fin keel or centerboard?

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C

Clay Wright

I am going to buy either an O'Day 22 or 23. There is a 22 for sale 300 miles away that the owner says is a fin keel model without a centerboard. I didn't know there was such thing. The owner says the draft is minimal and ramp launching the boat is a breeze. I'm REAL skeptical of that. Anyone care to share their experience regarding this, or the wisdom of trailer sailing a 23? Thanks! Clay Wright Clayw@sfcc.spokane.cc.wa.us
 
M

Mike

Stub keel is more like it

The keel on the 22 is a very short fin; so short it really is a stub. In fact, it looks very similar to the keel on the 23, only the 23's keel has a centerboard that swings down to give you almost 6 feet of draft. I have never sailed on an O'Day 22, but have heard that they can't hold a course going to weather very well. I have sailed my 23 when the centerboard was stuck in the up position, and I can say that she sailed better than I thought she would, although not nearly as well as she does with the board down. I bet the owner of the 22 is telling you the truth: the draft is minimal, probably less than three feet, and it probably is no more difficult to ramp launch than the 23 with the board up. The one thing I have heard about trailering the 23 is that its weight makes it a beast; you need a real towing vehicle and lots of strength and patience during launching. I don't think the 22 weighs that much less than the 23. You might want to check out the specs of the boat on this site.
 
R

Rich

"shoal" keel is the term.

These are "shoal" keels. Not fin. The O22 keel is either 600 lbs or 700 lbs... I don't know the year they changed over. Later O22's had the centerboard added... either in the late '70's or early 80's. The boat has only 1'11" draft. Very shoal. As for working to weather... I would say it is acceptable, and not as bad as some would have you believe. And the boat weighs just under 2100 pounds... so many small four cylinder cars can pull one. I pull mine with a Volvo 240 wagon, 120 HP. I slow a bit on the hills, but can maintain 50 on the highway. Ramps, no problem. I do need an extension bar, as I sit a bit high on the trailer... waterline is 4' above the roadbed. My ten foot extension bar gets the boat floating off shallow ramps. Any other questions, please e-mail me: proto57*NOSPAM*@altavista.com
 
J

John Folds

Extension Bars are Great

If you are worried about easy launching, get a trailer with an extension. It makes it so easy, I don't know why I went so long with out one.
 
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