sail trim difficult. The main traveler is also difficult to move in its factory setup. But once she is ship shape, and some needed modifications have been made, she's a lot of fun to sail.

- - - - // - - - -

On swing centerboard (your boat is
centerboard not keel), next time you
take boat out of water, take
centerboard out of well. Sand
and fair with 80 grit.

Paint with penetrating epoxy then
with coat of regular epoxy then two
part bottom paint then anti fouling
paint.

Look over at archives on "Ask Owner"
for how people have done this in past.
Centerboard should be moisture proof.
Otherwise if it freezes you might need
new centerboard.

Fair zephyrs,

Ed K

sailpdx · Aug 22, 2012

Shoaldrafter said:
- - - - // - - - -

On swing centerboard (your boat is
centerboard not keel), next time you
take boat out of water, take
centerboard out of well. Sand
and fair with 80 grit.

Paint with penetrating epoxy then
with coat of regular epoxy then two
part bottom paint then anti fouling
paint.

Look over at archives on "Ask Owner"
for how people have done this in past.
Centerboard should be moisture proof.
Otherwise if it freezes you might need
new centerboard.

Fair zephyrs,

Ed K

Thanks for this info on the centerboard. Maybe someone can give me feedback on water intrusion. Water leaks in from where bolts that hold the starboard hand rail enter the cabin. This is right by the bulkhead. I have tried caulking around the handrails to no avail. Maybe the hand rail itself is soaking rain water in. I am wondering if the water is entering at another location and traveling down to the wells that house these bolts.

1978 25ft O'Day

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