Our O'day 28 was placed in its winter cradle 3 weeks ago. The cradle has 6 posts. Since being placed in the cradle, we have continually had to "back off" the posts due to observed "flex" in the hull. The boat is now resting primarily on its keel. Local marine shop has looked at boat and noticed that there are very few "hard points" on the hull to properly position the pads. Tapping the hull, we could not find any suitable hard points. Inspecting the boat from the inside, we discovered that the bulkheads are not connected to the hull - they are screwed into the liner. Therefore, according to the marine shop, there is nothing we can do to prevent the flex. The local marina is going to place another support on the centreline of the boat just forward of the prop shaft in order to try and reduce flex. Is this normal for an O'day?? Purchased the boat in May of last year and this is the first time we have hauled.....has anybody else noticed this issue?? Also, without the bulkheads connected to the hull, what provides rigidity to the structure? Are these "strong" boats?
Hull flexing in winter cradle
- Thread starter JT811
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Not sure about the 28...
...however the 22' is supposed to have most of the weight resting on the keel, with the bunks simply keeping it from falling over. I suspect your 28 is the same way. Others will post to let you know for sure. As you, the ODAY's were among the best built in that era. I tell folks that the Oday's are the Chevy's of that era, you could buy a Cadillac or you could buy a dependible Chevy! Jack
...however the 22' is supposed to have most of the weight resting on the keel, with the bunks simply keeping it from falling over. I suspect your 28 is the same way. Others will post to let you know for sure. As you, the ODAY's were among the best built in that era. I tell folks that the Oday's are the Chevy's of that era, you could buy a Cadillac or you could buy a dependible Chevy! Jack
mine never flexed
my 28 is placed on jack stands (2 on each side of the hull and one on the bow) I have never had hull flexing. The majority of the weight is resting on the keel, while the jack stands (or cradle) is keeping the boat upright. On my boat, The stand's pads are approx. 5 ft. aft of the bow(just in front of the keel) and 5 ft. foward of the transom (in line with the cockpit winches) and are resting on the boat so that the top of the pad is approx. 6-8 inches lower than the boot stripe.
my 28 is placed on jack stands (2 on each side of the hull and one on the bow) I have never had hull flexing. The majority of the weight is resting on the keel, while the jack stands (or cradle) is keeping the boat upright. On my boat, The stand's pads are approx. 5 ft. aft of the bow(just in front of the keel) and 5 ft. foward of the transom (in line with the cockpit winches) and are resting on the boat so that the top of the pad is approx. 6-8 inches lower than the boot stripe.
Grid Pan Construction
The link below should take you to a brochure on the O'day 28. About 3/4 the way through there is a section that talks about the construction of the O'day 28 using a structural Grid Pan to spread loads from the rig and keel. This type of construction is more common in modern boats like the Beneteaus but I'd guess it was pretty avant-garde in the 70s when the 28 was designed. But it may help explain why the yard employees weren't able to find the "hard spots" they were expecting where bulkheads had been joined in more conventional construction. The grid has to be attached to the hull as well and I'll bet the diagram in the previous post gives a good idea of where you'll find the junctions.
The link below should take you to a brochure on the O'day 28. About 3/4 the way through there is a section that talks about the construction of the O'day 28 using a structural Grid Pan to spread loads from the rig and keel. This type of construction is more common in modern boats like the Beneteaus but I'd guess it was pretty avant-garde in the 70s when the 28 was designed. But it may help explain why the yard employees weren't able to find the "hard spots" they were expecting where bulkheads had been joined in more conventional construction. The grid has to be attached to the hull as well and I'll bet the diagram in the previous post gives a good idea of where you'll find the junctions.
They may have landed it on the cradle wrong.
Inches matter. 4" forward or aft will deflect the hull. The boat has shape and the cradle was designed for it (if it was designed for it?). I would take a look and evaluate if that is the problem. If you have a good relationship with the PO, I would ask if they had a trick to winter storage or if this cradle always did this to the boat. When I bought my 25, the trailer rollers would stove in the hull. I found that the angles holding the rollers under the keel had bent down about 1/2". That 1/2"really made the hull look bad. I replaced the angles and the hull no longer has indents when on the trailer. r.w.landau
Inches matter. 4" forward or aft will deflect the hull. The boat has shape and the cradle was designed for it (if it was designed for it?). I would take a look and evaluate if that is the problem. If you have a good relationship with the PO, I would ask if they had a trick to winter storage or if this cradle always did this to the boat. When I bought my 25, the trailer rollers would stove in the hull. I found that the angles holding the rollers under the keel had bent down about 1/2". That 1/2"really made the hull look bad. I replaced the angles and the hull no longer has indents when on the trailer. r.w.landau
Just out............
I just took my 28 out and resting on keel with 4 jackstands. I'm going to add some support mid ships with block and wood (just for added support and peace of mind, as winters in Tuckerton may be a bit blowy). I will be checking for flexing and anything else over the winter. The mast will stay up also.
I just took my 28 out and resting on keel with 4 jackstands. I'm going to add some support mid ships with block and wood (just for added support and peace of mind, as winters in Tuckerton may be a bit blowy). I will be checking for flexing and anything else over the winter. The mast will stay up also.
Is the hull "GRAY"
I was going to buy A 27 1/2 FOOT Oday (gray hull) which was erroneously called a 28 foot Oday. Asurveyor friend of mine told me to steer clear of the gray hulled boat because the hull was thinner than the rest of the fleet. This may be the reason for the flexing I just checked my boat yesterday and no flexing. I have a regular 28 foot boat, white hull. ?????????????????
I was going to buy A 27 1/2 FOOT Oday (gray hull) which was erroneously called a 28 foot Oday. Asurveyor friend of mine told me to steer clear of the gray hulled boat because the hull was thinner than the rest of the fleet. This may be the reason for the flexing I just checked my boat yesterday and no flexing. I have a regular 28 foot boat, white hull. ?????????????????
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