Inspecting a 1984 O'Day 25'

[jazzjava]

Well the pictures are gorgeous...and a dual axle trailer to boot.

But I had some trouble a few years back on an older model boat...bow pulpit screw was loose and what I thought would be small repair turned into a nightmare.

So I'm particularly sensitive about having a dry deck, transom, and solid fittings. Outside of the tapping test...I plan to have a professional marine inspection. Can Marine Inspectors determine if there is any dry rot? Is there a tool they can use? Is the only recourse a drill?

I found this info from Don Casey:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bedding Deck Hardware[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
by Don Casey[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] A leak around deck hardware is not only annoying, it is probably damaging your boat. With today's effective sealants, making deck hardware watertight is not all that difficult, and if you bed your boat's hardware properly, you will only need to do it once. [/FONT]

Did O'Day get it right the first time? with production line in 1984?

The owner has stanchions round the deck...He's never refitted any deck hardware. Am I being overly concerned about this since it is a 1984 model?

 

[emergpa1]

Well the pictures are gorgeous...and a dual axle trailer to boot.

But I had some trouble a few years back on an older model boat...bow pulpit screw was loose and what I thought would be small repair turned into a nightmare.

So I'm particularly sensitive about having a dry deck, transom, and solid fittings. Outside of the tapping test...I plan to have a professional marine inspection. Can Marine Inspectors determine if there is any dry rot? Is there a tool they can use? Is the only recourse a drill?

I found this info from Don Casey:

Bedding Deck Hardware
by Don Casey

A leak around deck hardware is not only annoying, it is probably damaging your boat. With today's effective sealants, making deck hardware watertight is not all that difficult, and if you bed your boat's hardware properly, you will only need to do it once.

Did O'Day get it right the first time? with production line in 1984?

The owner has stanchions round the deck...He's never refitted any deck hardware. Am I being overly concerned about this since it is a 1984 model?

I have to keep this brief so please forgive what may sound snippy. Several fundamental laws about "good old boat ownership:

All fittings will leak sooner or later. I can promise u that the 84 has several leaky fittings and thus areas of soft core that need repair. But it is way easier than it looks ..........usually!
Nobody gets it right the first time every time which means that some of the hardware u rebed will leak and need to be rebbeded again which leads to the third law of sailboat ownership
If u don't like working on your own boat or paying someone to work on it then do not get a " good old boat"

There r several caveats to these that I will let others add. To see what happened when I bought a 26 o'day 1984 that had "no leaks per prior owner" check my photo album " The rebuild" on my profile page. Then look under the " statistics tab and scan "threads started by emergpa" to see several more photos and discussions.

Keith

 

[Shoaldrafter]

Old boats and leaks

I have to keep this brief so please forgive what may sound snippy. Several fundamental laws about "good old boat ownership:

All fittings will leak sooner or later. I can promise u that the 84 has several leaky fittings and thus areas of soft core that need repair. But it is way easier than it looks ..........usually!
Nobody gets it right the first time every time which means that some of the hardware u rebed will leak and need to be rebbeded again which leads to the third law of sailboat ownership
If u don't like working on your own boat or paying someone to work on it then do not get a " good old boat"

There r several caveats to these that I will let others add. To see what happened when I bought a 26 o'day 1984 that had "no leaks per prior owner" check my photo album " The rebuild" on my profile page. Then look under the " statistics tab and scan "threads started by emergpa" to see several more photos and discussions.

Keith

jazzjava,

Yes boats do leak. Even with good sealants they will leak again. Yes you will have to repair some places where leaks happened.

However, you must decide how much you can spend buying a boat and whether fixing leaks will mean make boat safe for sailing or restore better than new.

Much of what Keith did goes to making the boat better than new.

Many of us decide that when we find problem to 'fix it'. But even those repairs of highest quality may come back in a year or two or three.

Checking repairs in the archives will find example of repairs that made boat safe for sailing that would not meet Keith's style.

And there are some sealants that have been found to work better than others and ways of repairing that are better than others.

You might not be aware that manufacturers have warranty repair teams to fix what was not accomplished the first time.

You will not find a used boat that does not need work. And even new boats need work, just not as much. That is part of sail boating.

Ed K
O 26

 

[gabriel.donnelly]

Its truly a labor of Love---

--- But a rewarding one filled with satisfaction and an awesome feeling of accomplishment! The "old Boat" scene is one of patients, problem solving and improvisation. If you are serious about buying an "old Boat" then know this: there will be obstacles and there will be triumphs... And there are incredible resources out there ((This Website in particular is OUTSTANDING!!!)) that are available to help you every step of the way! -I check this site Daily!

Good Luck.

Gabriel.

 

[jazzjava]

Thanks all for your replies...the surveyor has a moisture meter (and he is a member of NAMS), so I'm feeling a bit better. All I know is that Don Casey's book sure is an easy read compared to the actual work involved in a major repair.