My first boat

lakemichiganmike2 · Aug 26, 2013

macgregor 24

this is my 2nd year sailing. i sail to better understand what she needs, and then a little more work and more sailing. i left my day sailor at the harbor 2 nights and loved it. put up the camper top slept on board and it was a good nites sleep. went out in calm waters ,came back in 4ft. waves, very scary 1st. time. great experience and very pleased with the way my 1979 mac 24 handled it. happy sailing...

mark_swart · Aug 26, 2013

Chiming in late here, but I just want to say that this post makes me happy. I take great pride in being a "bottom feeder" and firmly believe in rescuing old boats like this. An O'Day is a great candidate. Here are a few thoughts on a budget quickstart for you.
1) Check the chainplates/bulkheads. Common problem areas with O'days (and most boats for that matter). Reinforce or replace as necessary. This is structural, so it involves safety and you don't want to take chances there.
2) Stop the leaks. Probably the ports. Maybe the backing plates for the stantions. Marine Silicone is your friend. 3M 5200 is not (it is permanent, but not in a good way in this case.) Not sure if the 20 has an anchor locker, but my O'Day 23 had one and the drain leaked and kept water running into the boat every time it rained.
3) Get the measurements for sails (www.sailboatdata.com) and keep an eye on ebay for used ones that are close. You probably aren't going for the America's Cup with this boat, close will be good. Chances are you will find sails on there eventually for under $100 each. (You can also find good deals on running rigging on ebay.)
If that fails, go to www.baconsails.com or one of the other used lofts. Unless you plan to race this boat, I think dropping $1000-1500 on a brand new set of sails is overkill. "Close enough" sails will get you to Margaritaville just fine in most cases.
4) I agree you should try spash it sooner rather than later if possible!
5) I believe there are ways to improvise cheap cushions for the inside. Lots of stuff on that here on the forum.
Most of all, I hope you have fun. A boat is always a work in progress and not a perfect product. It will never be perfect. Part of the fun (IMHO) is piddling with things as you go...and even when your $300 boat winds up as a $1000 boat or $2,000 boat after you fix it up, you will still be in great shape as far as return on investment.

sailnoproblem · Aug 27, 2013

That is a great start. I purchased a 1970 Tartan 34C Hull # 68, and it took over two years to clean, re-build and repair. The end is a great reward, I never considered it as work it was fun. I attached a stern shot.
My advice is to take your time and just enjoy.

gpd955 · Aug 27, 2013

sailnoproblem said:
That is a great start. I purchased a 1970 Tartan 34C Hull # 68, and it took over two years to clean, re-build and repair. The end is a great reward, I never considered it as work it was fun. I attached a stern shot.
My advice is to take your time and just enjoy.

She looks great, Frank. DId you get out a lot this season??

texasprinter · Aug 27, 2013

Oday 28 Restoration

StevenL said:
Hey everyone, I just picked up a 1974 O'day 20. She was unloved by her previous owners sitting under a tree in a back yard for the past 5 years, so I'm giving her the love she needs.

I'm going to be restoring her so I'll be posting the various stages for anyone interested in following along or chiming in with any helpful hints, tips, ideas or really anything at all haha.

I am brand new to sailing haven't even taken my certification courses yet (that's for next summer after the restoration) so I don't have all that much knowledge on hand so by all means any information or tips are helpful

Below are some pictures, the first ones being how she was when I first picked her up then followed by how she cleaned up after a lot of scrubbing today. Today I only worked on the outside, the inside will be posted tomorrow and looks like its going to be interesting to clean, can only imagine what I will find in there haha.

Thanks for reading and I can't wait to see what feedback I get from the community

I restored an Oday 28 a couple of years ago. She was a good boat also but a little mistreated from previous owner. There should be some photos still on the sailboat owners site. If you have any problems give me a shout.
Art Howard

sailnoproblem · Aug 27, 2013

Hello Jack,
Yes I did, and I want to thank you for your help last year. I finished the cabin and replaced a lot of the rigging. I attached a few pictures.
Stay well my friend,

JonnyQuest · Aug 27, 2013

sailnoproblem said:
Hello Jack,
Yes I did, and I want to thank you for your help last year. I finished the cabin and replaced a lot of the rigging. I attached a few pictures.
Stay well my friend,

That is a very nice looking boat. Is it a shallow draft model? Good job on the refurb.

sailnoproblem · Aug 27, 2013

Thank you, she has a 3' 11" draft with the center board up and 8' 4" down.

gpd955 · Aug 27, 2013

sailnoproblem said:
I finished the cabin and replaced a lot of the rigging. I attached a few pictures.

Holy cow!! I don't remember if you posted pics of what it looked like last year but you should. That looks AMAZING! What a beautiful job you did!

JackK · Aug 27, 2013

Steven. I lost an O'day 20 to an unfortunate de-masting slightly more than a year ago. Monmouth Sailing Center in NJ took her for salvage. She had great sails, cabin cushions, etc. might be worth a call to see if they still have them for sale.

Good Luck and good sailing!

mudtertel · Aug 28, 2013

I got a 84 25.5 Hunter 5years ago. I was sitting in the guys backyard, for a few years. I washed it down with Simply Green.I used a Scotch Brite pad . Then I used Polly Glow ,first the primer twice. then three coats of the wax. I used about 2 bottles of the wax.For the inside I used Majic Eraser, then two coats ,sometimes three coats of Teak oil.One coat per day. I hope this will help you out.

D.L.Bland · Aug 28, 2013

Aye;The best wishes to you mate!

I should greatly enjoy following your progress on restring this Good ol Boat!
Bully for you mate! I think you've found yourself a "diamond in the rough" as it were then, eh?
so all the best of wishes an all good on ye mate!
Dony Bland, master "s/v Pretty Girl" a 1960 vintage Bristol Yacht

JaySauls · Aug 28, 2013

Re: soft spot

Wow...that really cleaned up nicely! My first O'day was gray with debris and grit and cleaned up well, but not this clean.

Camerons Macgregor · Aug 28, 2013

Your going to love the restoration process

First boat.
Your going to love the process of restoration and modifying. i picked up so much from what others had done. you begin to see the projects take shape. And when she's out on the water and performs well because of your work?! they'll have to wipe the bugs from your teeth you'll be smiling so much. Keep the updates coming. its great to see another success story and a old boat get a new life.

gpd955 · Aug 28, 2013

Steven

She's looking good!

OS2Dude · Aug 29, 2013

My experiances

If you have not already done so, check for weak sections in the deck. If you can push down on a fitting or a stanchion and the deck gives (Or worse yet water seeps out) you need to address that pretty quick.

One thing I've been doing to my '83 O'Day 23 recently is coring and re-bedding the deck hardware. All my deck hardware was leaking to some degree or another when I bought her a few years ago. I just got done coring the bow rail. (The Tabernacle and chain plates were the first thing I did the first year.)

Older boats usually have an end-grain balsa core between two fiberglass sheets. This gives strength and lightens the boat, but if the bolt holes leak, the balsa will rot and all your strength goes away. CORING is removing this rotted wood and replacing with epoxy resin. If you are lucky, you can use a bent nail in the bolt hole to dig out the rotted wood. Otherwise you may need to go a little farther and remove a little of the TOP fiberglass sheet as well. I was fortunate in that I could cover the fiberglass sections I had to cut out with the deck hardware.

Rakahrd · Aug 29, 2013

my first boat was a 16 ' Lancer it was inder a deck for 12 years the trailer was upside down in the woods with both tires rotted off and all the standing rigging rusted solid. we named her over easy as that was her nature.

StevenL said:
Hey everyone, I just picked up a 1974 O'day 20. She was unloved by her previous owners sitting under a tree in a back yard for the past 5 years, so I'm giving her the love she needs.

I'm going to be restoring her so I'll be posting the various stages for anyone interested in following along or chiming in with any helpful hints, tips, ideas or really anything at all haha.

I am brand new to sailing haven't even taken my certification courses yet (that's for next summer after the restoration) so I don't have all that much knowledge on hand so by all means any information or tips are helpful

Below are some pictures, the first ones being how she was when I first picked her up then followed by how she cleaned up after a lot of scrubbing today. Today I only worked on the outside, the inside will be posted tomorrow and looks like its going to be interesting to clean, can only imagine what I will find in there haha.

Thanks for reading and I can't wait to see what feedback I get from the community

skipper66 · Aug 30, 2013

Good luck and enjoy the restoration process. Do find what you can on the web regarding the boat and rigging and get lots of pictures of similar boats on line.

Those who recomended putting up the mast and hoisting the sails are right on. The rigging is way more critical than the dirt and grime. Make sure you have all the pieces then put her in the water with someone who does sail.

Once you know you have a complete boat, you can take you time adding gear, customizing the interior, or whatever else you fnd you want.
ENJOY!

My first boat

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