New O'Day 25 Owner

Jul 29, 2021
18
oday 25 Eagle Mountain Lake
So I just purchased an 83 O'Day 25 in Ft. Worth, TX. Never had a sailboat before, but looking forward to learning how to sail and repair. Boat is in really good condition and dry! Couldn't pass it up even without a motor or trailer. Long story short, motor gets installed in the next couple days. I think I found one of the last outboards available between here and Jacksonville, FL.

I'll probably have 1000 questions, but it seems like most things are already on here. First thing is to find the little leak over the port settee. We had some rain and there was a small wet spot on the wood on the seat (cushions were not there), and the underside felt like it had been misted with a bottle of windex. The area around the window was dry. Second is to get the teak looking good again, it's all gray and crusty.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Welcome Ray to the SBO forum. Congrats on your new “ to you” boat.

Looking forward to seeing pictures of you sailing. There is so much to absorb, what with boat handling, sailing, having fun.

Consider using the next few months with just learning the boat. How to make her move and how to manage where she goes. No need to rush into making changes. You may find that the thing you change really worked better before the change.

Have fun. You have a great honeymoon ahead with your new boat.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Leaks can be hard to trace. Water can travel sideways quite a bit before dripping out somewhere. One way is to be on the boat when it rains. Or you can have a helper direct a hose on the deck in the area of the leak. There is a technique described by a poster on this forum of basically pressurizing the cabin with a vacuum (In reverse) and then painting soapy water around the deck to see if bubbles can be detected.
There are kits to restore teak. We used a two part one with good results. You'll be glad you bought a 25' boat and not a 40' boat by the time you are done!
 

dmax

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Jul 29, 2018
969
O'Day 35 Buzzards Bay
You should plan on gradually removing, epoxy potting and rebedding all deck hardware as you own the boat to ensure that the core remains dry and the boat is leak free. Unfortunately, O'Day did not protect the deck core properly from water exposure and used silicone as a sealer, which at this point will have broken down and will be leaking.
 
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Ward H

.
Nov 7, 2011
3,645
Catalina 30 Mk II Barnegat, NJ
Congratulations on your O'day 25! I had my 82 for 5 years. I think it is a great first boat with simple systems, It's easy to sail and a good size.
Enjoy!
 
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Jul 29, 2021
18
oday 25 Eagle Mountain Lake
Thanks everyone. I did notice there is a TON of silicone on the deck in places. I’ll work on that this winter. My plan isn’t to make too many changes but to get sailing, which can be done today. Putting on a Bimini tonight and then attacking this leak with a hose method are the absolute most important. 100f here in Texas is horrible without some shade and the wife….heck I won’t enjoy that.
 
Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
I assume you're talking about the wood strip that holds the cushion in place. If I were to take a guess, it's probably your windows that are leaking. Be careful when removing them. The outer trim likes to chip and break after many years of UV abuse. If you break one I can share my technique for repairing it.

1. Remove screws from window frame on the inside of the boat
2. Gently push against the frame from the inside. The sealant should break its bond somewhat easily. Take your time with this!
3. Clean all of the sealant off of the frame and fiberglass. If it's butyl I'd recommend goo gone (doesnt hurt plexi or plastic) followed by a wipe of alchohol to remove the goo gone residue. Alcohol can hurt the finish of plexiglass so just wipe the outer edge of the frame. If a more traditional sealant such as 4200 or silicone was used you may need to use it by mechanical means such as sanding, scraping, etc. There are chemical solutions out there but I haven't used many so I can't comment on them.
4. Once it's clean lay a bead of 4200 around the window opening on the fiberglass. I recommend doing this because the window holes are crudely cut and you really dont know how well you've aligned the window/4200 to the fiberglass. The other advantage is that there's less cleanup since it will ooze out of an area that will be covered by a trim ring. I would recommend putting down something to protect the interior just in case some sealant drips
 
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