o'day 20

[skindeepfx]

Thank you for having me he in this forum, totally new to the sport besides some good kayak sailing
i am about to purchase a O'Day 20 that has not been in the water for 5+ years , has been stored indoors all the time and looks remarkably clean , what do i need to look for. I am petty handy and can fix a lot of things . My main concern would be how the swing keel is connected to the boat.
Any words of wisdom are greatly appreciated
Thanks in advance
Michael

 

[twistedskipper]

I'm not personally familiar with the O'Day 20, but it has a centerboard, not a swing keel, which should make things a little easier to inspect and manage, since a centerboard doesn't weigh very much compared to a swing keel.

A swing keel may look like a centerboard but contains all (or most) of the boat's ballast (typically cast iron), so is very heavy (hundreds of pounds or even over 1000#), requiring a heavy duty winch, cable, etc, all of which must be inspected and maintained carefully to ensure it never drops uncontrollably, i.e. by the cable or fittings breaking, etc., which could sink the boat.

All of the ballast in the O'Day 20 appears to be in a stub keel which houses the centerboard.

 

[rgranger]

Ask for a test sail. Make sure the main is not "blown". If you find that it is hard to keep the boat from turning into the wind (rounding up), then you may have a blown out main. New sails get expensive. Also check the condition of the trailer. A new trailer will run you over a $1000. So if the trailer is rusted out, it may not be a good deal. Are you planning to put an outboard motor on this boat? If so, make sure the O.B. starts easily and runs well.

New sails = $1500
New trailer = $1000
New O.B. = $2000

It adds up fast. So look at all of the ancillary stuff in addition to the boat. An ugly boat can be cleaned but the other stuff you have to buy.

 

[Benny17441]

Not familiar with the boat. but looked at the specs and it seems pretty nice. Yes the boat has a fixed ballasted short keel centerboard combination which is an excellent design. The center board will pivot on a bolt and is usually raised by a rope and lowers by gravity. They are not very heavy It has a capsize ratio of 2.11 which indicates it has good stability. I believe it has built in positive flotation which were required for boats that size. Excellent for learning. The expensive things in a boat are the sails, outboard engine, the hull, the rigging and the rudder. Check the trailer also. with indoor storage I would anticipate a fairly clean boat. Is the bottom painted? it would indicate it was kept in the water at some point. That is not a problem, just an indication to look at the boat a little closer. The price should not exceed $2,500 with everything in good shape but it would depend on any additional equipment or electronics.

 

[skindeepfx]

thanks everyone