The boat entered the market as a competitive contender on the racecourse and a contrasting companion to the rather hazy 23-footer it would soon phase out. Even so, its character was always that of a minimum boat built tightly to a price.
Design and Construction
The solid-fiberglass hull has a raked stem and stylishly raked reverse transom, with a transom-hung rudder and tiller steering. The boat has encapsulated lead ballast and was offered with either a fixed shoal-draft fin or stub keel; later examples added a centerboard.
Early boats carried 600 pounds of ballast, increasing first to 700 and finally to 800 pounds. Against a displacement of 2,183 pounds and a beam of 7.17 feet, the 800-pound figure gives a ballast-displacement ratio near 37 percent.
Practical Sailor found the spars, rigging, and hardware as high in quality as those on 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 mention gelcoat voids. There is also consistent evidence of print-through, with the laminate pattern visible through the gelcoat.
The exterior styling and proportions are superb. Despite the boat’s age, the design still doesn’t look outdated.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The O’Day 22 began with a masthead sloop rig. After 1980, it switched to a fractional rig and gained a relatively small spinnaker well suited to learning spinnaker handling. Jiffy reefing is standard.
The mainsheet terminates in a cam-action cleat 16 inches up the single backstay. Owners report that this placement can interfere with control of the outboard motor. The stamped stainless steel hinged mast step also demands a steady hand—and a steady boat—when raising or lowering the mast.
Two #10 Barient sheet winches are adequate only for a working jib, and halyard winches weren’t standard. Under sail, the early boat without a centerboard simply lacked the performance to match its racy image. Even with the board, it’s hardly a ball of fire.
The O’Day 22 doesn’t point well and commonly tacks through 100 degrees. It’s tender, with a disconcerting tendency to round up when a puff hits. In light air, its three-quarter foretriangle and working jib leave it under-canvased and sluggish, particularly downwind. On the positive side, the underwater fairing is better than average. The PHRF average handicap is 288.
Cockpit and Accommodations
The O’Day 22 is essentially a daysailer with incidental overnight accommodations. Belowdecks, it epitomizes the “Clorox bottle” description often applied to bare-fiberglass interiors.
The original dinette layout was quickly replaced by opposing settees. The forward vee berths are terrible—fit only for small children untroubled by sibling rivalry. The main-cabin settees are a little narrow but can sleep two adults. Without backrests, however, they aren’t comfortable places to sit.
A sliding door encloses the forward cabin, and another closes off the head. The head has through-hull discharge and, unusually for a boat this size, its own enclosed area. It sits just aft of the bow cabin to port, beside a galley with a small sink and space for a two-burner stove. The hanging locker opposite is inadequate, and the boat desperately needs more stowage.
Interior finish and decor are poor, with sloppily fitted teak trim set against teak-printed Formica and flimsy cabinetry. The cockpit, by contrast, is almost perfect. It’s a spacious 6-1/2 feet long, with the seats spaced so crew can brace their feet against the opposite side. A secure coaming doubles as an armrest, the cockpit is self-bailing, and the seat lockers provide excellent stowage. There’s also a quarterberth below.
Known Issues
The centerboard will be difficult to maintain. On the keel-centerboard model, the rudder extends deeper into the water than the keel.
The companionway sill is low, so the lower hatch board must be in place to prevent water from going below during a knockdown. The hose to the outboard’s remote gas tank, which sits in a separate sealed well, can be pinched in use. The outboard itself isn’t within easy reach of the helmsperson.
Other practical watch items include the two #10 Barient winches, the lack of standard halyard winches, reported gelcoat voids, and laminate print-through.
Trailering and Ownership
The boat was originally advertised at a light 1,800 pounds for trailering and later gained 300 advertised pounds. In practice, a realistic trailering weight is 2,500-plus with the trailer. That puts it above the maximum manageable without a heavy car and special gear.
The 2-foot minimum draft is an unwarranted sacrifice of performance and stability if the boat won’t be ramp-launched.
O’Day boats have enjoyed good value on the used market. The O’Day 22’s 3,159-unit run means parts and community knowledge aren’t scarce.
The Verdict
The O’Day 22 is an attractively styled, well-found little sloop. Its deck gear and rigging rise above its price-conscious origins, but the interior finish and light-air performance make clear that it was built tightly to a cost.
As a daysailer, it succeeds with a superb cockpit and a forgiving platform for learning to handle a spinnaker. As a cruiser, it’s compromised by narrow berths and scant stowage.
Pros
- Spars, rigging, and hardware of notably high quality for the class
- Spacious, self-bailing cockpit with secure coamings and good locker space
- Encapsulated lead ballast and better-than-average underwater fairing
- Large production run supports used-market value and spares
Cons
- Poor interior finish, flimsy cabinetry, and a desperate lack of stowage
- Tender handling, poor pointing, and sluggish, under-canvased performance in light air
- Difficult centerboard maintenance and a low companionway sill that poses a flooding risk
- Inadequate sheet winches and an outboard that’s hard for the helmsperson to reach
