Considering a 1984 O'Day 26

[Carter Mac 26]

O'Day owners/experts,

I'm looking at a 1984 26 for purchase and while the boat has been maintained well, I have a few concerns.
1. During my inspection, I found three small soft spots in the cabin top, about 12" from the mast base plate. See the photos of my foot. The current owner had a "Compression pole" designed by a marine engineer, that supports the cabin top below the mast. The pole appears to be well designed, strong, and installed properly from below the cabin floor (top of the ballast?), to the cabin ceiling. Has anyone had this done? Is this a deal-breaker, or a good fix for a common problem? The rest of the deck feels solid.
2. The CB has 7/16" side-to-side run-out when inside the keel. The boat is out of the water so I could measure it. Is this excessive?
3. The water system hasn't been used by the current owner (since 2011) so I'm thinking I should replace the filler, main sink, and head sink hoses, flush and treat the tank with a bleach solution, and rinsed. We will never drink the water from the tank but we want to brush teeth and wash hands with it. Thoughts?
4. There is a large amount of surface cracks just aft/outside of the main companionway opening, in the gelcoat, from the port to starboard sides. Other than a few small cracked areas, the rest of the deck looks fine. Is this excessive cracking normal?

 

[svchickadee]

I have an 1978 oday 25 and have repaired soggy decks and transom.
1. The deck under the mast step is probably wet. Once water gets into the deck there is no where for it to drain. The deck is 1/2 inch thick; 1/8 inch outer glass and 3/8 inch end grain balsa core. Looking up from inside the cabin you see the cabin roof that is a glass pan. There is a narrow void between the deck and the glass pan. The deck core runs down to the grab rails where it ends. Under the mast step there is plywood instead of balsa core. The plywood is wet but does not compress under load as much as the balsa core. The shape of the deck gives it strength so you don't feel the soggy deck as you approach the curve toward the grab rail. Repairing soggy decks is very expensive unless you do it yourself then still not cheap. The post is a work around. Check the transom for water intrusion. If the transom is wet it will flex under power and this is a danger.
2. Not sure what you mean by this. The board should run up and down easily. If the board does not go all the way up into the trunk I would not see that as a problem.
3. Looks like you have this covered.

 

[svchickadee]

4. Looks like a large around of gelcoat crazing. If this crazing is in the cockpit seats, get under the cockpit and use an awl to probe the plywood under the seats looking for moisture.
Take a look at the foredeck for sogginess.

 

[Carter Mac 26]

Excellent reply. Thanks!

The centerboard runout is the side-to-side (lateral) movement of the board, when it's pulled up into the keel. I should have written it differently.

Presently, the keel is supporting the weight of the boat on large wood blocks so I can't lower the CB. I was thinking that measuring the lateral movement is better than not checking it at all.

 

[David in Sandusky]

1. The compression pole looks fine to me. The mast "step" (deck area under the mast) depends on the size of the repair area. In '02 we had ours totally rebuilt by a fiberglass shop for $900. The total area was about 12" by 20". You can do this yourself. Search the archives to see detailed project descriptions for any boat - they are all pretty much the same for this repair.
3. If you maintain the fresh water system as you describe (I recommend you buy Peggy Hall's book on this site for detailed instructions - you can use too much chlorine) and chlorine shock the whole system, I would be content drinking water from the system.

If you include a survey in your purchase agreement, (may be required for insurance) the surveyor may have an instrument to estimate the area of the waterlogged deck. Of course, you can talk the price down by your estimated repair costs.

Good luck!

 

[svchickadee]

2. My board has some side to side play that has not been a problem. Last year I took my boat down the ICW from Md to Fl and then over to Long Island in the Bahamas so the boat was stressed pretty good with no trouble.
3. I treat my fresh water with 1 teaspoon chlorox (5-6%, unscented) per 25 gallons of fresh water. I use the water for cooking but only drink it in a pinch. I just don't like the taste. You can flush with a more potent solution.

 

[GregL564]

Also looks like the non-skid on the top deck was painted over, perhaps to cover over some more extensive gel coat cracks. I would definitely check for moisture in that area, in addition to the companionway area. FWIW, I have found that the pinless $40 moisture meters sold at Lowes are pretty accurate especially if you just want to find areas of elevated moisture. There is no setting for "fiberglass" but I just set it for masonry and watch when the moisture reading jumps.