First Post..... Be gentle :-)

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by TideTime

You do get a lot of boat when purchasing an O'Day. However, if once you obtain adequate experience you are still intent upon embarking on serious "blue water" cruises, I would NOT recommend an O'Day. I have owned an O'Day 26 (diesel) for a number of years - and three O'Day sailboats prior to that - and while it is a great little boat for coaster cruising, there are better options for blue water cruising than any O'Day sailboat. Yes, there is obviously a significant difference between the O'Day 26 (or an O'Day 28 for that matter) and an O'Day 40, but you might want to look at several of the following sailboats which are better suited for serious ocean cruising; namely:

Cape Dory 36 (priced $25,000 - $40,000), Cape Dory 30 ($12,000 - $40,000), Cape Dory 28 ($10,000 - 25,000), and Cape Dory 25D ($9,500 - $15,000); Island Packet 27 ($40,000), and Island Packet 30 ($39,000).

Also, if you plan to do a lot of single-handed sailing, you might want to reconsider your interest in a 40 foot sailboat - length, size, does not make for a safer passage; that is dependent first upon the seamanship of the captain and the strength of the boat. I would consider any of the above listed boats over the O'Day 40, and I doubt if you will find any member of this forum disagreeing with me!

THIS.


An O'Day is a fine boat for inshore or inland sailing but is not really the boat you want for ocean crossing. And a 40 footer is a lot more boat than you need. For singlehanding or with one crew, you would be better off with something around 30 foot, 35 max. Maintenance costs will be lower. Slips will be cheaper. Smaller engine. Prop. Sails. And speaking of, singlehanding a bigger boat is not so much fun when you have to douse and furl sails in a blow. Unsnarl halyards from around mast climbing steps or spreaders, or unjamming battens from the lazy jacks. Your fuel bill will be higher. You will need bigger anchors and anchor chains. All lines will be a size or two bigger. If you don't NEED the room, it makes sense to stay under 35'. Me, I did need the room when I hooked up with my fiancee. I am not small, and she is bigger. Plus we wanted plenty of room for entertaining, at the dock, or the flexibility to sell the house and move aboard. And I am pretty good at punching down big sails and smart enough to not wait until the last minute. Oh, and I picked this up from a desparate seller for $9500. and sailed it straight home.


I am of course a bit biased toward the Bruce Roberts designs. A small Spray model would be a fine boat for blue water. It is not a pretty boat.. broad shouldered and skinny stern. No cockpit though you are sheltered by the cabin trunk. The original Spray as you may know, was the first boat to sail around the world singlehanded. Give steel a miss, and go with a fiberglass one or maybe wood/epoxy. The 28' Spray is quite roomy for such a short boat. The 33 is a veritable palace for one or two people. These boats are built in several different configurations but all will serve decently as offshore cruisers and with the long keel, can get you up into fairly skinny water if necessary.


There are books written on the subject of selecting a blue water boat. I won't try to write one here. But bluewaterness is sort of subjective, I will say that, and something that makes sailors argue almost as much as guns or anchors or which way the end of the TP roll should point. Mostly you want a nice heavily built boat with considerable ballast and stout rigging, that can take a knockdown and come back up every time. You want preferably a boat that will sail to windward even if not very well. You want capacity enough for three or four weeks provisions and lots of fuel and water. You want enough space so that if you have crew, everyone has a private corner somewhere. You don't want an extreme sail plan or a configuration that has not already passed the test hundreds of time over.

[JPA Cate]

@dgmyles,

Hey, guys, the OP says he's in Australia, let's see what's available locally?

How about an S&S 34? Sails well, popular in Oz, good all 'round boat. Jessica Watson circumnavigated in one, singlehanded.

Or, a Cape Barren Goose? Or a Swanson? Or, a Nought 40?

Ann

[picklesandjesse]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

@dgmyles,

Hey, guys, the OP says he's in Australia, let's see what's available locally?

How about an S&S 34? Sails well, popular in Oz, good all 'round boat. Jessica Watson circumnavigated in one, singlehanded.

Or, a Cape Barren Goose? Or a Swanson? Or, a Nought 40?

Ann

There's a nice Van de Stadt 34 for sale in WA. New rig etc. Asking $45K. And it's looks like a well built Cedar strip boat.... so you should approve Ann. Maybe $30k in this market.

[JPA Cate]

^^^^^

Yes, that could be a steal.

[boatpoker]

Learning to sail is the easy part, millions of people do it.

This is the stuff you'd better learn ......
Marine Survey 101, pre-survey inspection

[FosterJourney]

I just took a cruise on 35 O'Day 1986. You can see her in action here https://youtu.be/iAepsnm001Q

I thought it was a great boat ⛵. It was surprisingly roomy and prior to this, I knew nothing of O'Day.