Boat Opinion

[deanowens1966]

So, what are O'Day 26 and the Catalina 30 like as ocean going crusiers? What makes them NOT acceptable to cruise to the south pacific? Is it the keel? The displacement? The build? What makes these boats less than desireable as Blue water cruisers?

[fishbait58]

I, too, would love to know.


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[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, fishbait.

[FamilyVan]

I can't think of any reason not to use a well equipped Catalina 30 for some carefully planned island hops.
But an oday 26 really isn't suitable. They are lightly constructed week end cruisers.
There displacement is only 4800 lbs which means there isn't a lot of material used in there construction and they're not capable of carrying heavy loads (like food, fuel and water).
Some times light means fancy materials like carbon fibre and revolutionary design, but this is not the case with an oday 26. I don't think most of them even have a real keel.
The Oday is a popular entry level boat and is well suited to that application. Cheap plentiful and simple. But I wouldn't want to get more than 25 miles or so offshore in one.

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[sailorboy1]

storage and tank capacity

[Kevin84]

The C30 is a great boat, very spacious below decks, well laid out. However, it has small water and fuel tanks. It also is severely lacking in storage capacity. There is also the issue that most of the deck hardware is NOT through bolted. Its simply screwed into the deck with self tapping screws. The port lights could also use some reinforcing before attempting any serious offshore work. Same with the rigging. The original rig provided by Catalina just isn't rugged enough to withstand the rigors of day in and day out use and abuse cruising will put on it. The good news? All these items are easily fixable and with proper planning and weather watching, the C30 should take you anywhere you want to go.

The rigging is one of the easiest fixes. Theres a kit you can buy to upgrade it. Same with the deck hatdware. Remove it, drill bolt holes, and thru bolt it. Storage? I would take the aft double berth, and build storage lockers where it extends under the cockpit. Then take the space thats left and turn it into a quarter berth. Just be careful to not put anything too heavy back there. You dont want all your weight in the ends. Tankage is a bigger issue. Remove your holding tank, replace it with a lectrasan (or composter if thats your thing) and put another water tank there. A water maker would be a must for me, knowing how little storage capacity I had. The port lights, you could go with storm shutters or you could replace them with SS. Really up to you and your budget (and time). Great little boats, and if you've got the will to outfit it for cruising, I think youd be very happy in it.

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[deanowens1966]

@Kevin84: Your response is exactly the type of information I wanted to hear. It sounds like you have experience with these types of boats.

The O'Day was laid out identically to a boat from another manufacturer that we looked at a few months ago and, yes, it was VERY lightly built and the keel isn't one.

One thing I am thinking about is replacing the rig with a single Junk rig. I haven;t investigated it much, as of yet, but I'm considering it.

The Catalina mentioned has the tall rig, and I think this alone would be a factor that would make this particular boat UN-BLUE Cruise capable. On the other hand, it has always been in fresh water and the owner has really kept it up. I I'd be happy to do the mods as you described but would probably do a few others for increased storage and blue water sailability. The tankage issue is one of the easiest to rectify, IMO. The head will still require a holding tank as my wife is NOT for a composting head.

I wonder how a Junk rig would be on this boat?

[deanowens1966]

@Familyvan: I agree with the sentament. Too lightly built, no real keel and the size isn't going to work for my wife and I. I hadn't had a chance to look at interior photos until a few hours ago. This boat is laid out near identically to a boat we looked at in early November it was not suitable.

Thanks for the response.

[Kevin84]

Actually, the tall rig is a bonus for the C30. It'll give you much better light air performance. I've never sailed a junk rig before, so couldn't help you there, but a high quality main and 130% genoa with a foam luff to allow you to furl it to 100% and still maintain good sail shape would cover most situations. A storm trysail could also come in handy, though knowing the C30 wasn't built for serious offshore work, I'd do my best to avoid bad weather. I personally like the Mark II C30 best, though that's a personal taste thing. You might also want to increase the size and number of the cockpit drains if you're going to be doing a lot of offshore work.

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[Orion Jim]

My advice would be to search for the closest place where you can personally inspect several cruisers in one shot. Perhaps get a broker involved to line up as many boats as possible. You will quickly be able to tell the difference between a coastal cruiser and a blue water boat on your own. Hit the websites, read the reviews, decide what is important to you and check out the boats that meet your criteria. Few of us can afford our dream boat but many of us have still managed to tackle blue water and enjoyed it. Good luck.