I owned an 86' O'day 40 for 9 years (bought new) and sailed it all over the
New England coast. It was a fast
boat but tended to pound in a chop like other flat bottom, fin
keel boats. It was reasonably well made for a production
boat (made in Fall River, Ma) but I'll share the following with you
1. Contrary to the prior note the 40 had two heads. The aft
cabin had a drop down sink and
head under a settee on the starboard side
2. The aft berth was athwartships and fine at the
dock but in a rolly anchorage could be a bit strange
3. The
hull and
deck are balsa cored so make sure any added
hardware was properly bedded and had adequately sized
backing plates. It had a
headliner so many people did this.
4. The 40 had two hull
ports on each side and the reverse transom. The 39 had a straight transom and only one hull window each side.
5. If it had a
Westerbeke 46 ask for a
compression test. There was a bad run of manifolds on these engines and
Westerbeke decently paid for our
engine to be rebuilt
6. Its a headsail driven boat so make sure the
genoa is in good shape
7. The
insulation on the
icebox lid left a lot to be desired. Spent a lot of time improving this
Practical sailor has a good review of the boat on their web site. Let me know if you have any questions.
Rick
Hylas 49-057
S/V Black Diamond
Portsmouth, RI