Are there any O'day 19 or similar owners in southeast WI who may be willing to show me how their boat is set up. I purchased a 19 this winter and ordered the manual for it. still have a few questions about running lines and such. any help (even detail pics) would be greatly appreciated.
Although I am not anywhere near you, I do have an O'Day 19 and could answer many of your questions.
My first question for you is what specific model "O'Day 19" do you have?
There are differences in the rigging between the models. And then too, previous owners probably made alterations for better or worse.
O'Day made four 19-foot long models that people often erroneously group together. Photos on I_Heart_O'Days mix the O'Day 19 (and 192) and the Rhodes 19 or Mariner 19.
The Rhodes 19 is the oldest model and is still manufactured today by Stuart Marine. It has a vertical transom, cockpit does not go fully back to the transom, and not much of a "cabin" for human occupancy. It can be either a swing keel or a fixed fin/bulb keel.
The Mariner 19 (also still built by Stuart Marine) is basically a Rhodes 19 with a cuddy cabin for overnighting. Again, the transom is vertical.
The O'Day 19 and 192 have a forward sloping transom. Both have a centerboard (the 19 comes fully into the hull giving a 12" draft, while the 192 has a shoal keel-like housing under the hull. Both have a useable cuddy cabin. The 192 has 4 berths while the 19 has only 2.
The O'Day 19 from 1978 to 1980-1/2 had a taller mast closer to 25'. The later O'Day 19 boats had a shorter 23' mast. D&R Marine specifies the MK1 "tall rig" built through 1980-1/2. The change was probably done for stability in windy locations.
Fortunately, all 4 models are (7/8 ?) fractional rigs with one spreader. The forestay does not reach to the top of the mast. They all have outer side shrouds (reach the top of the mast) and shorter inner shrouds (reach the base of the spreaders).
The backstay is larger diameter and should have a triangle plate 2-3 feet from the transom to attach the mainsheet block.
The rest of the running rigging on the O'Day 19/192 is "standard": main halyard, jib halyard, jib sheets, mainsheet, mainsail outhaul, reefing lines. The Rhodes and Mariner add a Cunningham and other additional sail controls.
The halyard and sheet diameters can be as small as 1/4". I like 5/16". 3/8" is easier to handle for some people. For length, the halyards need to go to the top of the mast and back down plus a bit longer especially if routing the lines back to the cockpit - 55' to 65'. Mainsheet needs to go through the mainsheet blocks when the boom is 90° to the mast - about 50' to 60'. The jib sheets are usually a 30' each or 60' for a single piece of line.
Hope this helps you or at least gets you to ask questions.
