The O'Day 23 is a series of American trailerable

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

s, that were designed by C. Raymond Hunt Assoc. and first built in 1972.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', pages 186 and 240. International Marine/

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

, 2010.

Production

The boat series was built by O'Day Corporation in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the 23-2 was also built by Mariner Construções Náuticas Ltd in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, but all are now out of production.

Design

The O'Day 23 is a small recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

, with wood trim. It has a

masthead sloop A masthead rig on a sailing vessel consists of a forestay and backstay both attached at the top of the mast. The Bermuda rig can be split into two groups: the masthead rig and the fractional rig. The masthead rig has larger and more headsails, a ...

rig, a transom-hung

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

and a folding

centerboard A centreboard or centerboard (US) is a retractable hull appendage which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a ''centreboard trunk'' (UK) or ''centerboard case'' (US). The retractability allows the centreboard to be raised t ...

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

. The boats are normally fitted with

outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

s. When it was introduced the O'Day 23-1 model incorporated a unique and controversial pop-up "Lift Top", whereby the entire coachhouse roof could be raised on lift struts above the deck. The mast is keel stepped and the roof slides up on the mast, which does not move. On later 23-1s the lift top was reduced in size, called a "Convertible Top" and just lifts the area behind the mast. When the 23-2 was introduced in 1978 it was of a more conventional design and eliminated this feature entirely.

Variants

;O'Day 23-1 :This model was introduced in 1972, with 500 examples completed. It has the pop-up "Lift Top" or later "Convertible Top". The design has a length overall of , a waterline length of , displaces and carries of ballast. The boat has a draft of with the centerboard down and with the centerboard retracted. The boat has a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to- ...

of . The boat is normally fitted with a small

for docking and maneuvering. The design has sleeping accommodation for five people, with a double

"V"-berth A sleeping berth is a bed or sleeping accommodation on vehicles. Space accommodations have contributed to certain common design elements of berths. Beds in boats or ships While beds on large ships are little different from those on shore, ...

in the bow cabin, a drop-down dinette table that converts to a double berth and an aft quarter berth on the port side. The

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

is located on the port side just forward of the

companionway In the architecture of a ship, a companion or companionway is a raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck, with a ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main cabins. A companionway may be secured by doors or, commonly i ...

ladder. The galley is equipped with a two-burner stove,

ice box An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrig ...

and a sink. The

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

is located in the bow cabin on the starboard side. Cabin headroom is . The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 234 and a

of . ;O'Day 23-2 :This model was introduced in 1978 and built until 1984, with 1000 examples completed by O'Day in the US and Mariner Construções Náuticas Ltd in Brazil. It has a length overall of , a waterline length of , displaces and carries of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of with the centerboard down and with the centerboard retracted. The boat has a hull speed of . The boat is normally fitted with a small

or an optional

inboard motor An inboard motor is a marine propulsion system for boats. As opposed to an outboard motor, where an engine is mounted outside the hull of the craft, an inboard motor is an engine enclosed within the hull of the boat, usually connected to a pro ...

for docking and maneuvering. The design has sleeping accommodation for five people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin, a drop-down dinette table that converts to a double berth and a single settee berth on the starboard side. The

is located on both sides of the

ladder, with a two-burner stove to port and a sink to starboard. The cockpit has an ice box on the starboard side. The

is located in the bow cabin on the port side. Cabin headroom is . The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 240 and a hull speed of .

Operational history

In a 2010 review of the O'Day 23-1 Steve Henkel wrote, "This vessel was produced in several versions—two types of poptops and a solid top—over five years, 1970 to 1974. A Mk II version ... with no poptop (and other differences) followed in 1977. In the Mk I version, one of the poptop designs was a 'convertible,' that is, the whole cabin trunk roof lifted on struts (see phantom view). However, there were problems with sealing out rain and spray in the joint between cabin trunk and deck, and the through-the-deck mast. Consequently, the design was dropped in favor of an alternative poptop in which only the aft section lifted. This allowed the mast to be stepped in a tabernacle on the cabintop, making mast setup at a launching ramp much easier ... No significant negative features were noted by us, other than the 'convertible' poptop idea." In a 2010 review of the O'Day 23-2 Steve Henkel wrote, "The O’Day 23 Mk II (22) follows a series of 21-, 22 and 23-footers by C. Raymond Hunt Associates and various other designers, all targeted at the same market ... Until the O'Day company ceased operations in 1989, they were a potent force in the small sailboat market in the eastern U.S,, particularly in the 21- to 23-foot size range, of which this design is representative. Best features: Compared to her comp titor, which are all heavy centerboarders, the O'Day 23 Mk II ... has the highest (that is, best) Space Index and the lowest minimum draft, is tied for the greatest headroom and the lowest average PHRF, and has the heaviest construction (calculated by subtracting ballast from displacement). Worst features: The mainsheet traveler, led to a bridle attached to the split backstay, is not one of our favorite rigging arrangements, as the helmsman has to look aft to find the mainsheet bitter end, undesirable when racing tight quarters."

References

External links