As a new owner of a 1978 23 O"Day, I have been doing a little day sailing in 5 - 10 knot winds and have found the boat heels quite a bit. I am a little nervous about capsizing and want to find out if anyone has any information on how far over the boat can heel before it capsizes, and if it does capsize, is the ballast sufficient to right the boat or is it down-for-the-count? I also don't know where to look to find any performance information on this boat. I would welcome any first-hand experience stories. Thanks!
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a little wind is quite exciting
I would be intrested in this matter also, our 23 becomes rather hard to handle in breezes over 15 knots, i wouldn't dream of going out in 20. part of our problem is the centerboard, hows yours? is it up or down or one of the mystery boards? we are going to have our 23 hauled very soon and i promise to post a "post mortem" for other 23 owners to comiserate with. does anyone have any ideas to make the 23 a more stable sailor?
I would be intrested in this matter also, our 23 becomes rather hard to handle in breezes over 15 knots, i wouldn't dream of going out in 20. part of our problem is the centerboard, hows yours? is it up or down or one of the mystery boards? we are going to have our 23 hauled very soon and i promise to post a "post mortem" for other 23 owners to comiserate with. does anyone have any ideas to make the 23 a more stable sailor?
Heeling
I've never sailed a 23, but I do have a 25. Mine sails best to windward between 15 & 20 degrees of heel, but I have sailed it at about 30. If you're heeling alot in 5 to 10 knots, two things come to mind: 1) Your sails are blown out changing the draft of the sail to the point where the boat heels excessively 2) You're new to sailing in general and have not yet gotten used to the heeling aspect of a sailboat. For the first, you can either have the sails recut or buy new sails. There is no greater performance increase than new sails. You will find you will sail flatter and faster. For the second, only experience will settle your nerves. But I can offer this fact, although I know it can be tough to remember when you're on the water and heeled. A keelboat CANNOT tip over. The laws of physics will not allow it. Actually, this is not 100% true. Most boats can right themselves 'heeled' as far as about 100 degrees (mast under water). This is termed Static Stability. Since you're unlikely to sail at 100 degrees heel
, capsizing is not an issue. Also, after the 1979 Fastnet (ocean race) fiasco, the governing bodies developed an empirical metric known as capsize risk. Intended for ocean racing, boats with values over '2' should not compete in such races while values under '2' are considered good. All O'days (except the 22, 28 and 290) have values under '2', yours being 1.97. So based on this metric, we're also looking OK. Now don't get me wrong, boats can be 'knocked down' by a large gust of wind that will put your spreaders in the water or you could get hit by a freak wave (which I doubt you'll find on Lakes Mendota/Monona). But capsizing or tipping over? Don't worry. In short, go sail, have fun and learn. Learn to read the water so you can see the wind gusts coming, learn when you need to shorten sail, learn to read your sails, etc. BUT ABOVE ALL, HAVE FUN. Russ
I've never sailed a 23, but I do have a 25. Mine sails best to windward between 15 & 20 degrees of heel, but I have sailed it at about 30. If you're heeling alot in 5 to 10 knots, two things come to mind: 1) Your sails are blown out changing the draft of the sail to the point where the boat heels excessively 2) You're new to sailing in general and have not yet gotten used to the heeling aspect of a sailboat. For the first, you can either have the sails recut or buy new sails. There is no greater performance increase than new sails. You will find you will sail flatter and faster. For the second, only experience will settle your nerves. But I can offer this fact, although I know it can be tough to remember when you're on the water and heeled. A keelboat CANNOT tip over. The laws of physics will not allow it. Actually, this is not 100% true. Most boats can right themselves 'heeled' as far as about 100 degrees (mast under water). This is termed Static Stability. Since you're unlikely to sail at 100 degrees heel
, capsizing is not an issue. Also, after the 1979 Fastnet (ocean race) fiasco, the governing bodies developed an empirical metric known as capsize risk. Intended for ocean racing, boats with values over '2' should not compete in such races while values under '2' are considered good. All O'days (except the 22, 28 and 290) have values under '2', yours being 1.97. So based on this metric, we're also looking OK. Now don't get me wrong, boats can be 'knocked down' by a large gust of wind that will put your spreaders in the water or you could get hit by a freak wave (which I doubt you'll find on Lakes Mendota/Monona). But capsizing or tipping over? Don't worry. In short, go sail, have fun and learn. Learn to read the water so you can see the wind gusts coming, learn when you need to shorten sail, learn to read your sails, etc. BUT ABOVE ALL, HAVE FUN. RussTender sailer
I have a '79 23, and she is a tender sailer, even with the board fully down. There is not much you can do about this. You can replace the sails as mentioned in one of the other responses. You can also install a boom vang to ensure that your mainsail shape stays flat in stronger winds, or as you ease the boom to spill wind in a gust. All trailer sailers suffer from this condition, as must carry their ballast fairly high in order to fit on a trailer. If you are concerned that the boat can tip like a Sunfish, stop worrying; it can't. I think the "Heeling" response got it on the nose: a little experience will do wonders for your confidence.
I have a '79 23, and she is a tender sailer, even with the board fully down. There is not much you can do about this. You can replace the sails as mentioned in one of the other responses. You can also install a boom vang to ensure that your mainsail shape stays flat in stronger winds, or as you ease the boom to spill wind in a gust. All trailer sailers suffer from this condition, as must carry their ballast fairly high in order to fit on a trailer. If you are concerned that the boat can tip like a Sunfish, stop worrying; it can't. I think the "Heeling" response got it on the nose: a little experience will do wonders for your confidence.
Heeling is ok
but remember that flater is faster! Keep her on her feet with vang and hiking, and she'll sail better. Justin - O'day Owner's Web
but remember that flater is faster! Keep her on her feet with vang and hiking, and she'll sail better. Justin - O'day Owner's Web
Tip's from an Old Pro
The o'day 23 is actually a fairly stable boat for her size and has a good capsize ratio (read a rating in Practical Sailor). But, even though she has a nearly 40% ballast to displacement ratio, the weight is somewhat high (I assume you have the keel/centerboard version). She can be tender and skittish and will round up if over canvassed for the wind speed. This is partly due to the shallow depth of the rudder because of the relatively shallow depth of the keel. Also the boat hull is relatively flat using hull form in part for stability - another reason to sail her flat (max. of 10-12% heel for speed). Always drop the board going upwind - bring it up for broad reaching/downwind sailing. The boom-vang is important because of the mainsheet arrangement (no travelor). Rig your boat for reefing if it is not already (recommend a jiffy reefing system). I recommend reefing the main when the wind approaches 15 knots to help her sail flat. She really does not lose speed upwind. And, if you are in a situation when the wind picks up with too much sail up, one hand on the mainsheet to spill air off your main is necessary (and get your crew to reef!). Use the genoa (if you have one) for lighter air and the jib when the wind picks up. However, when the wind gets much over 20 knots, boats of this design really belong in port (a reason that o'day never had a storm jib for this boat). I've learned to use sailing dinghy techniques because of her somewhat skittish nature. This not a "slow-day" as some of my sailing friends have called her. I've won several class and club race trophies learning to sail this boat to her rating. (For example, she eats catalina 22's and hunter 23's for lunch in moderate to heavy air!) You'll learn the limits of this boat with experience, and she's fun to cruise in too!
The o'day 23 is actually a fairly stable boat for her size and has a good capsize ratio (read a rating in Practical Sailor). But, even though she has a nearly 40% ballast to displacement ratio, the weight is somewhat high (I assume you have the keel/centerboard version). She can be tender and skittish and will round up if over canvassed for the wind speed. This is partly due to the shallow depth of the rudder because of the relatively shallow depth of the keel. Also the boat hull is relatively flat using hull form in part for stability - another reason to sail her flat (max. of 10-12% heel for speed). Always drop the board going upwind - bring it up for broad reaching/downwind sailing. The boom-vang is important because of the mainsheet arrangement (no travelor). Rig your boat for reefing if it is not already (recommend a jiffy reefing system). I recommend reefing the main when the wind approaches 15 knots to help her sail flat. She really does not lose speed upwind. And, if you are in a situation when the wind picks up with too much sail up, one hand on the mainsheet to spill air off your main is necessary (and get your crew to reef!). Use the genoa (if you have one) for lighter air and the jib when the wind picks up. However, when the wind gets much over 20 knots, boats of this design really belong in port (a reason that o'day never had a storm jib for this boat). I've learned to use sailing dinghy techniques because of her somewhat skittish nature. This not a "slow-day" as some of my sailing friends have called her. I've won several class and club race trophies learning to sail this boat to her rating. (For example, she eats catalina 22's and hunter 23's for lunch in moderate to heavy air!) You'll learn the limits of this boat with experience, and she's fun to cruise in too!
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