O'Day 22 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The hull is solid fiberglass with a raked stem and a reverse transom carrying a stylish rake, and a transom-hung rudder on the tiller. Lead ballast is encapsulated in the fiberglass hull molding encapsulated lead ballast, and the boat was offered with a fixed shoal-draft fin or stub keel, with the later examples adding a centerboard. Early production carried 600 pounds of ballast, rising to 700 and finally 800 pounds; the 800-pound figure sits against a 2,183-pound displacement and a 7.17-foot beam, giving a ballast-displacement ratio near 37 percent. Practical Sailor found the spars, rigging, and hardware as high quality as in comparable boats, though later hulls were frankly a mixed bag of quality and shabbiness. The fiberglass laminates were historically high in quality, but reader reports note gelcoat voids, and there is consistent evidence of print-through — the laminate pattern showing through the gelcoat. Exterior styling and proportions are superb, and despite her age the design is still not outdated.

Rig and Handling

The 22 launched with a masthead sloop rig and after 1980 switched to a fractional rig, a change that also brought the relatively small spinnaker suited to learning spinnaker handling. Jiffy reefing is standard, and the mainsheet terminates in a cam-action cleat 16 inches up the single backstay mainsheet cleat on the backstay — a placement owners report can interfere with control of the outboard motor. The stamped stainless steel hinged mast step demands a steady hand and boat when raising or lowering the mast. Two #10 Barient sheet winches are adequate only for a working jib, and halyard winches were not standard. Under sail, the early boat without a centerboard simply lacked the performance to match her racy image; even with the board she is hardly a ball of fire. She does not point well, commonly tacking through 100 degrees, and is tender with a disconcerting desire to round up when a puff hits. In light air with her three-quarter foretriangle and working jib she is under-canvased and sluggish, most hurt downwind. The underwater fairing is better than average, and the PHRF average handicap is 288.

Accommodations

This is basically a daysailer with incidental overnight accommodations, and belowdecks she epitomizes the "Clorox bottle" label for bare fiberglass interiors. The initial dinette layout was quickly replaced by opposing settees. The forward vee berths are terrible, fit only for small children untroubled by sibling rivalry, while the main-cabin settees are a bit narrow but sleep two adults, though they lack backrests and are not comfortable to sit on. A sliding door encloses the forward cabin and another the head, which with its through-hull discharge and a rare enclosed head area for a boat this size sits just aft of the bow cabin on port, beside a galley with small sink and two-burner stove space. The hanging locker opposite is inadequate, and the boat desperately needs stowage. Interior finish and decor are poor: sloppily fitted teak trim against teak-printed Formica, flimsy cabinetry. By contrast the cockpit is almost perfect — a spacious 6-1/2 feet long, with seats spaced for bracing feet opposite, a secure coaming that doubles as an armrest, self-bailing, and excellent seat-locker space with a quarterberth below.

Known Issues

The centerboard will be difficult to maintain on a design where the rudder is immersed further than the keel on the keel-centerboard model. The low companionway sill means the lower hatch board must be in place to keep water from going below in a knockdown. The hose to the separate sealed well for the outboard remote gas tank can be pinched in use, and the outboard itself is not within easy reach of the helmsperson. The two #10 Barient winches and missing halyard winches, the gelcoat voids, and the print-through are the practical watch items.

Refits and Ownership

The boat was advertised at a light 1,800 pounds for trailering and later gained 300 advertised pounds, but at a realistic trailering weight of 2,500-plus with trailer she is above the maximum without a heavy car and special gear. The 2-foot minimum draft is an unwarranted sacrifice of performance and stability if she is not ramp-launched. O'Day boats have enjoyed good value on the used market, and the 22's 3,159-unit run means parts and community knowledge are not scarce.

The Verdict

The O'Day 22 is an attractively styled, well-found little sloop whose deck gear and rigging punch above her price-point origins, but whose interior finish and light-air speed remind you she was built tightly to a cost. As a daysailer with a superb cockpit and a forgiving spinnaker platform she succeeds; as a cruiser she is compromised by thin berths and thin stowage.

Pros