O'Day 222 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used O'Day 222 means looking at a trailerable 21.75-foot sloop designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates and built by O'Day Corp. from 1984 through 1989, with around 500 examples produced before the yard closed. She is a refined successor to the O'Day 22, and her stub-keel-and-centerboard hull draws 1.67 feet board-up for easy launching and 4.67 feet board-down for sailing.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every 222 carries the same core interior: 5'8" headroom, with a bow V-berth, a settee dinette that folds flat, a quarter berth, plus a compact galley and a portable head. The boat was built as a fractional sloop with tiller steering and a 4- to 6-HP outboard auxiliary, so buyers should expect the weekender plan rather than a galley-up racer layout. The raked transom and spade rudder are consistent across the short production run.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market, solar panels and lithium batteries are commonly fitted, reflecting owners' shift to silent power at anchor, and a chartplotter is also commonly found in the cockpit or at the nav station. These three upgrades — power generation, modern storage, and electronic navigation — are the ones a buyer is most likely to encounter already installed, and they materially change the boat's off-grid capability versus a bare 1980s spec.
What to Inspect
The known construction facts give a clear inspection path. The 222 is built from solid fiberglass with encapsulated iron ballast inside the stub-keel centerboard hull, so check the keel sump and centerboard trunk for cracks or moisture where the iron meets the laminate. With an outboard auxiliary of 4 to 6 HP, verify the transom mount, wiring, and fuel storage for the portable engine. The solid-fiberglass deck and hull leave fewer core-rot worries than balsa-cored cousins, but the spade rudder and tiller steering deserve a check for play and delamination at the stock.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The O'Day 222 is found in the United States. For a buyer, the short checklist is: confirm board-up draft and centerboard function, inspect the iron-ballast encapsulation, test the outboard and its mount, and note whether solar, lithium, and a chartplotter are already aboard. She is a documented, modest-production trailerable with a usable weekender interior and a manageable fractional rig.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the O'Day 222. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 4 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 26 | 3 | $4,000 | — |
| Apr 26 | 1 | $3,995 | -0.1% |
| May 26 | 2 | $4,400 | +10.1% |
| Aug 26 | 1 | $7,000 | +59.1% |
Where they're listed
O'Day 222 listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 7.
Country view
7 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $4,000 | 7 | 2 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
3 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catalina 22 | 23.83' | $ 6,500 | 79 | 23 |
| J-Boats J/22 | 22.5' | $ 10,000 | 10 | 4 |
| Oday 222You are here | — | $ 4,000 | 7 | 2 |