O'Day 34 Sea Trial

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Michael O'

We've made an offer on a 34' O'Day and will haul/survey on Friday morning, followed by the sea trial. This isn't our first "rodeo", but it will be our first O'Day. Any suggestions or cautions from the forum? BTW - weather is predicted cold, wet, and windy in San Francisco for the sea trial. What a shock......... Michael O'
 
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Bill Paul

Good Luck

We just bought an O'Day 37 and just completed the process you are in the middle of. We've only owned the boat a couple of weeks, so we have no experienced advice, just empathy and good luck wishes. Bill
 
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J.B. Dyer

Me Again

Sorry for the short response the other day, I was a little pressed for time. The O34 in my opinion is probably one of the most under rated boats on the market. That is when you can find one on the market. Folks that have them are not too quick to get rid of them. I have never been out in costal waters in mine, however, I have been caught in 40+ mph winds where I spend most of my time, Pickwick Lake. With the proper reefing, it handled just as well if not better than some of my sailing friends with boats of different sizes and makes. With the 47 foot mast and relativily low freeboard, they are slow to round up. Mine has been at 40 degrees under full sail and was showing no signs of giving up. The O34 is a sturdy boat, built like a tank, and can easily be managed by one person. I also use the inland waterways frequently and with the short mast and shallow draft, I travel without considersation of bridge heights, unlike my friends who are stuck in the main lake. Everytime I get biggerboatitus, the thought of giving mine up is soon wiped out of my mind when I get to thinking about the problems of a larger boat and the associated problem's of being an inland sailor. The only problem that I have found is that they don't do well in light air, but, normally I'm not in that much of a hurry anyway. If you are a racer, you might not be interested in it as it's not exactly the fastest sailboat in the world. If you are looking for a good sturdy craft that you can rely on, you might want to take a serious look at this one. I wouldn't swap mine right now for a new boat of equal size and equipment. Let us know what you think when you get back. Again, have fun!
 
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J.B. Dyer

Propwalk

Forgot the propwalk. When backing, they walk to the port like they had a stern thuster. To back straight, idle the engine so that the transmission can easily be slipped in and out of gear. Keep your rudder in the neutral and give a little throttle to get yourself moving and then slip it of gear. I usually berth to the port so that I can use the walk to pull myself over to the mooring. Takes a little time but when you get the hang of it, you can use it to your advantage.
 
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Griffin

I was wondering about that...

Seeing as I splash in two weeks for the first time in this boat, I was wandering about which way it would walk. Good luck on your Sea Trial! Thanks for the info! Griffin.
 
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R Chalmers

I can help.

I bought an 85 35, which is the same as your boat, last year. I have learned alot about mine and would be happy to share info.I too was out in the squals on Friday and I can tell you the 35 is not very tender and handles the SF winds very well . Even my wife feels secure in the high winds-and that is saying something! Our boat has remained tight and mechanically very sound. We berth at Treasure Island.
 
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Michael O'

Thanks All!

We were sooooo impressed by the boat.....we bought it! It's a one-owner, lightly used, highly maintained. The surveyor kept remarking that he hadn't seen one so clean, he called it "a 20-year-old in 3-year-old skin." Checks are crossing in the mail, but it should be ours and the financing company's by Friday. The prop walk was significant, but nowhere near as bad as our Pearson 28 with the offset prop shaft! No problem backing the boat into her slip....so far. We're in Alameda, R.C., for two months before heading out the Gate. J.B. - Pickwick Lake in Tennessee? I was there for a week, about 5 years ago, and loved it. We were fishing smallmouth, but I spent a lot of time wandering the docks and chatting with other sailboat owners. All 34/35 owners - Is there an O'Day owners forum specifically for the 34/35? This is a good site (I was looong ago on the Hunter site), but being on line with owners of only the same boat would be quite helpful, I'm sure. Presently I'm on a Pearson 28 forum - I'll miss 'em tons when my P28 sells. We exchange a lot of info. Any interest in an "O'Day 34/35 owners" email spam? Thanks again for all your input and encouragement. Michael O' s/v "Frigate"
 
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J.B. Dyer

Good Going!

Glad to hear it, I thought you would like it. As I do my own work, I've become fairly familiar with the systems on mine and have a pretty good collection of contact numbers for parts and information. If I can ever be of any assistance, I can be reached through the owners section of this web. I hope yours serves you as well as mine has.
 
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Griffin

I'll bite!

Sure, I would love an email list for 34 owners! If you need a home for it, I can set it up at no cost and no spam! Griffin s/v Brighid's Crossing
 
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J.B. Dyer

Already Is

There already is one on this web site. Are you talking about something different??
 
M

Michael O'

And Now for Something Completely Different

Yeah, something a bit different. This forum, which I do enjoy BTW, is accessed by the users when the users (us) want to come here. A forum similar to our Pearson 28 forum is actually an email forum - every post is automatically sent to every member of the forum. You're always getting info about the boat or about sailing in general.......but of course, that's whether you want it or not! I get from 5-20 posts per day from the Pearson 28 forum, questions asked, answers given, on everything from zincs to CG documentation to rudder removal and repair. I read them all, respond to some, and then delete them. I'm sure this website has that, too, but it is all in different forums that you have to stay up with. Phil's done a great job with this site as well as the Hunter Owners site I used to be on. I'd still come here 'cause it's good info. But the 34/35 owners might get more direct use/info out of the email type of forum. Our Pearson 28 forum is based in Yahoo, so there is a site to go to if you want archive posts, owners lists and bios, pics of boats and maintenance projects, etc. I suppose we could do that also, but I was really just curious if enough 34/35 owners would be interested in the email forum to start off with. Michael O'
 
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J.B. Dyer

Wouldn't Hurt

Probably wouldn't be a bad idea but I'm not sure what kind of participation there would be. I believe that there was only 240 or somewhere around there 34's built and I'm not sure about the 35's. They have both been out of production for some time now and there is no way to tell how many there are left. I believe that there are only about 35 34 owners listed on this web site and 21 35's. I know of one other O34 in my area and that guy is not listed, don't know why. I'm game though and will sign up if one ever get's started.
 
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Dave Mauney

At Least 433 O' 35's

For numbers sake my hull number is 433 built in Jan. 1988. I understand that is near the end of production so that gives us a feel for the O' 35 population. I support the idea of a email list to start with. There have been a number of items that I would like to chat and hear on specific to the O' 34 & 35. It seems like so much of what I read here and on Sailnets list is for smaller boats. Dave Lewis of Mystic has had an informal group of about 7 or so owners that email on the side. Let me know if I can do something to support it. Good Winds, Dave s/v DAMWEGAS
 
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J.B. Dyer

Lets get started

Only one way to get going. Mine is jdyer95016@aol.com I would suggest entering O'Day in the subject line so that they don't get spammed. Eventually a complete listing will develope and we can pass it off to each other. Will this work or is there a better way??
 
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Dave Mauney

O'Day List on Sailnet

I am checking with Sailnet to see if they would be willing to add a O' 34/35 category on their mail list as they already have a O'Day category. I guess I will not hear back from them till Monday. I will let you know when I get something. Good Winds Dave s/v DAMWEGAS
 
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Michael O'

Okay, let's try it

Looks like this might work! Let's see what happens with the SailNet angle.....is that an email type forum or do you have to log on to SailNet to get into it? I can check on a couple of angles also - the simplest is to email me and I can forward to all forum participants. A bit more complex, and probably the next step if that works well, is to get a website like the Yahoo Pearson 28 forum - an email forum with a website also. Might be able to set that up on my existing website. So - thanks for your interest! As for me, I'm just selfish; absolutely sure that once I start sailing and working on that boat I'll need a ton of advice! Michael O'
 
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Michael O'

New Forum Starting!

I'm in process of starting a Yahoo forum for 34/35 owners. Okay..... so I didn't wait for a response from SailNet. Sorry! I was just browsing an existing all-models O'Day page in Yahoo and realized I could start one for us! I'll let you know if I get it set up today, and then we'll see if it works, if it grows, and such. Michael O'
 
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Dave Mauney

Yahoo is fine

Michael Yahoo is fine. I just wanted it to start some where. Sailnet is a email send out list. You only logon to sign up. It sounds very similar to Yahoo. I will let y'all know if Sailnet ever gets back to me. Otherwise let us know how Yahoo goes and how to sign up if it goes. Thanks Dave s/v DAMWEGAS
 
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Michael O'

Site Address

Here's the link to the new 34/35 owners forum http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ODay34-35forum Join immediately, no charge. More stuff coming, pics, profiles, etc. I'm still monitoring this site, of course. Obviously! Michael O'
 
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