I am thinking about buying a 1977 O'Day 22 as my first sail boat. I am a lifelong power boater and would like to sail for a change. Any tips to keep me out of trouble would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Dave
Tip on ODAY22
Rhonda, First of all do not use your new used oday if you are in a hurry. You will find you can get anywhere slowly at 4 knots. Secondly, what are you going to do with all your extra money? You will find you will need from 10 to 20 dollars worth of gasoline FOR THE WHOLE YEAR instead of the 1500 to 2500 you have been paying for the power boat. Lastly you must learn to swear proficiently. This is because as my good friend Murphy once noted "regardless of where you want to go the wind will not be blowing that way." If you have trouble learning how to swear I can give you lessons as I have learned to be quite good at is when things like lower shrouds suddenly fail in a 25 knot light summer breeze. You will love sailing!!!! Nothing like shutting off the engine, then settling down for a minute to adapt to the quiet as the wind fills your sails, the boat heels a bit, you start to gain speed as the boat accelerates, and suddenly its just you your boat and nature. good luck, dave
Rhonda, First of all do not use your new used oday if you are in a hurry. You will find you can get anywhere slowly at 4 knots. Secondly, what are you going to do with all your extra money? You will find you will need from 10 to 20 dollars worth of gasoline FOR THE WHOLE YEAR instead of the 1500 to 2500 you have been paying for the power boat. Lastly you must learn to swear proficiently. This is because as my good friend Murphy once noted "regardless of where you want to go the wind will not be blowing that way." If you have trouble learning how to swear I can give you lessons as I have learned to be quite good at is when things like lower shrouds suddenly fail in a 25 knot light summer breeze. You will love sailing!!!! Nothing like shutting off the engine, then settling down for a minute to adapt to the quiet as the wind fills your sails, the boat heels a bit, you start to gain speed as the boat accelerates, and suddenly its just you your boat and nature. good luck, dave
S
Stu Timm
Buying an O'Day 22
Hi Ronda, So you're thinking of going from "stinkpotting" to becoming a "rag-person"? The cost of gas finally tipped you over to the "other" side? Or is it the fact that there's another Bush in the White House that drives you to spend the next four years off-shore? But seriously,,, The 22 is a fine little (trailerable) boat for all purpose family use. You can daysail it quite easily as well do limited weekending to sheltered coves in it. It offers a nice, dry cockpit for up to four people and is not to hectic to keep going. There's a little galley below and a sink with a five gallon water reserve. However, as mentioned by Dave, don't expect dynamic sailing performances as you might get with a J-24 or J-22. The sail rig is masthead and not tall in proportion to the boat length. A few have a spinnaker option. Most I've seen out here on Long Island have roller furling on the foredeck, a great option for single handed sailing. I sail my 22 solo most of the time, and I find it a easy boat to handle. My only reservations are the little chainplates on the shrouds. Don't try sailing full sails under heavy air conditions, as a friend of mine tried this in his 22 and lost his mast doing so. I strongly recommend the centerboard model, as it offers close to four feet of keel depth which is handy when reaching. The centerboard is raised from the cockpit via a pennant (line) and is a breeze to work. That is very handy in shallow water sailing! On downwind legs you can raise it and the 22 will go along quite well actually. The shoal (fixed) keel is a tad shallow and will tend to slip sideways on the wter when reaching. There are a lot of 22's out there very reasonably priced. You may find some may need new sails or running rigging. The hulls were built fairly well, and I have not heard of any de-lamination problems. If you can get one with a trailer, even better. The boat weighs about a ton, and most mid-sized 4 X 4's can haul it with ease. The mast is not too tall and the standing rigging is simple, making un-stepping the mast fairly easy. Good luck on your quest!
Hi Ronda, So you're thinking of going from "stinkpotting" to becoming a "rag-person"? The cost of gas finally tipped you over to the "other" side? Or is it the fact that there's another Bush in the White House that drives you to spend the next four years off-shore? But seriously,,, The 22 is a fine little (trailerable) boat for all purpose family use. You can daysail it quite easily as well do limited weekending to sheltered coves in it. It offers a nice, dry cockpit for up to four people and is not to hectic to keep going. There's a little galley below and a sink with a five gallon water reserve. However, as mentioned by Dave, don't expect dynamic sailing performances as you might get with a J-24 or J-22. The sail rig is masthead and not tall in proportion to the boat length. A few have a spinnaker option. Most I've seen out here on Long Island have roller furling on the foredeck, a great option for single handed sailing. I sail my 22 solo most of the time, and I find it a easy boat to handle. My only reservations are the little chainplates on the shrouds. Don't try sailing full sails under heavy air conditions, as a friend of mine tried this in his 22 and lost his mast doing so. I strongly recommend the centerboard model, as it offers close to four feet of keel depth which is handy when reaching. The centerboard is raised from the cockpit via a pennant (line) and is a breeze to work. That is very handy in shallow water sailing! On downwind legs you can raise it and the 22 will go along quite well actually. The shoal (fixed) keel is a tad shallow and will tend to slip sideways on the wter when reaching. There are a lot of 22's out there very reasonably priced. You may find some may need new sails or running rigging. The hulls were built fairly well, and I have not heard of any de-lamination problems. If you can get one with a trailer, even better. The boat weighs about a ton, and most mid-sized 4 X 4's can haul it with ease. The mast is not too tall and the standing rigging is simple, making un-stepping the mast fairly easy. Good luck on your quest!
J
Justin - O'day Owners' Web
Have you picked out a particular boat?
Ronda - Welcome to the fold. When you say you've been thinking about buying an O'day 22 do you mean a particular boat, or a 22 in general. How did you arrive at the 22 as the boat for you? Have you checked out a varriety of boats? The O'day 22 is a great little boat, and I would recommend it to a new sailor without reservation. I would, however, consider sailing a bunch of different boats to determine which you prefer. You may well decide the O'day is the boat for you after all, lots of people have, but sailboats varry enough in their feel and sailing characteristics that a wider frame of reference might suit you. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
Ronda - Welcome to the fold. When you say you've been thinking about buying an O'day 22 do you mean a particular boat, or a 22 in general. How did you arrive at the 22 as the boat for you? Have you checked out a varriety of boats? The O'day 22 is a great little boat, and I would recommend it to a new sailor without reservation. I would, however, consider sailing a bunch of different boats to determine which you prefer. You may well decide the O'day is the boat for you after all, lots of people have, but sailboats varry enough in their feel and sailing characteristics that a wider frame of reference might suit you. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
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Glenn Bevensee
The wind is free....
I decided that I really needed a low-stress hobby. Sailing has got to be just that. I couldn't see powerboating, since I don't want to run out of gas where I can't walk home. I also have a 22, but it will be undergoing a bit of a refit before I go spending too much time aboard. Welcome to the fleet! In my humble opinion, I think the 22 has much nicer lines than many, and O'Days a re reputed to be fast. A friend who used to race Catalinas once told me the ONLY boats that used to give them a good run were the O'Days, and she raced both 22 and 25 foot class. Good to know if we want to, we can be quick, too...
I decided that I really needed a low-stress hobby. Sailing has got to be just that. I couldn't see powerboating, since I don't want to run out of gas where I can't walk home. I also have a 22, but it will be undergoing a bit of a refit before I go spending too much time aboard. Welcome to the fleet! In my humble opinion, I think the 22 has much nicer lines than many, and O'Days a re reputed to be fast. A friend who used to race Catalinas once told me the ONLY boats that used to give them a good run were the O'Days, and she raced both 22 and 25 foot class. Good to know if we want to, we can be quick, too...
D
Dave
O'Day 22 or 222 is an excellent boat
Hi Ronda, Last year I bought an O'Day 222 which is the 22 foot O'Day that was built the last two years of production (1985 and 1986). It has been a great first boat, and I have no regrets. It is a pleasure to sail and is adaptable to a wide range of sailing areas and conditions (small inland lakes, Great Lakes). The centerboard version draws less than 2 feet with the centerboard up. The only problem I have encountered is a little bit of gelcoat problem on the top side. Specifically, there are several places where I have encountered popouts of the gelcoat. If you are not familiar with the problem, that is where the outermost thin layer of fiberglass coating separates from the skin coat (inner layers of fiberglass). These popouts are about the size of a dime. The problem can be fixed without too much difficulty and there are a lot of nice articles on the web as to how to do this (check out www.sailnet.com's library of articles for examples). I strongly suggest that you get a roller furling jib, if it doesn't come with one. This makes single-handing the boat a breeze. The one on my boat is somewhat lightweight, and although it works well when I sail with a full jib, it's not heavy duty enough to effectively reduce the size of the jib in heavier winds. I will probably invest in a heavier duty model in the next year or so. I have also noticed that the boat points very nicely into the wind. With 800 lb's of lead in the keel, and the centerboard down, it maintains course very well. It is light enough that it also trailers easily with a 6 cyl. SUV or van. The total boat and trailer is about 3000 lb's. For a family of four (two kids under 12), we have camped comfortably on it. You can sail (not camp) with four adults and 3-4 kids without getting in each other's way. Finally, I should note that this boat was very reasonably priced. I found the boat, trailer (single axle, no brakes), and an older motor for $3900. There are a lot of 22 foot boats out there for $5k or lower. I agree with others that there are other boats (other than O'Day) that you should consider, but should you settle on an O'Day, I'm sure you will be happy. Good luck and happy sailing.
Hi Ronda, Last year I bought an O'Day 222 which is the 22 foot O'Day that was built the last two years of production (1985 and 1986). It has been a great first boat, and I have no regrets. It is a pleasure to sail and is adaptable to a wide range of sailing areas and conditions (small inland lakes, Great Lakes). The centerboard version draws less than 2 feet with the centerboard up. The only problem I have encountered is a little bit of gelcoat problem on the top side. Specifically, there are several places where I have encountered popouts of the gelcoat. If you are not familiar with the problem, that is where the outermost thin layer of fiberglass coating separates from the skin coat (inner layers of fiberglass). These popouts are about the size of a dime. The problem can be fixed without too much difficulty and there are a lot of nice articles on the web as to how to do this (check out www.sailnet.com's library of articles for examples). I strongly suggest that you get a roller furling jib, if it doesn't come with one. This makes single-handing the boat a breeze. The one on my boat is somewhat lightweight, and although it works well when I sail with a full jib, it's not heavy duty enough to effectively reduce the size of the jib in heavier winds. I will probably invest in a heavier duty model in the next year or so. I have also noticed that the boat points very nicely into the wind. With 800 lb's of lead in the keel, and the centerboard down, it maintains course very well. It is light enough that it also trailers easily with a 6 cyl. SUV or van. The total boat and trailer is about 3000 lb's. For a family of four (two kids under 12), we have camped comfortably on it. You can sail (not camp) with four adults and 3-4 kids without getting in each other's way. Finally, I should note that this boat was very reasonably priced. I found the boat, trailer (single axle, no brakes), and an older motor for $3900. There are a lot of 22 foot boats out there for $5k or lower. I agree with others that there are other boats (other than O'Day) that you should consider, but should you settle on an O'Day, I'm sure you will be happy. Good luck and happy sailing.
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