The O'Day 25 is an 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 ...

that was designed by C.R. Hunt & Associates.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 300. International Marine/

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, 2010.

Production

The boat was built by O'Day Corp. in the

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, with 2,898 completed between 1975 and 1984, when production ended. It was one of the company's most successful designs.

Design

The O'Day 25 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 centerboard or a fixed fin

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 boat has a draft of with the centerboard down and with the centerboard up, while the fixed fin keel version has a draft of . The boat is usually fitted with a small

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 ...

, and less often were various gas and diesel inboard engines available from the factory. The centerboard model with a standard mast height has a PHRF racing average handicap of 234 while the fin keel with the taller mast and larger sail area has an average PHRF of 230. The

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 both variants is .

Variants

;O'Day 25 CB :Swing centerboard model with a draft of when the centerboard is down, and when the centerboard is up. The rig is the standard height. ;O'Day 25 Keel TM :Fixed fin keel model with a draft of and a taller mast by about .

Operational history

In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "the O'Day 25 ... came in two variations: the keel-centerboarder ... and a deep fin keel version with 4' 6" draft, 20 square feet more sail area, two-foot higher mast, and 50 pounds less ballast. Outboard power on a stern bracket (or a small Atomic 2 gasoline engine of 7 hp) was the choice at one point; then diesels came in. Production of both types of O'Day 25s together totaled over 2,800 between 1975 and 1983, right at the peak of the Golden Age of sailboat sales in this size range. Best features: Here is a nice-looking, good (though not superb) quality boat, with plenty of owners with whom to fraternize if you like to socialize ... Worst features: The galley seems a bit skimpy to us ..."

References

External links