The O'Days were Keel/Centerboards
The O'Days were not swing-keel boats, they had Keel/Centerboards, so although they do lose a bit of windward pointing ability with the centerboard up, they will still sail that way. The board is only lightly ballasted, so stability is unaffected by board position. The board serves more to aid manuevering and balance the helm. Raising the board partway moves the center of resistance to sideways slip aft, and increases "lee helm" (boat is more prone to turn the bow away from wind), lowering the board increases "weather helm" (boat is more prone to turn the bow into the wind). Several O'Day owners (various models, 20, 22, 222, 23, 25, 26) report that they sail often with the board partway or fully up and say the boat still sails, but will tend to slip sideways more than if the board were down. On the section of this web-site that has manuals and brochures, there is a scan of a 1980 O'Day 22,23,25 brochure. It contains a good sales pitch for the Keel/Centerboard design and how it is better than the Retractable-Keel designs of O'Day's competition.
