1984 Oday 26 Draft

[jbrosser]

As a first time buyer, one of the vessels I'm looking at is a 1984 Oday 26. In doing research, I found that the 26 came with both a 2.6'and a 6'draft. The vessel I'm looking at has a 6'draft. Is there any advantage to me for bay sailing to have a vessel with a 6'draft?

 

[Mike8088]

Centerboard

We have a 1984 O'day 26. It has a shoal keel with a centerboard. It draws 2.5 feet with the centerboard up and 6 feet with it down. I believe all 26s have the same specs.

 

[Shoaldrafter]

O'Day 26

I have an O'Day 26. I was casually in the market for a project boat and was looking extensively at the O'Day 25, when I found the 26 that I bought.

I have done quite a bit of research. The O'Day 25 was available in two keels, the shoal and full. I have never found documents saying the 26 was available in both keels, but rather have seen documents saying only the centerboard version. My reasearch tells me that when they made the 26, which is actually an updated and moderized 25, the big changes were in the keel. Specifically the 26 shoal keel is longer and deeper than the 25. The shoal keel is often listed as 2.5'/6'. The 6 foot indicates board down.

That being said, 1984 was the change over year and maybe they called an early 1984 25 with full keel a 26? Or stretched one 25 hull? Did one of the plants (they used three plants) actually have a 26 mold with a full keel? Anybody have a 26 with a full keel?

Anyway, interesting find. Keep us informed. There are a number of 26 owners on this forum. Since I acquired my 26 a lot of documentation has been posted on this site.

Ed K
26

 

[jbrosser]

Thanks for the Information

Thanks Ed and Mike. I haven't looked as closely to the 26 as I should. I have no doubt you must be correct. It must have a centerboard the goes from 2'6" to 6'. That information makes it even more intriguing to me. That opens a lot of doors to move around in the bay. I'll verify the information. Thanks again. My wife and I will be doing day sailing and some weekends. We're both 57. It will just be the two of us. How do you feel about your 26?

 

[Mike8088]

Great pocket cruiser

The O'day 26 is a great boat. Our boat has an inboard Yanmar that makes her feel like a bigger boat. The added teak on deck and below give her a "salty" look. The boat is stout for her size and handles well in rough water. The centerboard allows us to sail in areas other boats would never dream to enter. We have added a 140% genoa on a roller furler, which provides great speed in light air. The two main problems I have with the boat are that she has quite a bit of weatherhelm in winds over 15 kts and the genoa track is too far aft on the coaming. The first problem can be fixed by spilling air or reefing. The second problem is going to be our next project. We will be adding another genoa track to the sidedecks to give us more of a downward pull on the sail. As it is now, we get way too much twist in the genoa. With the exception of these two issues, I love the look and design of this boat. I would definitely recommend it for anyone interested in cruising shallow waters.

 

[Sunbird22358]

No full keel on the 26

The O'DAY 26 was never offered with a "full-Keel", only the K/CB and possibly a fin-keel. The draft for the K/CB was 2'6" cb up, 6' cb down. The Fin keel draft was 4'6" the same as the fin-keel (aka: deep-keel) 25. The 26 was built in 1984 and 1985, before being replaced by the 272 for the 1986 model year.

O'DAY never built any Full-Keel boats, only centerboard, Keel/Centerboard, and Fin-Keel designs. A Full-Keel would be like those on a Cape Dory, or other old Carl Alberg Designs, others include the Sea Sprite 23, 27/28, 30, and 34, the Pearson Triton, Electra/Ensign, Ariel/Commander, and the Bristol/Sailstar Corinthian. Full-Keels usually have the rudder attached to the trailing edge of the keel and the keel usually extends most of the length of the below waterline part of the hull.