Going to look at a 322 next week...
- Thread starter iSaint06
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In addition to the usual suspects (things like core integrity around deck penetrations) I’d check the keel /hull joint. There are reports that on some 302 and 322’s O’Day was not consistent with the fiberglass layup in the keel stub. Some hulls seem to have enough glass there, but others not so much. Some signs of stress there would be cracking around keel bolts, or a gap between the keel and hull.
Yes, definitely look at the stub keel joint and bilge. A weak point on this boat due to the size of the stub. Some had poor layups of glass and at least one or two have lost their keels. Not sure how they were maintained or if they were ever grounded.
I really like my 322, and I find the cabin pretty great for a 30-footer. V berth is a little short, and stern berth is a little narrow, but workable. Nice head, roomy even for a boat this size. Great gallery set up. Could use a little more storage and counter space, but again, workable.
I think the deck is cored with some sort of foam, so less prone to rot than balsa. I say that because when I pulled the main hatch, I found this...
She sails well and handles heavy weather pretty ok. No blue water boat, but I always feel comfortable on her, even in a blow.
No windlass, and the anchor locker is more like a “tray”. Not a great amount of room for chain and rode.
Good luck with your search.
Sounds exciting!
Greg
I really like my 322, and I find the cabin pretty great for a 30-footer. V berth is a little short, and stern berth is a little narrow, but workable. Nice head, roomy even for a boat this size. Great gallery set up. Could use a little more storage and counter space, but again, workable.
I think the deck is cored with some sort of foam, so less prone to rot than balsa. I say that because when I pulled the main hatch, I found this...
She sails well and handles heavy weather pretty ok. No blue water boat, but I always feel comfortable on her, even in a blow.
No windlass, and the anchor locker is more like a “tray”. Not a great amount of room for chain and rode.
Good luck with your search.
Sounds exciting!
Greg
You should read this post.
O'Day 302 Loses Keel - Check Yours!!
This is an alarming situation. I came across this on another forum and wanted to share it here to prevent any more potentially life threatening situations. The following is a direct quote from John/US27inKS, the guy who posted this. He is allowing me to use these photos in an attempt help...
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Yes, I've read a couple of stories about this. I'm having a full survey done so I'll definitely look closely at this.
The condition of the 3M 5200 adhesive bond at the hull and keel joint is at least as important as the thickness of the stub. If the adhesive is in good shape it is strong enough to support the weight of the keel even absent keel bolts.
I think we’ve discussed the relative value of keel bolts and adhesive before, so I won’t rehash that. But on the 302/322 the primary issue is not failure of the bolts, but failure of the laminate holding the bolts. If the laminate fails, then no amount of glue holding the laminate to the keel will help.
I had a 302 whose keel detached after a soft grounding. As the tide receded, the pressure on the wing keel snapped it right off. I was told that the design called for 6 layers of glass in the keel stub and the builder (O'Day farmed the hull construction for the 302's and 322's out) only put in 2 layers. The guys who fixed it made it super strong and I sailed it for many years afterwards. If the keel stub hasn't been beefed up, you might want to plan on doing it sometime.
Despite the possible keel issues mentioned (and they are worth checking out), the 322 is a marvelous sailboat, way ahead of its time. Her hull shape and wing keel make her very maneuverable and quicker than one would expect. (Yesterday I out ran a Capri 37, which has a much lower PHRF - but that may have been her skipper's unhandiness.)
The 322's anchor roller structure allows for the easy addition of an extendable bowsprit so you can fly a Code 0, giving you a pseudo 34 footer.
Minor adjustments: move the fuel cutoff outside the cockpit locker and put a piano hinge on the ice box lid.
These babies go quickly so don’t wait too long.
The 322's anchor roller structure allows for the easy addition of an extendable bowsprit so you can fly a Code 0, giving you a pseudo 34 footer.
Minor adjustments: move the fuel cutoff outside the cockpit locker and put a piano hinge on the ice box lid.
These babies go quickly so don’t wait too long.
The laminate doesn't "hold" the bolts. The laminate supports the weight of the keel transferred to the surface area underneath the small square stainless backing plates. But if that laminate underneath the backing plates fails, the adhesive has already failed, and failed first. The adhesive, as I've pointed out before, spreads the weight of the keel over the entire bottom surface area of the sump, rather than just concentrating the load under the small backing plates. That's why R. L. Hunt, the naval architect who designed the 322, made a point of specifying the adhesive in the drawings--rather than the number, size, and size of the bolts and backing plates.
When my 302's keel fell off, the adhesive was holding on just fine... to chunks of fiberglass broken off from the hull.
Right. The adhesive was actually stronger than the fiberglass it was attached to. Under normal circumstances your keel was probably fine, but the keel sump overall was not strong enough to handle the extraordinary stress of a grounding and then holding the full weight of the boat. Agree that reinforcing the entire sump would be the only thing that would have helped.
Was the fuel cut-off originally inside the cockpit locker? Mine is located on the engine control panel. Maybe it was retrofitted by a PO.
i added hinges to the refer lid. Crazy how something so simple can make such a big difference.
Greg
Hi Greg. Yes, the fuel cutoff was in the cockpit locker. For security? Maybe but dashed inconvenient. I had it moved to the outside rear of the locker, next to the ignition controls. Your PO probably moved yours. That and the lack of an ice box lid hinge are the only design flaws I’ve discovered. Not bad!
Yes, she is really a nice boat.
I found mine in Holland Michigan, but did not make an offer right away...first boat purchase...2 kids in college...wife wasn’t all that supportive...and by the time I called to make an offer, she was sold. I was heart-broken.
I bought the next boat I looked at (a Hunter 280). Nice “first boat”, but not the same as the O’Day 322.
A few years later, the guy who had purchased the boat “from under me”, emailed to say he had moved, was not taking the boat, and to make him an offer.... I did not waste much time, made an offer and bought the O’Day 322.
Lucky for me, sold the Hunter within a month (or the Admiral would not have been happy).
It all worked out in the end!
Greg
I found mine in Holland Michigan, but did not make an offer right away...first boat purchase...2 kids in college...wife wasn’t all that supportive...and by the time I called to make an offer, she was sold. I was heart-broken.
I bought the next boat I looked at (a Hunter 280). Nice “first boat”, but not the same as the O’Day 322.
A few years later, the guy who had purchased the boat “from under me”, emailed to say he had moved, was not taking the boat, and to make him an offer.... I did not waste much time, made an offer and bought the O’Day 322.
Lucky for me, sold the Hunter within a month (or the Admiral would not have been happy).
It all worked out in the end!
Greg
Good things come to those who wait.
A good friend who crews for me likes my 322 so much he searched everywhere for one to keep in New Jersey. (Long story.) They either went too fast for him or they were is bad shape. He had to settle for a Catalina 30 - good second best, I used to have one in Maine. Unfortunately, due to virus shutdowns in NJ, he hasn’t been able to get out there to sail her.
A good friend who crews for me likes my 322 so much he searched everywhere for one to keep in New Jersey. (Long story.) They either went too fast for him or they were is bad shape. He had to settle for a Catalina 30 - good second best, I used to have one in Maine. Unfortunately, due to virus shutdowns in NJ, he hasn’t been able to get out there to sail her.
If you search the forum for The Tanqueray you'll find that I did mounds of keel stub research. The problem was limited to higher serial number boats finished after a fraudulent LBO of the company followed by bankruptcy.
These are great boats - I bought mine to fill a space between a Bayfield 29 and while I was looking for a Bayfield 36. I love the 322 so much that I never bought the Bayfield 36.
I'm a bit bummed now because I don't have much time left (terminal) so in a few months, contact my kids for one of the best equipped 322's there is.
Gary - Freeport, Bahamas
These are great boats - I bought mine to fill a space between a Bayfield 29 and while I was looking for a Bayfield 36. I love the 322 so much that I never bought the Bayfield 36.
I'm a bit bummed now because I don't have much time left (terminal) so in a few months, contact my kids for one of the best equipped 322's there is.
Gary - Freeport, Bahamas
Also read this post. Should you buy the boat, if you review the posts of the regular O'Day322 contributors in this site, you will learn a lot about your new boat.
Gary - we have appreciated your O'Day 322 posts over the last few years, and thank you for your contributions. !
Wishing you serentity and peace.
Keel issues on O'Day 322?
FWIW, the keel sump glass on my 34 is about one inch. No idea how much is putty vs glass. Even one inch sounds light to me.
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Gary - we have appreciated your O'Day 322 posts over the last few years, and thank you for your contributions. !
Wishing you serentity and peace.