O'Day 39 Buyer's Guide
The O'Day 39 on the used market is a Philippe Briand–designed, Bangor Punta–era cruiser-racer built in Fall River, Massachusetts from 1982 to 1985, with about 120 hulls produced under license from the Jeanneau Sun Fizz 40. It is a 38-foot-10-inch masthead sloop with a double-spreader rig and a four-cabin, ten-berth interior — a boat that rewards a buyer who understands its short production window and its European-licensed roots before negotiating a specific example.
Layouts on the Used Market
Owner three-cabin layouts are the more common on the used market, but both are available; ex-charter examples are common. The design's four separate cabins and two heads with showers, paired with an immense cockpit and cavernous storage, mean that even the less-common owner configurations carry serious livability, while ex-charter hulls may show higher cycle counts on rigging and sanitation systems than privately maintained boats.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Used 39s often carry energy and navigation upgrades that matter more than creature comforts: solar, lithium batteries, and an inverter are frequently fitted, shifting the boat toward anchor-and-cruise independence, while AIS is a common navigation addition for coastal traffic awareness. Sail-handling and comfort clusters show up as an asymmetric spinnaker and a dodger on many boats, and hot water is often present, speaking to converted charter or liveaboard use. None of these are universal, but a buyer should treat missing lithium or inverter as a planned refit cost rather than a defect.
What to Inspect
The O'Day 39 has no structural recall or osmotic-blister bulletin in the builder specification and period editorial material, so the inspection centers on generation and lineage rather than a known defect list. Confirm the hull is a 1982–1985 O'Day 39 and not a later O'Day 40, since the 1986 redesign by C. Raymond Hunt Associates added a sugar-scoop transom — a missing or modified transom on a claimed 39 is a red flag for mixed-generation parts. Verify the structure O'Day developed and rarely used elsewhere is intact and unmodified at the grid pan and rig support, as it is central to rig loads. Check that the boat is a true O'Day-build example and not confused with the Jeanneau Sun Fizz 40 parent, since licensed origins can blur paperwork and spares.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The O'Day 39 typically appears in the United States. For a shopper, the short list is clear:
- Confirm hull year is 1982–1985 and transom is not a sugar-scoop O'Day 40.
- Inspect the grid pan and integrated rig support for modification.
- Verify documentation distinguishes O'Day 39 from Jeanneau Sun Fizz 40.
- Test lithium, inverter, and AIS if cruising independence matters.
- Review ex-charter history for sanitation and rigging wear.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the O'Day 39. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 2 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 25 | 2 | $29,000 | — |
| Jul 25 | 1 | $35,000 | +20.7% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
7 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| O'Day 40 | 39.58' | $ 39,000 | 33 | 4 |
| Hunter Marine 39 | 39.42' | $ 129,000 | 22 | 5 |
| Dehler 39 | 39' | $ 133,918 | 19 | 2 |
| Contessa Ood 34 | 33.67' | $ 20,382 | 9 | 0 |
| Baltic 39 | 38.76' | $ 75,938 | 9 | 0 |
| CAL 39 | 38.67' | $ 41,000 | 8 | 5 |
| Swan 39 | 39.3' | $ 104,806 | 7 | 0 |