O'Day 30 opinions.

[endoftheroad]

My wife has always wanted a fin keeler coastal boat to call her own.
There is a 1982 O'Day 30 locally in really good shape that we could get for a good price.
There were about 350 made from 1977 to 1984.
This one is a 1982.
Any opinions? Concerns?

Also, how does it compare to a Catalina 30 and a Hunter 30?

I have searched the forum and haven't found much info.

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=1334

Thanks

[endoftheroad]

Good morning.

Any Oday owners out there for comment?

[endoftheroad]

Originally Posted by endoftheroad

Good morning. Any Oday owners out there for comment?

I thought O'days were common.
I had a 23 footer and it was a pretty decent sailing boat.
But the 30 seems chubby and I'd like to know if it is a POS to sail.

[lifeofreilly57]

An easy way to see it's sailing performance as opposed to other boats in it's class would be to look up it's PHRF either nationally or locally.
In my neck of the woods it would be PHRFNE (New England) or PHRFNB (Narragansett Bay). Googling either site will at least get comparative numbers for the different hulls.
If you are in a different location try finding a PHRF rating body that handicaps boats for your neck of the woods, finding one that handicaps a large number of boats would be best. I know the two organizations in this area handicap a large number of boats since there are numerous racing clubs and boats in this general area.
It's a pretty basic way to judge the performance characteristics of a given hull in relation to another. It will at least tell you if it's a dog in comparison to other boats in it's class.
As for build quality and sailing characteristics, that would be best heard from owners, who may or may not be biased about their chosen make, so take what you read with a grain of salt, telling someone their chosen beauty might have some warts is like telling them their kids are ugly.
Anyone have experience with that model?

[endoftheroad]

Thanks very much, that's some great advice, much appreciated.

[psiegelnyc]

My two cents here. I owned an O'Day 31 for several years, and have sailed Catalina 30's. Note that I now sail an O'Day 40.
Both the O'Day and the Catalina are very similar boats. They both sail well (my experience being in the Long Island Sound, Block Island Sound, etc), and are comfortable cruisers (I don't race). The O'Day I owned had only a 14hp diesel, which I felt was a little underpowered. There's an O'Day website where you can get more information about the boat try: OdayOwners.com - Home
Also, at this point, age and condition will have a lot do with the purchase. Some things I might consider: what kind of stove (alcohol or propane); hot water tank and heat exchanger; condition of sails; condition of engine.
If you'd like to hear more of my O'Day experience, let me know.

Hope this helps.

Peter

[endoftheroad]

Peter,
Thanks very much for your 2 cents.