Can anyone help me with this: I'm looking at buying an oday 26 with a fixed keel, but the owner thinks its a 25. I think its a 26 because all the 25's I've seen are swing keels am I right? Also the owner says there is a sail drive with a folding prop. Is a saildrive a generic term used for a marine motor, or is it a specific type of motor transmission combo. and does anyone know what an oday 26 came with from the factory as far as an engine and prop setup.
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boat identification
There will be a hull ID number on the transom to tell you what you are looking at. 25's came with fins. Saildrive on an ODay will be an OMC. The folding prop was probably added later. Saildrive would not be a selling point for me, but a liability due to age and lack of parts. Ask an OMC mechanic about the value of an old saildrive. There is a saildrive owners group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saildriveowners/ and hull id can be checked at http://www.uscgboating.org/recalls/mic_database.htm
There will be a hull ID number on the transom to tell you what you are looking at. 25's came with fins. Saildrive on an ODay will be an OMC. The folding prop was probably added later. Saildrive would not be a selling point for me, but a liability due to age and lack of parts. Ask an OMC mechanic about the value of an old saildrive. There is a saildrive owners group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saildriveowners/ and hull id can be checked at http://www.uscgboating.org/recalls/mic_database.htm
Saildrive
A saildrive is a specific motor/drive set up designed for, surprise, sailboats. Instead of a motor with a shaft leading almost horizontally thru the hull to a prop, in a saildrive set up, the motor drives a very short shaft that goes straight down through the keel. From the outside, a saildrive looks like someone jammed the lower third of an outboard through the bottom of the hull. If your boat has one, it is unmistakable. Are they good or bad? I think it depends on who you ask. Some very expensive, high-end new boats come with them standard (Alerion), but others on this site have posted complaints about corrosion, leaking seals, etc. It should be pretty easy to tell the 25 from the 26. As suggested here, look at the hull ID number. Even easier, take a look at the model info on this site. There are pictures and drawings of both.
A saildrive is a specific motor/drive set up designed for, surprise, sailboats. Instead of a motor with a shaft leading almost horizontally thru the hull to a prop, in a saildrive set up, the motor drives a very short shaft that goes straight down through the keel. From the outside, a saildrive looks like someone jammed the lower third of an outboard through the bottom of the hull. If your boat has one, it is unmistakable. Are they good or bad? I think it depends on who you ask. Some very expensive, high-end new boats come with them standard (Alerion), but others on this site have posted complaints about corrosion, leaking seals, etc. It should be pretty easy to tell the 25 from the 26. As suggested here, look at the hull ID number. Even easier, take a look at the model info on this site. There are pictures and drawings of both.
Almost certainly a 25
I think your assumption about the fixed keel is reversed. According to the O'day brochures, the 25 was offered with a fixed keel option and the 26 wasn't. I think also that the OMC saildrive had come and gone by the mid '80s when the 26 was introduced. But I think your observation that most 25s have shoal keels and centerboards is correct. Technically it is not a swing keel - A swing keel is like what you see under some Catalina 22s and 25s. The boat's ballast is on a pivot and is raised and lowered via a winch. On the O'day the ballast is fixed inside the shoal keel and the centerboard only weighs enough to get it to drop. The plusses and minuses of the two systems are debated frequently and I'm not going to get into that, it's probably enough just to know that they are different.
I think your assumption about the fixed keel is reversed. According to the O'day brochures, the 25 was offered with a fixed keel option and the 26 wasn't. I think also that the OMC saildrive had come and gone by the mid '80s when the 26 was introduced. But I think your observation that most 25s have shoal keels and centerboards is correct. Technically it is not a swing keel - A swing keel is like what you see under some Catalina 22s and 25s. The boat's ballast is on a pivot and is raised and lowered via a winch. On the O'day the ballast is fixed inside the shoal keel and the centerboard only weighs enough to get it to drop. The plusses and minuses of the two systems are debated frequently and I'm not going to get into that, it's probably enough just to know that they are different.
25 is my vote
Joe, If the owner says 25, believe him. As previous posters pointed out, check the I.D. #. As pointed out the 26 may have been all shoal keel. But, I would not rule out a full keel, because of variations in hulls and boats out there. The 25's were made from '73 until'83 and the 26's from 84 to 86 and maybe later. While it is hard to tell the hulls apart, it seems the 26's were 10"'s longer. But where was that 10" added? I would like to see a technical drawing that show where. At that time companies made fewer molds for there boats because they did not have extra money for extra hull molds because of the market size. There are mostly outboards on 26's with a few inboard diesels. However, a saildrive may have been owner installed? Keep us informed what you do. Ed K Starr, SC, USA
Joe, If the owner says 25, believe him. As previous posters pointed out, check the I.D. #. As pointed out the 26 may have been all shoal keel. But, I would not rule out a full keel, because of variations in hulls and boats out there. The 25's were made from '73 until'83 and the 26's from 84 to 86 and maybe later. While it is hard to tell the hulls apart, it seems the 26's were 10"'s longer. But where was that 10" added? I would like to see a technical drawing that show where. At that time companies made fewer molds for there boats because they did not have extra money for extra hull molds because of the market size. There are mostly outboards on 26's with a few inboard diesels. However, a saildrive may have been owner installed? Keep us informed what you do. Ed K Starr, SC, USA
It's probably a 25
Joe One of our yacht club members has an 86 O'Day 26 keel centerboard sloop with an outboard on it. He claims that the difference in size between the 25 and 26, is that one boat has a larger cockpit. I'm not sure which, but I could find out for you. With that said; O'Day built a full keel 25' with a two stroke gasoline engine sail drive. One of our members owned it and sold it to someone else who later joined our club. He had health issues and later sold it to a couple who joined the club. They had problems with the engine overheating and conking out, and were considering on removing it and mounting a bracket for an outboard. I'm not too keen on having a gasoline engine and tank inside the lazarett of a sailboat for obvious reasons of possible gas leaks that could cause fumes which can explode if ignited from anything like electrical or the galley stove. A diesel engine would be more preferable, but this is my only cause for concern. We have two O'Day 25 keel centerboard boats in the club right now, along with the O'Day 26, and their owners love them. One of our members owns a 1975 O'Day 25 that sails beautiful. I know because I sailed it all the way from the Cape Cod Canal area to our club on the Taunton River in Dighton Ma. This boat belonged to a friend of mine who gave it to one of our club members years ago,--free of charge! But that's another story. I hope that I was able to be of some help here. Joe
Joe One of our yacht club members has an 86 O'Day 26 keel centerboard sloop with an outboard on it. He claims that the difference in size between the 25 and 26, is that one boat has a larger cockpit. I'm not sure which, but I could find out for you. With that said; O'Day built a full keel 25' with a two stroke gasoline engine sail drive. One of our members owned it and sold it to someone else who later joined our club. He had health issues and later sold it to a couple who joined the club. They had problems with the engine overheating and conking out, and were considering on removing it and mounting a bracket for an outboard. I'm not too keen on having a gasoline engine and tank inside the lazarett of a sailboat for obvious reasons of possible gas leaks that could cause fumes which can explode if ignited from anything like electrical or the galley stove. A diesel engine would be more preferable, but this is my only cause for concern. We have two O'Day 25 keel centerboard boats in the club right now, along with the O'Day 26, and their owners love them. One of our members owns a 1975 O'Day 25 that sails beautiful. I know because I sailed it all the way from the Cape Cod Canal area to our club on the Taunton River in Dighton Ma. This boat belonged to a friend of mine who gave it to one of our club members years ago,--free of charge! But that's another story. I hope that I was able to be of some help here. Joe
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