O'Day 23-1 Buyer's Guide
The O'Day 23-1 is the 1972 original of O'Day's 23-foot series, built 500 times before the fixed-roof 23-2 appeared in 1978. Its signature is a coachroof that lifts — early boats with the full "Lift Top," later ones with the aft-only "Convertible Top" — giving standing headroom on a hull that trails behind a car. Shopping one means judging how well that moving roof has survived, because the design's known weakness lives exactly at the seam.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every 23-1 carries berths for five: a forward double V-berth, a dinette that drops to a double, and a port quarter berth. The cookspace lies to port just ahead of the companionway ladder and holds a two-burner stove, ice chest, and sink; the head is in the bow to starboard. The fixed-top version has a full bulkhead and sliding door up front, while the pop-top closes to 4'7" headroom and opens to 6'4" on a winch. The cabin is one molded piece from bow to cockpit, and the deep self-bailing cockpit seats six with a seat locker for the outboard and sails.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The boat was built with a tall masthead sloop rig on a keel-stepped mast in early lift-top examples, later tabernacle-stepped on the cabintop after the aft-lift change. Outboard power is standard, with a reinforced transom mount and a seat locker sized for the engine. The lifting-roof mechanism itself — borrowed from camper trailers — is the one system a buyer should treat as a wear item rather than original equipment to trust blindly.
What to Inspect
On full Lift Top boats, trace the joint where the cabin trunk overlaps the deck and check for staining or softness below it; testers recorded problems sealing out rain and spray through that seam anchor. Then inspect the mast penetration through the deck — on early boats the spar passes through the lifting roof, and that moving joint is the second documented leak path. Later Convertible Top boats lift only aft of the mast, so confirm which roof style the hull has: a tabernacle step on the cabintop points to the revised, drier arrangement. Operate the lift with the winch and watch the pressure-compacted gasket for compression set or gaps in the down position.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats turn up in the United States. Before you commit:
- Confirm whether the roof is full Lift Top or aft Convertible Top.
- Press test the deck-trunk joint and mast-deck seal for past leaks.
- Exercise the pop-top winch and inspect the gasket.
- Check the transom motor mount and seat locker for outboard corrosion.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the O'Day 23-1. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 1 row
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25 | 1 | $350 | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeanneau Tonic 23 | 23.94' | $ 11,536 | 17 | 6 |
| Com-Pac 23 | 22.75' | $ 8,000 | 11 | 5 |
| Leisure 23 | 22.64' | $ 5,506 | 10 | 4 |