What sets the early boat apart isn’t its size, but its full coachroof, which lifts around the mast. The arrangement brought standing headroom to a trailerable hull, but it also created the sealing problems that came to define the model’s reputation.
Design and Construction
The 23-1 is a 23-foot fiberglass monohull with wood trim, a transom-hung rudder, and a folding centerboard keel carrying 1,250 pounds of lead ballast that makes both the fixed-top and pop-top versions self-righting.
The cabin structure is a single molded section running from the bow to the cockpit. On lifting-roof models, the mechanism was adapted from thousands of camper trailers and carried a two-year warranty.
Early boats had the full “Lift Top.” The entire coachhouse roof rose on struts above the deck, while the keel-stepped mast stayed in place and the roof slid up around it. Later 23-1s received the smaller “Convertible Top,” which lifted only the section aft of the mast. This allowed the spar to be stepped in a tabernacle on the cabintop rather than passing through the deck. With the pop-top lowered, a pressure-compacted gasket at the overlapping deck-and-cabin joint was intended to keep water out.
Rig, Draft, and Handling
A tall masthead sloop rig carries 245 square feet of sail over a 7'11" beam. The narrow, 1,250-pound keel and centerboard provide a draft of just 2 feet with the board raised for trailering, increasing to 5'5" with the board down for windward sailing.
The shallow-draft hull is credited with surfing performance downwind. The 23-1 has an average PHRF handicap of 234, making it quicker on paper than the later 23-2, rated at 240.
The cockpit is deep, self-bailing, and sized for six. Molded non-skid covers the cockpit sole, seat tops, and deck. A large seat locker holds the outboard and sails, and the transom has a reinforced motor mount.
Accommodations
The fixed-top and pop-top 23-1s have nearly identical lockable cabins, with berths for five adults. There’s a double V-berth forward, a drop-down dinette that converts to a double berth, and an aft quarter berth to port.
The galley is to port, just forward of the companionway, and includes a two-burner stove, ice box, and sink. The head is forward to starboard. On the fixed-top version, a full bulkhead and sliding door separate the head from the main cabin. Secure stowage is provided beneath every bunk, as well as under the dinette and galley counter.
Headroom is the pop-top’s main advantage. With the roof down, the cabin has 4'7" of headroom. A few turns of a single winch raise it to 6'4".
Known Issues
The convertible pop-top’s ambition was also its weakness. Testers found that the full-roof Lift Top had trouble sealing out rain and spray where the cabin trunk met the deck and where the mast passed through the deck. A through-deck mast penetration moving through a lifting roof created a natural path for leaks, while the joint between the cabin trunk and deck was another chronic entry point.
O’Day abandoned the full convertible arrangement in favor of the aft-only lift. Removing the through-deck mast from the moving assembly eased the sealing problem. Even so, early boats with the original design remain the ones to watch for damp interiors after rain.
The Verdict
The O’Day 23-1 is a genuinely inventive small cruiser. Its rising roof addressed the problem of standing headroom in a trailerable boat, but the design paid for that extra space at the seams.
For a sailor who wants five berths, self-righting ballast, and a surfable shallow-draft hull in a 23-footer that can be towed behind a car, the pop-top is a clever piece of 1970s engineering. The later aft-lift boats are the drier choice; the full Lift Top suits a buyer willing to keep up with gasket maintenance.
Pros
- Self-righting 1,250 lb keel and 2' board-up draft for easy trailering
- Pop-top increases headroom from 4'7" when closed to 6'4" when raised
- Berths for five, plus a galley, head, and secure stowage in a 23' hull
Cons
- Full Lift Top can leak at the deck-trunk joint and through-deck mast penetration
- Original convertible-roof design was abandoned mid-generation because of sealing flaws
