O'Day 27 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

The boat's interior evolved mid-production. Older boats had the galley along the starboard side, while post-1974 layouts moved the galley aft near the companionway to starboard with a quarterberth to port and the head squeezed in to port running athwartships. The saloon in either era features two settees and a large bulkhead-mounted table, and the V-berth forward is large enough for two with a big hatch above for light and air. Headroom is listed at 5 feet 11 inches in the main cabin, and the cabin is trimmed in teak with recessed dry berth storage. The cockpit is long with a tiller and two settees, a small lazarette to port and larger locker to starboard; tiller boats preserve more space and feel better than the wheel-steering option introduced in 1975.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

On the used market these boats commonly come fitted with an inverter, autopilot, and chartplotter. Factory-era equipment included a bow pulpit, stainless welded lifelines with stanchions, two genoa/jib winches, a halyard winch, main and working jib, 12-volt electrical system with five cabin lights, and a custom laminated wood tiller. The 27 originally came with an outboard or inboard gas, with later models sometimes carrying inboard diesels, and the inboard version added a lightning ground. A factory option placed the traveler behind the tiller. Notably, the design left no provision for anchoring beyond a small hawsepipe, so a bow roller or cleat is a typical owner addition rather than a factory feature.

What to Inspect

The main bulkhead supports the chainplates and should be sounded for signs of delamination, while the chainplates themselves — especially where they pass through the deck — need checking for crevice corrosion, a known path for water intrusion reported by owners over the years. The gasket on the large forward hatch is prone to leaking, so confirm its condition, and expect that the stanchions and bases can be a bit wobbly. With deck coring that changed from plywood to balsa early in the run, probe around hardware penetrations for softness.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

Used O'Day 27s are typically found on the United States market. A short checklist for the walkthrough: verify chainplate decks and bulkhead integrity, test the forward hatch gasket, shake the stanchion bases, and confirm whether the layout is pre- or post-1974 for galley position. Note the missing anchor hardware and budget a fix. With the internal lead keel and solid hand-laid hull, structural surprises are few if these known points are cleared.