Hi all, Just put a deposit down on a 1980 25' O Day. It's a project boat, mostly cosmetics. It has an inboard which is covered with a ton of guck. Anyone have any information on this? I've never owned a boat with an inboard and would appreciate some info and tips on what to look for. Thanks Michael
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Vire?
Sounds like a Vire two-stroke. Does it look like one of these? http://gofree.indigo.ie/~vire7/ If so, run and hide from this boat.
Sounds like a Vire two-stroke. Does it look like one of these? http://gofree.indigo.ie/~vire7/ If so, run and hide from this boat.
Not really, this looks different from what's in it. Too much crap piled in front on cover to get a good look, but I don't believe thsi is it. Thanks
Gas or Diesel
Is the boat gas or diesel? I have seen the O'Day 25 with a vire 7 or a yanmar 2gm10.
Is the boat gas or diesel? I have seen the O'Day 25 with a vire 7 or a yanmar 2gm10.
Diesel Good -
If it's a diesel, you're in luck, but access is poor. You'll have to climb in through the cockpit locker to get at it. The Yanmar is a great engine though.
If it's a diesel, you're in luck, but access is poor. You'll have to climb in through the cockpit locker to get at it. The Yanmar is a great engine though.
OMC Sail drive
We had a guy in our club who had an O'Day 25 full keel, with an OMC Sail drive 2 stroke engine. He had a lot of problems with it overheating and stalling. This boat went through three different owners in our club. The people who later bought this boat off the second owners removed the engine, patched the sail drive hole, and mounted a transom bracket and outboard on the stern. It was a nice looking boat in appearances, but seemed to be a slow sailer. Some people who have these sail drives, like them, and they're probably great when they're running well, but I would have some safety concerns about having an inboard gasoline engine and metal gas tank in the bilge. If you like this boat, go for it. One of our members just picked up an O'Day 27 with a 2 stroke sail drive, real cheap, and is launching it at the club this week. He plans on using it and selling his O'Day 25 keel-centerboard with dodger, outboard powered sloop with tandem trailer. So, people are still buying sloops with sail drives. Joe
We had a guy in our club who had an O'Day 25 full keel, with an OMC Sail drive 2 stroke engine. He had a lot of problems with it overheating and stalling. This boat went through three different owners in our club. The people who later bought this boat off the second owners removed the engine, patched the sail drive hole, and mounted a transom bracket and outboard on the stern. It was a nice looking boat in appearances, but seemed to be a slow sailer. Some people who have these sail drives, like them, and they're probably great when they're running well, but I would have some safety concerns about having an inboard gasoline engine and metal gas tank in the bilge. If you like this boat, go for it. One of our members just picked up an O'Day 27 with a 2 stroke sail drive, real cheap, and is launching it at the club this week. He plans on using it and selling his O'Day 25 keel-centerboard with dodger, outboard powered sloop with tandem trailer. So, people are still buying sloops with sail drives. Joe
Thanks for this information. I do believe this is a saildrive unit, but can't tell for sure. It sure looks like the OMC in the pictures. Thanks to all for the information. This is another reason I love sailing, the people who sail! Michael
inboard
I must disagree about the Vire 7. There is no reason to run from a boat with a vire. I have a vire inboard on my 25 and it has been fine. I have motored alot in the last couple of weeks and used very little gas. The vire uses about a pint an hour. I did toss out the old metal gas tank with a new plastic inboard tank for safety reasons. You can't find an inboard engine that is lighter or uses less gas than the old vire. It pushes the boat at almost 5 knots at 3/4 throttle. The main problem with the vire engine is water getting into the transmission. If you keep the seal between the transmission and water pump in good shape there is little else that can go wrong with them. They are a very simple engine to work on parts are expensive but available. As Steve said access is through a hinged door in the quarter berth.
I must disagree about the Vire 7. There is no reason to run from a boat with a vire. I have a vire inboard on my 25 and it has been fine. I have motored alot in the last couple of weeks and used very little gas. The vire uses about a pint an hour. I did toss out the old metal gas tank with a new plastic inboard tank for safety reasons. You can't find an inboard engine that is lighter or uses less gas than the old vire. It pushes the boat at almost 5 knots at 3/4 throttle. The main problem with the vire engine is water getting into the transmission. If you keep the seal between the transmission and water pump in good shape there is little else that can go wrong with them. They are a very simple engine to work on parts are expensive but available. As Steve said access is through a hinged door in the quarter berth.
Saildriveowners website
I have a '79 O'Day 25 (fin keel) with an OMC Zephyr Saildrive. Fortunately (knock on wood), I haven't had any problems with it. Like most 2-cycle engines, it stinks, it smokes, and it's noisy. Also, the 25's engine compartment is so cramped, it's difficult to work on. But it starts quickly, it's gas frugal and it runs well. I think much of my good fortune is owed to the fact that the boat has only been sailed in freshwater and the previous owners took good care of engine. The one hint they passed on was to replace the sparkplugs every season whether the old ones look bad or not, and to replace the transmission oil in the fall, before the boat is tucked in for the winter. The bad news about the Zephyr is that parts are relatively difficult (but not impossible) to come by. It's basically an OMC 30 hp outboard dumbed down to 15 hp -- but no one is making the outboard anymore, either. The good news is that there's an excellent support network online: www.yahoo.com/group/saildriveowners. A lot of the folks on that site know that engine pretty well. Good luck
I have a '79 O'Day 25 (fin keel) with an OMC Zephyr Saildrive. Fortunately (knock on wood), I haven't had any problems with it. Like most 2-cycle engines, it stinks, it smokes, and it's noisy. Also, the 25's engine compartment is so cramped, it's difficult to work on. But it starts quickly, it's gas frugal and it runs well. I think much of my good fortune is owed to the fact that the boat has only been sailed in freshwater and the previous owners took good care of engine. The one hint they passed on was to replace the sparkplugs every season whether the old ones look bad or not, and to replace the transmission oil in the fall, before the boat is tucked in for the winter. The bad news about the Zephyr is that parts are relatively difficult (but not impossible) to come by. It's basically an OMC 30 hp outboard dumbed down to 15 hp -- but no one is making the outboard anymore, either. The good news is that there's an excellent support network online: www.yahoo.com/group/saildriveowners. A lot of the folks on that site know that engine pretty well. Good luck
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