O'Day 23 explained

O'Day 23-2
Image Boat:File:O'Day 23 Play On 0400.jpg
Designer:C. Raymond Hunt Assoc.
Location:United States
Year:1978
No Built:1,000
Builder:O'Day Corporation
Displacement:34250NaN0
Hull Type:Monohull
Construction:Fiberglass
Loa:23feet
Lwl:19.5feet
Beam:7.92feet
Hull Draft:5.33feet centerboard down
Engine:Outboard motor
Keel Type:Centerboard
Ballast:12000NaN0
Rudder Type:transom-mounted rudder
Rigs:Masthead sloop
I:28feet
J:10feet
P:23.42feet
E:9feet
Sailarea Main:105.39square feet
Sailarea Headsail:140square feet
Sailarea Total:245.39square feet
Phrf:240

The O'Day 23 is a series of American trailerable sailboats, that were designed by C. Raymond Hunt Assoc. and first built in 1972.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Production

The boat series was built by O'Day Corporation in the United States and the 23-2 was also built by Mariner Construções Náuticas Ltd in Brazil, but all are now out of production.[1] [3] [7]

Design

The O'Day 23 is a small recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a masthead sloop rig, a transom-hung rudder and a folding centerboard keel. The boats are normally fitted with outboard motors.[1] [2] [3] [4] [7]

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.[1]

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 231NaN1, a waterline length of 201NaN1, displaces 31000NaN0 and carries 12500NaN0 of ballast. The boat has a draft of 5.4feet with the centerboard down and 2feet with the centerboard retracted. The boat has a hull speed of 5.992NaN2. The boat is normally fitted with a small 3to outboard motor 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 an aft quarter berth on the port side. The galley is located on the port side just forward of the companionway ladder. The galley is equipped with a two-burner stove, ice box and a sink. The head is located in the bow cabin on the starboard side. Cabin headroom is 550NaN0. The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 234 and a hull speed of 6kn.[6] [1] [2]
    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 231NaN1, a waterline length of 19.51NaN1, displaces 34250NaN0 and carries 12000NaN0 of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of 5.33feet with the centerboard down and 2.26feet with the centerboard retracted. The boat has a hull speed of 5.922NaN2. The boat is normally fitted with a small 3to outboard motor or an optional inboard motor 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 galley is located on both sides of the companionway ladder, with a two-burner stove to port and a sink to starboard. The cockpit has an ice box on the starboard side. The head is located in the bow cabin on the port side. Cabin headroom is 600NaN0. The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 240 and a hull speed of 6kn.[6] [3] [4] [7]

    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."[6]

    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[etitor]s, 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."[6]

    See also

    Similar sailboats

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: O'Day 23-1 (Lift Top) sailboat specifications and details. 16 May 2017. Browning. Randy . sailboatdata.com. 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20210226185913/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/oday-23-1-lift-top. 26 February 2021. live.
    2. Web site: Sailboat Specifications for O'Day 23-1 . 16 May 2017. Sailing Joy. InterVisionSoft LLC. 2017.
    3. Web site: O'Day 23-2 sailboat specifications and details. 16 May 2017. Browning. Randy . sailboatdata.com. 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20210227010517/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/oday-23-2. 27 February 2021. live.
    4. Web site: Sailboat Specifications for O'Day 23-2 . 16 May 2017. Sailing Joy. InterVisionSoft LLC. 2017.
    5. Web site: Raymond Hunt (C.R. Hunt & Assoc.). 23 September 2021. McArthur. Bruce . sailboatdata.com. 2021. https://archive.today/20210126002005/https://sailboatdata.com/designer/hunt-cr-hunt-assoc-raymond. 26 January 2021. live.
    6. Henkel, Steve: The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats, pages 186 and 240. International Marine/McGraw-Hill, 2010.
    7. Web site: O'Day 23-2. 14 March 2022. Sea Time Tech, LLC. sailboat.guide. 2022. https://archive.today/20220314152651/https://sailboat.guide/oday/23-2. 14 March 2022. live.