Was O'Day 28 Standing Headroom, Now Various Questions About 28 and 30

Oct 20, 2014
135
O'Day 23-1 Lake Champlain, Vermont
M12 also. Wish it had a couple more horses as it is adequate but in adverse conditions less so.
That's what I recall reading in some reviews on this site. Thanks for the reply.
 
Oct 20, 2014
135
O'Day 23-1 Lake Champlain, Vermont
We have a 31 with the 14 horse M18. I would say it is adequate but on the low side. Hull speed is theoretically 6.7 Kts or so but in a headwind I would say the engine will push it to the 5.5 range. At least fo me, faster than that and I feel I am taxing the engine. Of course, it is 35 years old!
Thank you. Being that the 31 is nearly the same boat as the 30 your post supports my sense that I'd rather have about 20 hp on that boat in case I am headed into the wind trying to outrun a storm (or for whatever reason). How do you like the boat otherwise? Pros and cons.

I very much like the Navtec chain plate system used on the 28 and 30.
 

dmax

.
Jul 29, 2018
969
O'Day 35 Buzzards Bay
My boat is a little bigger (11,500 lb.) and has 21 hp - it powers the boat surprisingly well with only a 2 blade prop but I wouldn't want any less power.
Regarding the Navtec chain plates: I like them for their simplicity but I had to destroy 4 out of the 6 of them to get them out - the combination of Stainless Steel going into aluminum around salt water is not ideal. A fresh water boat might not be as bad. I'm sure mine hadn't been removed since new but it's something to consider when looking at boats.
 
  • Like
Likes: sreidvt
May 17, 2004
5,028
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
I very much like the Navtec chain plate system used on the 28 and 30.
:plus: It’s nice that any water intrusion doesn’t rot out a bulkhead and compromise the rig. Be aware though that the forward lower stays are only anchored in a backing plate embedded in the deck. At the age of these boats expect water intrusion there, causing some lifting of the plate and some stress cracks in the area.
 
  • Like
Likes: sreidvt
May 2, 2020
30
Catalina 36 MkII 1778 Venice, FL
Been on my 1985 ODay 28 the last few days taking it 60 miles to get the bottom done. Regarding headspace, I am 5'11" and when I stand straight up I just hit the roof in the centerline. So I do find myself slumping a bit as I walk around the cabin. But I wouldn't say it is uncomfortable.

Regarding the engine, I also have the M12. Two days ago I was in 18kt breezes, gutting to 25 in 3-4 ft waves. With a double reef and greatly furled head sail on a reach was exciting. But as we had to head up into Charlotte Bay I could not sail high enough to make decent progress. So I dropped sail and used the M12 to push through 8 miles of large waves splashing across the deck, spray in the face at 3.5 to 5 kts. Yes, more horsepower would have been nice, but the M12 performed adequately.
 
  • Like
Likes: sreidvt
Oct 20, 2014
135
O'Day 23-1 Lake Champlain, Vermont
My boat is a little bigger (11,500 lb.) and has 21 hp - it powers the boat surprisingly well with only a 2 blade prop but I wouldn't want any less power.
Regarding the Navtec chain plates: I like them for their simplicity but I had to destroy 4 out of the 6 of them to get them out - the combination of Stainless Steel going into aluminum around salt water is not ideal. A fresh water boat might not be as bad. I'm sure mine hadn't been removed since new but it's something to consider when looking at boats.
OK, so that's 1000 lbs. more than the 30. So I think 20 HP in a 30 should do well.

Is there a thread already about your removing the NavTec plates? If so, I'd like to read it. What were you removing them for and where exactly did they seize? That is something I definitely would want to keep in mind and would be happy to hear more details, see pictures, etc.
 
Last edited:
Oct 20, 2014
135
O'Day 23-1 Lake Champlain, Vermont
:plus: It’s nice that any water intrusion doesn’t rot out a bulkhead and compromise the rig. Be aware though that the forward lower stays are only anchored in a backing plate embedded in the deck. At the age of these boats expect water intrusion there, causing some lifting of the plate and some stress cracks in the area.
That's very interesting. Thank you. What is the backing plate made of? Is it just below the wood core but above the inner glass? On my current boat I have rebedded and epoxy-isolated almost every fitting and backed them with aluminum plates (the ratio of plate to fastener should make that pairing work). The only thing left is the toe rails (which, of course, are screwed in) and I hope to rebed those over the winter and spring.

My 23-1 has 8 stays in all and each one has its own chainplate. So if an aft or forestay fails the mast should stay up while the sails are dropped.The chainplates are all embedded into the hull sides itself. This moves the headsail sheeting angles out but it otherwise seems like a very solid system.
 

dmax

.
Jul 29, 2018
969
O'Day 35 Buzzards Bay
There isn't a lot of information out there, here's what I found:

I removed mine to epoxy the holes and re-bed them. The rigrite site shows what they look like - the lower shroud u-bolts go through an aluminium block (they call it the tie-rod block) which is where the corrosion is. The uppers are SS through SSso no problem. I tried every method suggested to get the lowers out but they didn't budge. Six seconds with an angle grinder cut them in half and I unscrewed them (still took significant effort). Still haven't completed the job, I plan on doing a write-up when finished. Replacement U-bolts are quite spendy - looking to have them custom made.
 
  • Like
Likes: sreidvt
Oct 20, 2014
135
O'Day 23-1 Lake Champlain, Vermont
Been on my 1985 ODay 28 the last few days taking it 60 miles to get the bottom done. Regarding headspace, I am 5'11" and when I stand straight up I just hit the roof in the centerline. So I do find myself slumping a bit as I walk around the cabin. But I wouldn't say it is uncomfortable.

Regarding the engine, I also have the M12. Two days ago I was in 18kt breezes, gutting to 25 in 3-4 ft waves. With a double reef and greatly furled head sail on a reach was exciting. But as we had to head up into Charlotte Bay I could not sail high enough to make decent progress. So I dropped sail and used the M12 to push through 8 miles of large waves splashing across the deck, spray in the face at 3.5 to 5 kts. Yes, more horsepower would have been nice, but the M12 performed adequately.
I hope your trip is going well. Your headroom report is exactly what I heard from some later model 28 owners on the FB group. So it does indeed seem that some of the late model 28s had a couple inches less headroom. Maybe it was a certain production run.

I'm glad the engine is adequate and the example you just described is exactly the sort of situation I'm thinking of. Ideally, I'd like to have enough power to get to about 6 knots in those conditions.

I'm comfortable working on several aspects of these boats so I think I might be willing to buy a good boat with a bad motor and repower. Does anyone know which higher HP motors (maybe Universal/Kubota or otherwise) might be a good fit for a 28 or 30? I'm tempted by electric but the range issue is a big one especially since I plan to keep mooring. It will be interesting to see what electric looks like a few years from now when I would be shopping. Has anyone here gone to electric on an O'Day?
 
Oct 20, 2014
135
O'Day 23-1 Lake Champlain, Vermont
There isn't a lot of information out there, here's what I found:

I removed mine to epoxy the holes and re-bed them. The rigrite site shows what they look like - the lower shroud u-bolts go through an aluminium block (they call it the tie-rod block) which is where the corrosion is. The uppers are SS through SSso no problem. I tried every method suggested to get the lowers out but they didn't budge. Six seconds with an angle grinder cut them in half and I unscrewed them (still took significant effort). Still haven't completed the job, I plan on doing a write-up when finished. Replacement U-bolts are quite spendy - looking to have them custom made.
Thanks very much. I will check out the links and look forward to your write-up.
 
May 17, 2004
5,028
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
That's very interesting. Thank you. What is the backing plate made of? Is it just below the wood core but above the inner glass? On my current boat I have rebedded and epoxy-isolated almost every fitting and backed them with aluminum plates (the ratio of plate to fastener should make that pairing work). The only thing left is the toe rails (which, of course, are screwed in) and I hope to rebed those over the winter and spring.

My 23-1 has 8 stays in all and each one has its own chainplate. So if an aft or forestay fails the mast should stay up while the sails are dropped.The chainplates are all embedded into the hull sides itself. This moves the headsail sheeting angles out but it otherwise seems like a very solid system.
I never did disassemble mine, though it was starting to show deflection and some stress cracks before we moved on to a different boat. From what I’ve read it’s an aluminum plate. I don’t know whether it’s laid above, below, or in parallel with the core.
 
  • Like
Likes: sreidvt
Jun 11, 2004
1,621
Oday 31 Redondo Beach
How do you like the boat otherwise? Pros and cons.
The short answer is we've enjoyed it very much over our 20 years of ownership. We've often considered something a little heavier (e.g. Pacific Seacraft or the like) but have never acted on that because we are so attached to the 31. It's comfortably roomy below and in the cockpit. Sails well for what it is even though a little sluggish off the wind without a spinnaker and a bit more weather helm than I would like that I can't get rid of when the wind is over 12 or so.

The keel on this one is cast iron and needs to have some rust tended to on our triennial haulouts. A few issues with a lack of backing plates or appropriate washers on some of the pulpit and stanchion bases but other than that I have been impressed with the build quality.

It has been a dry boat with so far no discernable water intrusion into cored areas except for the anchor locker cover and cockpit locker cover. I'm pretty impressed by that given it is a 35 year old boat. I don't know if that would be different in a place that freezes in the winter.

I do particularly like the swim platform on the 31 vs the 30. Really facilitates boarding from the water or the dinghy.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.
 
  • Like
Likes: sreidvt
Oct 20, 2014
135
O'Day 23-1 Lake Champlain, Vermont
The short answer is we've enjoyed it very much over our 20 years of ownership. We've often considered something a little heavier (e.g. Pacific Seacraft or the like) but have never acted on that because we are so attached to the 31. It's comfortably roomy below and in the cockpit. Sails well for what it is even though a little sluggish off the wind without a spinnaker and a bit more weather helm than I would like that I can't get rid of when the wind is over 12 or so.

The keel on this one is cast iron and needs to have some rust tended to on our triennial haulouts. A few issues with a lack of backing plates or appropriate washers on some of the pulpit and stanchion bases but other than that I have been impressed with the build quality.

It has been a dry boat with so far no discernable water intrusion into cored areas except for the anchor locker cover and cockpit locker cover. I'm pretty impressed by that given it is a 35 year old boat. I don't know if that would be different in a place that freezes in the winter.

I do particularly like the swim platform on the 31 vs the 30. Really facilitates boarding from the water or the dinghy.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.
Thanks very much Richard. I'm glad to hear that you like the boat so well. My standard procedure when I get a boat is to rebed the fittings and add 1/4" thick aluminum backing plates. So I expect to do that work on whatever boat I get next. I mostly just hope the decks are still OK near those fittings.

For the weather helm, have you tried reducing the mast rake from the O'Day suggestion (which is maybe 9 degrees?) to maybe 4 or 5 degrees. Have you read this review of the sister boat: O'Day 30 - Practical Sailor ? It discusses the rake and weather helm issue. Maybe that's all old news to you.
 
Oct 20, 2014
135
O'Day 23-1 Lake Champlain, Vermont
:plus: It’s nice that any water intrusion doesn’t rot out a bulkhead and compromise the rig. Be aware though that the forward lower stays are only anchored in a backing plate embedded in the deck. At the age of these boats expect water intrusion there, causing some lifting of the plate and some stress cracks in the area.
By the way, is this true (forward lower stays anchored by a backing plate) for both the 28 and the 30?
 
Jun 11, 2004
1,621
Oday 31 Redondo Beach
By the way, is this true (forward lower stays anchored by a backing plate) for both the 28 and the 30?
My forward lowers are anchored to the wooden bulkhead in the cabin.
No water intrusion so far. But it doesn't rain much here ;)
 
  • Like
Likes: sreidvt
Oct 20, 2014
135
O'Day 23-1 Lake Champlain, Vermont
My forward lowers are anchored to the wooden bulkhead in the cabin.
No water intrusion so far. But it doesn't rain much here ;)
Thanks Richard. So your forward lowers anchor to the wooden bulkhead and your other chainplates are Navtec?
 
Aug 11, 2011
857
O'day 30 313 Georgetown MD
My 1983 30' Oday C/B build number 313 has a M20 which was the replacement for the 5416. It is 16HP. It has a two blade prop. My speed at 28,500 RPM's on average is 5.75 knots. I say on average as it depends on tides and current directions. I find it has a good power range for slow speed maneuvers, decent for general motoring, but insufficient for fast speed requirements. However the hull speed isn't that much more than my overall average, so in my opinion, for what it's worth, its a good size motor for its needs. Going bigger isn't necessarily better, again in my opinion. Now a new set of sails, a furling genoa, and more sailing time, however might make a huge difference :p
 
  • Like
Likes: sreidvt
Oct 20, 2014
135
O'Day 23-1 Lake Champlain, Vermont
My 1983 30' Oday C/B build number 313 has a M20 which was the replacement for the 5416. It is 16HP. It has a two blade prop. My speed at 28,500 RPM's on average is 5.75 knots. I say on average as it depends on tides and current directions. I find it has a good power range for slow speed maneuvers, decent for general motoring, but insufficient for fast speed requirements. However the hull speed isn't that much more than my overall average, so in my opinion, for what it's worth, its a good size motor for its needs. Going bigger isn't necessarily better, again in my opinion. Now a new set of sails, a furling genoa, and more sailing time, however might make a huge difference :p
Thank you, that's helpful. So if you're averaging 5.75 at 2850 rpm what are you able to do against a strong headwind? I would imagine hull speed for a 30 should be 6.5 - 7 knots.

What has your experience been with the chainplates, esp. the forward ones?
 
May 17, 2004
5,028
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
Hull speed on the 30 (LWL 25.4’) should be 6.8 kts.
Hull speed on the 28 (LWL 22.75) should be 6.4 kts.