Take inventory
I have friends that lived aboard an O'Day 27 with a large dog, a cat and a parakeet. They summered in the Chesapeake and wintered in the Keys. They sailed open ocean when they had a good weather window. They have a sailboat rigging business and they don't have a lot of good to say about an Irwin as an offshore cruiser. But that said these are some of my requirements for an off shore boat.Can you secure everything in the cabin for a knock down.I.E.past 60 degrees? If the cockpit is flooded will all of the water drain back into the sea or can it get inside? Can you close the companionway tight enough to keep storm water out? Are there enough hand holds everywhere? Is the rig, (chainplates, turnbuckles, shroud and stay cable) strong enough for the stress of a storm?