Design and Construction
The O'Day 26 is a recreational keelboat built predominantly of fiberglass with wood trim, her hull laid up in solid fiberglass rather than a cored laminate. She carries a raked stem and a reverse transom, with a fixed stub keel and a retractable centerboard that lets her sit in shallow water at 2.5 feet yet reach 6 feet of draft when the board is down. A transom-hung rudder controlled by tiller gives her straightforward steering geometry. At 4,800 pounds displacement with 1,850 pounds of lead ballast, her ballast-displacement ratio of about 38.5 percent places her firmly in the cruiser camp rather than the racer-light category, and her modest 6.22-knot hull speed speaks to a hull tuned for coastal passages rather than all-out velocity.
Rig and Handling
Her Bermuda rig and masthead sloop sailplan carry 278 square feet of canvas beneath a 33.67-foot mast, returning a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 15.63—enough to keep her moving in a breeze without being overcanvased for short-handed cruising. The PHRF racing average handicap of 234 places her among the slower rated club-racing designs, but Steve Henkel observed that she probably has a little more speed than her competitors anchor, a judgment consistent with the eleven-inch-longer waterline she carries over the near-sistership O'Day 25. That longer waterline, paired with the centerboard planing ability, is the likely source of the slight edge Henkel noted rather than any dramatic rig difference.
Accommodations
Below, the O'Day 26 sleeps five: a double V-berth forward, two straight settee berths in the main cabin, and a single berth tucked under the cockpit. Headroom runs 5 feet 6 inches, and the cabin and cockpit layouts are almost identical to those of the O'Day 25, a boat she resembles so closely that telling the two apart at a glance is difficult. The L-shaped galley sits to starboard at the companionway ladder and holds a two-burner stove, ice box, and sink, while the head is placed just aft of the bow cabin—a compact but conventional arrangement for a boat of this length.
Power and Trailering
Buyers were given a choice of inboard or outboard power, a flexibility that lets an owner tailor the boat to either permanent mooring or occasional trailering. The builder claimed the design basis was to maximize the idea of a boat suitable for coastwise ocean sailing and over-the-road transport by a pleasure vehicle without special size permits, yet her 6,900-pound trailering weight invites skepticism about that goal, requiring a specially equipped SUV with extra engine power to move her by road.
The Verdict
The O'Day 26 is a small, limited-production cruiser that distills C. Raymond Hunt and Associates' pragmatic coastal design into a trailerable package with genuine five-berth accommodations. Her stub-keel-and-centerboard configuration broadens where she can gunkhole, and the inboard-or-outboard option suits varied ownership styles. The very short production run and close resemblance to the O'Day 25 mean she is easy to mistake for her sibling and hard to find on the used market.
Pros
- Retractable centerboard gives 2.5-foot shoal draft yet 6-foot deep draft under sail
- Five-berth layout with L-shaped galley and 5'6" headroom in a 25.7-foot hull
- Choice of inboard or outboard power for moored or trailered use
- Slightly longer waterline than O'Day 25 likely aids speed
Cons
- Only 85 built across 1983–1985; scarce and easy to confuse with O'Day 25
- 6,900-pound trailering weight undercuts easy over-the-road transport
- PHRF 234 marks her as a slow club racer if that is the intent
