O'Day 25 Owner
Congratulations! The 25 is a great boat. I'm giving you a link to Practical Sailor. Click on to "Tools and Techniques", and you should find just about anything that pertains to maintenance and How to's. I still consider myself a neophyte in working on boats, but I do it because I enjoy doing it. I'm not afraid to cut a hole in it for a deck plate or compass or do anything on my boat that will personalize it and make it easy for me. If I can do it, you can do it. You'll learn and have fun while you do it. One of the most important things that I ever did on my boat was mount an autopilot. I'm so spoiled when it comes to this gadget. I'd rather have one of these than a GPS. They really free you up to relax or do something that needs doing without having to steer all the time. A good roller furler is something that is handy to have. I just installed one on my boat a couple of weeks ago, and tried it last Saturday, and I love it. Years ago, I installed a bow roller for my anchor, and "Man you can't beat them." I never had a decent container for my anchor line and I used to just let it stay piled on my forward deck, so I took an old milk crate, cut it down to about 4" spliced in some 1/2" rope handles and added two 1/2 Teak molding skids with non-skid rubber and it works great. I also added a rope board inside the cockpit seat hatch against the inside of the hull for hanging ropes and stuff. There are so many things that you can do to personalize your boat. The adjuster and knobs on the forward hatches on these O'Days are noted for seizing up. They can be freed. The plastic knobs can be pressed out and the drift pins that hold the bolts in place can be removed and freed up. I did mine, and it works just like new. A Bimini top would be nice to have, but in the mean time you could get a polytarp that you could attach lines to that could go over the boom. It could be tied to the mast and the end of the boom as well as the lifelines for those times when you're anchored in your favorite cove on a very hot day. Pick up a nice sun-shower that you can hang in the cockpit when you're on an overnighter. I do a lot of cooking on board my boat and two items that I'm always using on my Origo boat stove, is my Burton stove top grill, and an old Stanley Ovenette, stovetop oven circa 1950s. If you can't find one in a yard sale, a turbo cooker would work. I could go on and on, but these are the things that have always been important on my boat. At any rate though, the autopilot is number 1 with me. I wouldn't sail without one.Good luck!Joe