Reviews of O'day 23 sailing features

[O'dayO'boy]

I have sailed for many years... 10 with an O'day outlaw... then to a marinner which I love for trailerability and overall ease of sailing.
I need something bigger but still trailerable... my objectives are
1) Trailerable
2)easy mast set up and take down with a friend
3) easy to single hand... have some health issues and will want to have roller furling jib...
4) something that can point up nicely, sail comfortably in a variety of winds...light breezes to strong winds (up to 25 kt)....
5)I often take people out who are not experienced so need to easily be able to tend sails myself....
6)I often "gunk hole" and like sleeping on boat and enjoy living simply, is the boat like a cork bobbing around or does it set reasonably well...

I have looked at 2 boats so far... the 23' shoal keel o'day seems interesting, how stable is it? how much of Jib would be advisable? (150?)
It seems like it might be more stable then the 23' wing keel hunter...

Any suggestions about the o'day's ability to meet my needs? Any suggestions for a more suitable boat?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience!

 

[Indysailor]

1) Trailerable
It's a relatively heavy boat for trailer sailing, from what I understand. We keep ours in the water and have not found it a difficult boat to launch and take out, but we only trailer it to and from the ramp.

2)easy mast set up and take down with a friend
It's not a quick set up, but with a friend and with a few tries under one's belt, I think around an hour rigging is probably about normal for trailer sailing.

3) easy to single hand... have some health issues and will want to have roller furling jib...
Easy to single hand. I sail mine with my nine year old "first mate", which at times is a little like single handling. Of course, you want your lines leading aft and you might want to think about changing from horn cleats to cam cleats for the jib sheets, as others here have mentioned in similar threads.

4) something that can point up nicely, sail comfortably in a variety of winds...light breezes to strong winds (up to 25 kt)....
I don't know that it points particularly well, but it suits my leisurely cruising needs. It's a tender boat because of shoal keel. I don't sail in strong winds, but have found that reefing the main makes a tremendous improvement in winds above, say 10-12 knots. I know people here sail the 23 in places where 25 knots is not uncommon.

5)I often take people out who are not experienced so need to easily be able to tend sails myself....
No problem there. The one thing I've found that throws beginners is the initial tenderness. But tending yourself is not a problem- the rig is easy and relatively simple.

6)I often "gunk hole" and like sleeping on boat and enjoy living simply, is the boat like a cork bobbing around or does it set reasonably well...
Works great for two people, but not more. We have two young kids, so it's not a problem, but when they grow I imagine we won't all be staying out over night.

I have looked at 2 boats so far... the 23' shoal keel o'day seems interesting, how stable is it? how much of Jib would be advisable? (150?)
It seems like it might be more stable then the 23' wing keel hunter...

I have a 130 on my boat with an old Hood furler which does not reef, so I tend to reef my main early.
Also, I'm on a lake where light winds are more common, so a 150 would be all right.

Any suggestions about the o'day's ability to meet my needs? Any suggestions for a more suitable boat?
A Catalina 22 is probably a lot easier to trailer sail, but it doesn't have the cabin accommodations that you get with an ODay23. No enclosed head, less room below, generally. I like my 23 a lot, but if I had to trailer it I might consider something lighter.