A year or so ago I picked up this large, metal O'Day sign...
A few nights ago, I was looking through a stack of O'Day brochures/catalogs I'd recently purchased, flipped to the back of the 1975 Gold Medal Fleet catalog, and immediately said, "No way..." when I saw, my bright orange, metal sign hanging from the exterior of their Costa Mesa plant.
I've become rather obsessed with O'Day. I've scoured the internet for information. I've purchased brochures, fleet catalogs, old ads... read through the company's bankruptcy proceedings, dug through old publication archives like NYT for every article I could find from the 50's, 60's, and 70's about O'Day Corp when they revealed a new model at the international boat shows... but the thing that amazes me is, as BIG as this company's reach was, and as many boats as they produced during their years of production, it's almost impossible to find anything more than brochures and catalogs out there.
I think the impact this company had on sailing, globally, was immense and the community of sailors and enthusiasts (both old and new) that are keeping the name (and the boats) alive today is amazing. I'd love to know what else is out there.
Do you have any interesting pieces of O'Day history you'd be willing to share? Order forms, company communications, sportswear, newsletters, photos, stories you heard... anything.
A few nights ago, I was looking through a stack of O'Day brochures/catalogs I'd recently purchased, flipped to the back of the 1975 Gold Medal Fleet catalog, and immediately said, "No way..." when I saw, my bright orange, metal sign hanging from the exterior of their Costa Mesa plant.
I've become rather obsessed with O'Day. I've scoured the internet for information. I've purchased brochures, fleet catalogs, old ads... read through the company's bankruptcy proceedings, dug through old publication archives like NYT for every article I could find from the 50's, 60's, and 70's about O'Day Corp when they revealed a new model at the international boat shows... but the thing that amazes me is, as BIG as this company's reach was, and as many boats as they produced during their years of production, it's almost impossible to find anything more than brochures and catalogs out there.
I think the impact this company had on sailing, globally, was immense and the community of sailors and enthusiasts (both old and new) that are keeping the name (and the boats) alive today is amazing. I'd love to know what else is out there.
Do you have any interesting pieces of O'Day history you'd be willing to share? Order forms, company communications, sportswear, newsletters, photos, stories you heard... anything.
