ahp
01-01-2003, 10:16 AM
I have been reading the posts here praising this and that design. I am sure that the praise is well deserved, and I read them carefully.
I would like to add my own candidate, the O'Day Daysailor. Yes I know that it made out of that awful stuff called FIBERGLASS. Nevertheless it is an excellent yardstick for comparing other boats of its type.
I have owned two. It is a 17 ft LOA centerboard sloop with a small cuddy. The cuddy isn't big enough to sleep in. If you do any sleeping you do it in the cockpit.
It is quite beamy, with the beam begining fairly far foreward and continuing to the transom. It has a lot of stabilty. I weigh 155 lbs and I can stand on the rail at anchor, grab the shroud, and swing out as far as I can and not capsize. The beam and relatively flat hull also means she will easily plane under the right conditions.
Although it is not a cruising boat, I have known of people who have done so. I friend of mine did extensive cruising with his wife in Nova Scotia in one, and I read about another couple (in WB?) who cruised Labradore in one. Polar bears were a real concern.
The cockpit easily seats four persons. Six is possible but tight. Usually with four, three sit to windward and one to leeward.
It draws less than one foot with the board up and she has a swing up rudder. Just the thing for thin water, and she can be trailered easily.
If you just have to have a wooden boat, and I love them too, remember that Uffa Fox originally designed this boat for cold molded wood construction.
I would like to add my own candidate, the O'Day Daysailor. Yes I know that it made out of that awful stuff called FIBERGLASS. Nevertheless it is an excellent yardstick for comparing other boats of its type.
I have owned two. It is a 17 ft LOA centerboard sloop with a small cuddy. The cuddy isn't big enough to sleep in. If you do any sleeping you do it in the cockpit.
It is quite beamy, with the beam begining fairly far foreward and continuing to the transom. It has a lot of stabilty. I weigh 155 lbs and I can stand on the rail at anchor, grab the shroud, and swing out as far as I can and not capsize. The beam and relatively flat hull also means she will easily plane under the right conditions.
Although it is not a cruising boat, I have known of people who have done so. I friend of mine did extensive cruising with his wife in Nova Scotia in one, and I read about another couple (in WB?) who cruised Labradore in one. Polar bears were a real concern.
The cockpit easily seats four persons. Six is possible but tight. Usually with four, three sit to windward and one to leeward.
It draws less than one foot with the board up and she has a swing up rudder. Just the thing for thin water, and she can be trailered easily.
If you just have to have a wooden boat, and I love them too, remember that Uffa Fox originally designed this boat for cold molded wood construction.