We bought that 26 O’day!

[artleyt115]

Hello, good news everyone! My friend and I ended up purchasing the 1986 26’ O’day and here’s a little update. (I know some of you wanted to hear more about it and how it’s going so I made a new thread. Plz moderator if I’m posting in the wrong spot correct me) so we bought the boat for 1000 bucks with the trailer and man was the outside rough. There was this thick black gunk all over, probable from sitting under a tree for so long. (Shown in first photo)

As you can see it doesn’t look white. Now we did some light cleaning on the outside and a bit in the cockpit area and we’ll see for yourself!

also we picked up a 2006 Honda outboard with electric start. Great pick for 860 bucks, plus it looks awesome on the boat. Now for the inside. My buddy and I just got done cleaning it up, it wasn’t too bad but we have to recover some of the seat cushions.

I ran out of files to attach but you get the idea.
other than some work on the trailer the boat in its current state can sail! But I have some plans I wanna do before then. First, I bought a generator. It’s not big by any means but it has the same dimensions as the old inboard did sooo I'm going to put it there. Next I’m going to hook the outboard into the 15 gallon tank that is on the boat. After that I want to paint the outside, I’ve painted cars before and a boat once. I know the process and I’m sure I’ll make mistakes but navy blue paint just looks so good on boats I can’t resist. Then we plan on replacing that old ice box with a chest cooler dual zone cooler. Oh and the boats name (because it was never named) is not the “Flying liability”. Mainly because I probably shouldn’t be sailing. Let me know what you think!

 

[kappykaplan]

artleyt115 , clearly y'all put a lot of elbow grease into that boat and it shows. Good job!

 

[dlochner]

Looks like you found yourself a bargain! The trailer alone is probably worth at least a grand.

Step back a minute from the generator. There are a couple of big issues with a gas generator aboard a sailboat and even bigger issues with mounting it below decks, namely carbon monoxide poisoning and the explosive nature of gasoline. There are probably better and safer solutions. Let's talk about those before go forward on this part of your project.

In the meantime, enjoy winter sailing dreams.

 

[rgranger]

 

[jssailem]

First, I bought a generator. It’s not big by any means but it has the same dimensions as the old inboard did sooo I'm going to put it there. Next I’m going to hook the outboard into the 15 gallon tank that is on the boat.

The above plus the "white gas cooking burner" present a liability to the safe sailing experience you seek.

While camping ashore the highly flammable fuels have a stable environment. On a boat you are constantly moving, tilting leaning and affected by the wind. The evaporated fumes present a risk of explosive combustion. This is especially a risk in a closed cabin.

You may want to rethink the fuels you use. You will definitely want to install alarms that can announce the prescense of combustible fumes in the boat. You will also want fans that can clear the boat of any fumes before you try and start any engine or light a match.

All of the other improvements make sense. The boat looks great. I suspect she feels prettier as well. Pretty boats sail better.

 

[artleyt115]

Looks like you found yourself a bargain! The trailer alone is probably worth at least a grand.

Step back a minute from the generator. There are a couple of big issues with a gas generator aboard a sailboat and even bigger issues with mounting it below decks, namely carbon monoxide poisoning and the explosive nature of gasoline. There are probably better and safer solutions. Let's talk about those before go forward on this part of your project.

In the meantime, enjoy winter sailing dreams.

This is very true, the genny we have runs on both has or propane (gods fuel for those king of the hill fans) as well as I agree with the carbon monoxide issues. I plan to hook it up to the original exhaust port. We shall see but I do want it to be a weekend cruiser so some backup power would be awesome.

 

[artleyt115]

The above plus the "white gas cooking burner" present a liability to the safe sailing experience you seek.

While camping ashore the highly flammable fuels have a stable environment. On a boat you are constantly moving, tilting leaning and affected by the wind. The evaporated fumes present a risk of explosive combustion. This is especially a risk in a closed cabin.

You may want to rethink the fuels you use. You will definitely want to install alarms that can announce the prescense of combustible fumes in the boat. You will also want fans that can clear the boat of any fumes before you try and start any engine or light a match.

All of the other improvements make sense. The boat looks great. I suspect she feels prettier as well. Pretty boats sail better.

Thank you for those tips! We mainly plan to use propane on the genny if it pans out. We have been thinking about getting some sensor to put in the cabin and In the engine bay. She does look a whole lot prettier and I can’t wait to paint her in the spring!

 

[dlochner]

She does look a whole lot prettier and I can’t wait to paint her in the spring!

What are you going to paint?

If the boat is going to be primarily trailered, there is no need for bottom paint.

If you were thinking of painting the topsides and the deck, you might want to try buffing and polishing first. See the article below on how to do a first class job.

Tips For A Great Buff & Wax

Buff Polish & Wax Try these products (for Gel-Coat only not intended for Awlgrip) The Cliff Note Version: Steps: #1-Clean the hull with an acid base cleaner like FSR, oxalic acid or On & Off to remove rust & tannin staining. (only if necessary) #2-Wet Sand by hand 600 (if real bad)...

forums.sailboatowners.com

 

[artleyt115]

What are you going to paint?

If the boat is going to be primarily trailered, there is no need for bottom paint.

If you were thinking of painting the topsides and the deck, you might want to try buffing and polishing first. See the article below on how to do a first class job.

Tips For A Great Buff & Wax

Buff Polish & Wax Try these products (for Gel-Coat only not intended for Awlgrip) The Cliff Note Version: Steps: #1-Clean the hull with an acid base cleaner like FSR, oxalic acid or On & Off to remove rust & tannin staining. (only if necessary) #2-Wet Sand by hand 600 (if real bad)...

forums.sailboatowners.com

Topside above the water line. I want to change the color. I don’t mind the O’day factory accent lines but I think it would look better with navy blue and white accents. Though the boat has been trailered almost all of its life, the bottom paint falls off to the touch. You can rub it off so easily, so I’ll repaint it too while I’m at it ( ._.) though thank you for the link. I’ll need that!

 

[dlochner]

Topside above the water line. I want to change the color. I don’t mind the O’day factory accent lines but I think it would look better with navy blue and white accents. Though the boat has been trailered almost all of its life, the bottom paint falls off to the touch. You can rub it off so easily, so I’ll repaint it too while I’m at it ( ._.) though thank you for the link. I’ll need that!

There are 2 ways to paint the topsides, one way will look good for a while and the other takes a lot of time, prep work, and money and will look good until until you rub up against a dock. Wait.

 

[jon hansen]

extra large engine, fuel, gen, gas, reefer,..... loading a vessel is a art form. just like poorly loaded car trailers can lead to poor performance. all the while no mention of the new sails. yes sails. and the books on how to use them.

all your tasks have nothing to do with sailing the boat. and sailing it well.

the noise of an engine, the noise of an onboard gen, are always a buss kill compared to the sailing.

so i'm blunt, sorry, you've done a lovely job so far.

me. getting the sailing thing correct first is how i roll

 

[shemandr]

Congrats! I wouldn't have bothered to climb a ladder to see the interior. Nothing increases a boats value faster than a restorative cleaning. And the interior looks good!
About the generator: You can vent it but but if wind isn't favorable to carry away the vapors it is a problem.
" ...I plan to hook it up to the original exhaust port..."
Please elaborate. What original exhaust port? Is it passive or active (Fan propelled)?

 

[artleyt115]

extra large engine, fuel, gen, gas, reefer,..... loading a vessel is a art form. just like poorly loaded car trailers can lead to poor performance. all the while no mention of the new sails. yes sails. and the books on how to use them.

all your tasks have nothing to do with sailing the boat. and sailing it well.

the noise of an engine, the noise of an onboard gen, are always a buss kill compared to the sailing.

so i'm blunt, sorry, you've done a lovely job so far.

me. getting the sailing thing correct first is how i roll

No worries! But in the previous post (sorry I should have mentioned) but the sails an rigging are new. Replaced a year ago, tough I do agree about weight. I found the old weight of the in board that was there and tried to match the equipment to that weight. We actually just under 80 pounds under what that old iron diesel motor weighed.

 

[Tally Ho]

Congrats! I wouldn't have bothered to climb a ladder to see the interior. Nothing increases a boats value faster than a restorative cleaning. And the interior looks good!
About the generator: You can vent it but but if wind isn't favorable to carry away the vapors it is a problem.
" ...I plan to hook it up to the original exhaust port..."
Please elaborate. What original exhaust port? Is it passive or active (Fan propelled)?

I think he means the old engine exhaust port…

Not sure that is a great idea, but if the exhaust hose is tight, maybe.

But the generator wont have cooling water…


Greg

 

[artleyt115]

Congrats! I wouldn't have bothered to climb a ladder to see the interior. Nothing increases a boats value faster than a restorative cleaning. And the interior looks good!
About the generator: You can vent it but but if wind isn't favorable to carry away the vapors it is a problem.
" ...I plan to hook it up to the original exhaust port..."
Please elaborate. What original exhaust port? Is it passive or active (Fan propelled)?

The boat originally had a diesel inboard motor with a passive exhaust with a check valve. Oh and right? I was surprised how clean the boat came out after how long it’s been sitting.

 

[artleyt115]

I think he means the old engine exhaust port…

Not sure that is a great idea, but if the exhaust hose is tight, maybe.

But the generator wont have cooling water…


Greg

True this is one of my concerns with running a genny is how it will cool. The genny I have is air cooled but I’m worried about the closed space. So I’ll do some testing and see how it pans out

 

[jssailem]

The boat originally had a diesel inboard motor....We actually just under 80 pounds under what that old iron diesel motor weighed.

If I understand these actions.. You removed a diesel engine and are replacing it with the outboard that you scored at a great price.

loading a vessel is a art form.

What Jon is sharing is it is not just matching the weight of items you remove from the boat.

Weight is not all the same. The affect of weight changes boat performance based on how high off the water it is and where it is in the boat.

You removed the engine which is located about a third of the length of the boat forward of the transom and at or slightly below the water line. This will have the affect of reducing the weight of the boat and raising the CG of the boat. You replaced it with an item of similar weight but raised the weight above the previous CG and to the stern of the boat.

These changes will affect the stability and efficiency of the boat.

the sails an rigging are new

This was a bonus in the purchase. Most used dirty boats have used (dare I say blown out) sails.

 

[artleyt115]

If I understand these actions.. You removed a diesel engine and are replacing it with the outboard that you scored at a great price.


What Jon is sharing is it is not just matching the weight of items you remove from the boat.

Weight is not all the same. The affect of weight changes boat performance based on how high off the water it is and where it is in the boat.

You removed the engine which is located about a third of the length of the boat forward of the transom and at or slightly below the water line. This will have the affect of reducing the weight of the boat and raising the CG of the boat. You replaced it with an item of similar weight but raised the weight above the previous CG and to the stern of the boat.

These changes will affect the stability and efficiency of the boat.


This was a bonus in the purchase. Most used dirty boats have used (dare I say blown out) sails.

About the sail very true. It was one of the reasons why I went with this boat. Not to mention that the interior was in very good condition. As well as was very dry from sitting so long. The motor was already removed when I bought the boat. It’s not an uncommon thing to do on these 26s. The old inboard was loud, super underpowered for the board and stunk up the whole cabin. (From what I understand this was mainly because of the mechanical fuel pump on the motor) being so i totally get that weight distribution, putting an extra 90 pounds off the back of the boat will make it sail a whole lot different. Hopefully I’ll be able to manage it but from what I’ve researched, the 25 and some of the 26 O’day s would have came with an outboard attachment so I hope it doesn’t set it off too much. Thank you for posting!

 

[Davidasailor26]

the bottom paint falls off to the touch. You can rub it off so easily, so I’ll repaint it too while I’m at it

If you mean the color wears off easily you’re probably dealing with an ablative paint. Just be sure to use another ablative paint over that. Switching to a harder paint would likely mean sanding off all of the ablative. If you mean the paint is coming off in flakes or chunks you’ll want to sand most of it off to get a good bond for the new paint.

For the generator - you may want to start with an energy budget for all of the electrical devices you have and how long you want to be away from shore power. You might find you’re better off with an extra battery or two and maybe a small solar panel, saving the noise and exhaust issues of the generator. In any case an energy budget will be helpful for knowing what size battery bank and charging capacity you’ll need.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Topside above the water line. I want to change the color. I don’t mind the O’day factory accent lines but I think it would look better with navy blue and white accents. Though the boat has been trailered almost all of its life, the bottom paint falls off to the touch. You can rub it off so easily, so I’ll repaint it too while I’m at it ( ._.) though thank you for the link. I’ll need that!

Sanding the hull yielded amazing results on my O'Day 25. If your at a dock the hull will flex a LOT. You can feel it when sitting on the side benches inside. I'm guessing you'd have to use special paint or additives. Try 600 grit followed by 800 grit. You might be shocked at the results. All together it took about 20 hours of work for the entire hull. Just make sure you wax it to protect it afterwards

Your interior looks fantastic overall! I do however see a waterstain. O'Day used silicone sealant which is notorious for failing. Expect to find a few leaks. Use Bed-It for deck fittings

You mentioned a generator. My little inboard is loud and vibrates the whole boat. It's especially obnoxious in the cabin so my suggestion would be to use a solar panel instead. My 100w Renogy panel charged a nearly dead battery in less than 24 hours and is much more pleasant than a generator. If you're interested I can post pics of how I mounted it

Another nice thing to have is an electric fuel pump for priming. Hold down the button for a few seconds before starting. Mine is connected to the same circuit as the electric choke. For your outboard you might want to consider a check valve in the fuel line. The fuel seems to seep back into the tank when it's not in use on my outboard (yes, I have two engines)