Should I buy an ODay 21' for $400??

[vintagephilg]

I have an oportunity to buy an ODay 21' (or 23'??) for $400, I think its from the 1970s or 1980s, not sure?? The hull is in great shape (no holes, looks like it was used very little, on a lake),even the exterior paint looks very nice, so are all the sails and most of the rigging, and even the seat cushions....

The bad; the inside is in very bad shape, almost all the wooden benches/births need replacing (tops o.k but frames no good), and all the paint on the inside is peeling (so the whole inside needs to be repainted), the tiller handle needs fixing, and theres no trailer.....

Its a "drop keel" is that bad?? I seen posts on the web where the drop keel on some ODays could actualy break off!! is that true??

but its only $400 and for an extra $200 the guy will include boat stands and bring it to my house....

Phil

 

[kdnichols]

Phil:

It depends on how much "time" you want to put into it. There will always be money invested each year on mooring the thing, etc.

Some guys on this forum spend more time on their O'day's than with their wives. They can be categorized as "piddlers" who are always doing something to trick out their boats.

I bought an O'day 23 in May 2008. My inlaws have a lake house near Columbia, SC...so I moor it there for free. I've piddled a little bit, but I mostly just sail the darn thing. Plus, in SC...we get an extended sailing season.

There's a whole list of items to check on an O'day. I'm sure one of these guys can help you with that list.

Don't be hastey in your decision. A $400 investment could lead into thousands before you know it.

Kevin

 

[Joe11688]

I have an oportunity to buy an ODay 21' (or 23'??) for $400, I think its from the 1970s or 1980s, not sure?? The hull is in great shape (no holes, looks like it was used very little, on a lake),even the exterior paint looks very nice, so are all the sails and most of the rigging, and even the seat cushions....

The bad; the inside is in very bad shape, almost all the wooden benches/births need replacing (tops o.k but frames no good), and all the paint on the inside is peeling (so the whole inside needs to be repainted), the tiller handle needs fixing, and theres no trailer.....

Its a "drop keel" is that bad?? I seen posts on the web where the drop keel on some ODays could actualy break off!! is that true??

but its only $400 and for an extra $200 the guy will include boat stands and bring it to my house....

Phil

Phil,
There should be a hull number on the top right hand corner of the transom. This should tell you the manufacturer code XDY which=O'Day, and a T for O'Day 23,or J for an O'Day 22. Then there will be four numbers which are the serial numbers. After that there should be an M for model along with two numbers that stand for the year of the boat. The last letter would be the month it was built.
If it's a 23 built before 1974, it has a cast iron keel which presented a lot of problems back then, like rust. The newer 23's had lead keels and were pretty decent boats. These boats were keel centerboards. The centerboard is in the keel slot. The 23's withe the cast iron keels would rust and cause the board to get stuck up inside the keel slot. If you could take some pictures and get the VIN number, I think that someone on the forum could guide you on this. Even with keel problems, these boats will sail pretty well without the centerboard down. One of the guys on the forum bought a 1973 O'Day 23 with keel issues. After a lot cursing and swearing, he was able to bring this boat right back to almost new. He did a superb job on it. You may want to check out Bill's Blog. I'm sure that he would be happy to have anyone visit it. http://baysailorbill.spaces.live.com/ He lives in Providence RI and I still keep in touch with him.
Joe

 

[vintagephilg]

Thanks guys!! Its def. not a 23.....its tiny on the inside measures 21'........i think it must be an old 19' or 20' ?? it has a swing keel that swing up or down with a winch, not a built in permanent keel....i cant seem to attach pics on here

 

[vintagephilg]

heres some pics...........

 

[LordNelson]

looks like it could be an oday 20. if so, there isn't that much to the interior that would be hard to do.

i would be most concerned with the balsa core deck. that's where the more difficult problems to repair lay. check for any cracks, softness in the deck.

i have one and think it's a great little pocket cruiser. the swing keel works out great for me as i can moor it in the shallow water in front of my place and it's easy to sail alone. i would buy a new one if they still sold them.

 

[Sunbird22358]

NOT AN O'DAY!
You DEFINITELY have gem there!!!
This is a CAL 21 and as a former owner of one (HULL # 285, 1970 model) I can vouch for these being great boats!

Now the "downsides" the retractable keel is one potential problem, the kee lpivots on a stainless-steel bolt and the pivot point is a steel tab that is part of the steel backbone of the keel. Depending on how well the boat has been cared for over the years, and what type of use she has had, that pivot hole may be weakened. I'd suggest having the keel removed from the boat for inspection and possible repair. Fixing that pivot is relatively inexpensive, compared to the cost of replacing the keel if lost. The keel gets locked down while sailing by a second bolt through the keel housing and this will still hold the keel if the pivot rusts out. But you have to use that locking bolt!

Hope I haven't frightened you! If I had the opportunity to buy a CAL 21 for $400.... I'd buy her! The trailer alone might be worth the $400.
We sold ours last year for $1000 w/o trailer.

Check out www.cal21.com for more info. Also, check out the CAL pages on Sailboatowners.com
Oh, and if you want to have a CAL 21 expert look the boat over...... let me know! There are several CAL 21 owners (and former owners) all within easy driving distance of Plymouth, one who used to live in Quincy (now lives on Cape Cod) completelty replaced the interior of his boat after it rotted out after a sinking.

I'll attach a few pics of our old boat "NODROG"

 

[Joe11688]

heres some pics...........

Phil,
That looks like a nice little boat! If you like it, check it over good and scoop it up.
Joe

 

[Sunbird22358]

More info on the CAL 21.
The fact that we owned ours for 39 years might say something about the boat. The only other caution is that unlike the O'DAYs that were all centerboard, Keel/Cb, or fixed-keel, the CAL 21 has a true retractable keel (O'DAY never built a boat with a retractable or swing keel) does make trailersailing a bit of a chore. Not hard, but you will need to lower the keel, insert the locking bolt, unhook winch cable, fit keel plug and well cover in place before sailing and then reverse process to haul out. This may take up to an hour or more each way, if you trailer a lot you will cut that time down quite a bit, but may never acheive the 15 minute launching time that the brochure claims. If you are going to keep the boat on a mooring for the season, as long as you have 5' of water or more at the mooring (boat draws 4'3" keel down) you will have a great fin-keel (fixed, sort-of) in the water, and a shallow-draft boat easy to haul/launch and that sits low on the trailer when hauled out. Worked well for us.
Oh, and contrary to the brochure description, the ballast is actually 360# of lead, the keel is a fiberglass fin, with a steel core and a lead bulb.

 

[LordNelson]

i thought the stern and bow looked alittle different, but passed it off on the paint job.

still, look over the deck carefully especially around any through deck fittings. it can be a problem as boats age.