O'Day 322 purchase

[Paul Bowen]

I'm seriously considering the purchase of a 1986-1989 O'Day 322. Does anyone out there have any experince with this boat? Comments/insights are appreciated.

--
Paul S. Bowen United Technologies Research Center
p...@utrc.utc.com MS 129-85
phone: (203)727-7792 411 Silver Lane
fax: (203)727-7857 E. Hartford, Ct. 06108

[JM...@cunyvm.cuny.edu]

In article <1994Mar21.2...@sun1x.res.utc.com>, p...@utrc.utc.com (Paul

Bowen) says:
>
>I'm seriously considering the purchase of a 1986-1989 O'Day 322. Does anyone
out
there have any experince with this boat? Comments/insights are appreciated.

A friend bought a 30ft O'Day of about that vintage....it sailed quite well.
Then he hit a rock in Long Island Sound and the boat sank within five
minutes. It was recovered from the bottom and examination revealed that
the keel had broken off from the hull. According to reports (third hand)
there was no backing plate and the bolts were just held in place by the
fiberglass of the bottom. I would suggest a careful survey of the structure
of any O'Day from that time period. (if you want to talk to the former
owner directly send me an e-mail note and I'll send you his phone number).

Jim Gordon (JM...@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU)
New York

[John Grandfield]

Hi Mike, D&R's phone number is (508) 644-3001 they are offering the O'Day
302, 322, 35 and the 40. I beleive that they have already sold the 40 for
chartering. There is also a ownes association for the O'Day, Cal and Ranger

--
John Grandfield
GTE Goverment Systems
(508) 880-4326
gfi...@rocky.tntn.gtegsc.com

[Tim Lyons]

One thing you should be aware of is that O'Day went out of business in 1989 and auctioned off many incomplete boats. I attended the auction and observed many people who were clearly not professional boat builders buying boats with a lot of work needed (no keels, no decks, no rigging,...) I would not consider any 1988/1989 model O'Day without a competent survey (not one of those one page "check the box" forms the boat broker will direct you towards and charge you as if it were a real survey. Remember, the b

oat broker is legally contracted to protect only the interests of the boat seller NOT YOU.)
At the time I was very interested in the O'Day 322. It was comfortable, reasonably seaworthy and had construction details that were appropriate for coastal cruising ( through-bolted hull-to-deck, nicely bolted and bedded keel, good quality name-brand rigging and hardware.) I did not buy at the auction because the prices for incomplete boats were higher than the at the time going rates for complete boats with warranties. There were some real excited people with their checkbooks out at the auction (I saw ma

rine plywood go for more than my local lumber yard charged, and he delivered!)
You might check with some of the former O'Day dealers. The one from Dartmouth Ma was there and he wrote down the serial numbers of all the incomplete boats that were auction.
By the way, I don't expect my boat to be able to hit rocks and not sink. The O'Day construction is pretty similiar to other boats in that price range and has the same limitations. When I sail the southern oceans, I won't do it in my Hunter 30, but until then it sails just fine.

Regards,
Tim

[Wayne Simpson]

On 03-28-94, TIM LYONS wrote:

TL>From: tly...@icd.teradyne.com (Tim Lyons)
TL>Organization: Teradyne, Inc.

TL> At the time I was very interested in the O'Day 322. It was
TL>comfortable, reasonably seaworthy and had construction details that
TL>were appropriate for coastal cruising ( through-bolted hull-to-deck,
TL>nicely bolted and bedded keel, good quality name-brand rigging and
TL>hardware.)

One thing anyone considering a 322 should be aware of is the keel
problem they had. This "hydro keel" they made such a big fuss over was a
very heavy appendage with most of it's weight at the very bottom. It
also had a very short root and not many bolts in comaprison to its
weight. On many of these boats, the keel attactment went soft, leading
to movement in the keel. This is a common complaint with the O'Day 322
in my area, and the fix is neither simple nor cheap.
Anyone thinking of a 322 might want to consider a similar boat, such
as a Pearson, that would cost about the same and not share this
deficiency.

Wayne Simpson, Technical Editor
National Catalina 27 Assn ***standard
Internet: w...@spin.att.com (fast) disclaimers
wayne....@ship.net (slower) apply***
wayne....@sail.com (slowest)

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