O'Day 19 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used O'Day 19 means looking at a 1979–1982 C. Raymond Hunt Associates design built by the O'Day Corp. in the United States, with 525 examples produced before the O'Day 192 replaced it. These are small racer-cruisers of fiberglass construction with a stub keel and centerboard, best understood as light-air dayboats and weekenders rather than serious cruisers. On the brokerage market they appear in the United States.
Layouts on the Used Market
The O'Day 19 is a 19-foot monohull with a fixed stub keel and retractable centerboard, giving 4.33 feet of draft board-down and 1 foot board-up. Below she sleeps two on a bow V-berth under 46 inches of headroom, with a port-side galley forward of the companionway ladder carrying an ice box, and a starboard-side head at the companionway. A small 3 to 5 hp outboard is the usual docking power. The compact volume means any buyer should board the specific boat and confirm the ergonomics suit their frame.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
A short-handed setup is commonly fitted on these boats, meaning the rigging and controls are arranged for a single sailor or minimal crew to manage without extra hands on the foredeck. Beyond that, the boat's modest size limits meaningful upgrade clusters; the standard fractional sloop with 178.68 square feet of sail and a tiller-steered transom rudder is the baseline to inspect.
What to Inspect
The rudder hangs lower than the keel with the board raised, so inspect the rudder and its pintles for grounding damage if the boat has seen shoal use anchor. The mainsheet leads without a traveler, so verify the existing lead and any owner-added hardware for sound attachment to the deck. The aft section lacks buoyancy to support crew weight, so check the aft area for condition. The high-mounted 300-pound ballast — 52 of it the centerboard — makes her tender, worth confirming with a sea trial in a breeze.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats are found in the United States. For a buyer, the practical checklist is: confirm centerboard and rudder operation, inspect rudder for shoal-water damage, check mainsheet lead attachment, and sail her light to assess tenderness.
- Verify centerboard retracts to 1-foot draft and rudder clears
- Inspect transom rudder and pintles for grounding scars
- Confirm galley ice box and V-berth intact
- Sea-trial for tenderness with the 300-pound high ballast
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the O'Day 19. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 2 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25 | 2 | $4,900 | — |
| Aug 25 | 2 | $3,623 | -26.1% |