O'Day 272 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

The 272's interior follows a familiar pocket-cruiser plan: V-berth forward, saloon settees, and a quarter berth, with headroom near 6 feet and sleeping for four or five at a pinch. A later LE variant documented on the Great Lakes shows the same footprint but with modest comforts — a folding table large enough for four, a non-pressurized alcohol stove, an ice box, and a head described as minimum cruising gear. The shallow wing keel and outboard or small diesel power mean most boats are trailer-kept or lightly used coastal cruisers rather than bluewater veterans. Cross-shoppers often weigh the 272 against a Catalina 27, Hunter 27, or Tanzer 27, but the O'Day's draft and beam give it a distinct niche in shallow venues.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

On the used fleet, a bimini is commonly fitted, while a chartplotter, autopilot, and a short-handed sail-handling setup are often seen; a dodger is a less common owner upgrade. For a buyer, the meaningful clusters are canvas and sail handling — a bimini and sometimes a dodger extend usable cockpit time, and a short-handed setup suggests the original roller reefer may have been addressed. The LE owner reports self-tailing winches as a real asset but the main-sail winch underpowered and the Cruising Design roller reefer too frail for the years, so a modern furler and larger mainsail winch are the upgrades that matter most. Power and navigation gear such as a chartplotter and autopilot reflect how far a particular boat has been brought up to date, but the core sail plan remains a 299-square-foot masthead sloop.

What to Inspect

The dominant concern is deck hardware and water intrusion. One Great Lakes owner names the integrity of the deck fittings for water leakage as the biggest problem on the 272LE, and notes that discoloration of the glued-in cloth ceiling is practically a given over time anchor. The same report faults the factory roller reefer as too cheap a piece to survive many years and notes the main winch is underpowered. A survey should focus on deck-fitting seals, ceiling staining from past leaks, and the condition of the furling gear and winches before any price is settled.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

The 272 appears in the United States, with Georgia among the typical regional markets. For a shopper, the short checklist is: confirm the wing keel and 2.92-foot draft match your cruising grounds; inspect deck fittings and headliner for leak history; verify the furler and mainsail winch have been upgraded or budget for it; and treat the interior as modest coastal camping rather than luxury. A well-kept example rewards the buyer who wants shallow access and a roomy small-boat layout without the complexity of a larger cruiser.