O'Day 40 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for an O'Day 40 means considering the largest model O'Day ever built, produced from 1985 to 1989 with design credited to C. Raymond Hunt Associates or Philippe Briand. These are beamy, volume-rich cruisers that have aged into accessible coastal and offshore candidates, and a careful buyer will weigh layout, upgrades, and a few known construction weak points before committing.
Layouts on the Used Market
Owner three-cabin arrangements appear more often on the market, but two-cabin versions are also available, and ex-charter boats are common. Forward, the boat provides a V-berth cabin with a head and shower to port and a hanging locker to starboard, while the saloon holds a U-dinette to port and settee to starboard, and the quarter-berth cabin has a large athwartship double under the cockpit. In that aft cabin, the person sleeping farthest in must crawl over their bunkmate to exit first. The galley sits aft to port in many examples with a forward-facing navigation station opposite, and the deep cockpit carries comfortable seating with port and starboard lockers. A low cabin trunk slopes to the foredeck, and angled cabin sides widen the side decks for secure footing when heeled.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used fleet, a bimini and inverter are commonly fitted, while dodger, hot water, autopilot, dinghy davits, and chartplotter are often seen. For buyer consequence, the meaningful clusters are power and energy — inverter and often-seen hot water and autopilot reduce generator dependence — and sail handling and access, where davits and a chartplotter support extended cruising. Less common owner upgrades include air conditioning, lithium batteries, AIS, solar, spinnaker or asymmetric spinnaker, and electric winches; these appear as occasional refits rather than standard equipment. The transom swim deck with folding ladder and large foredeck anchor locker remain useful original features.
What to Inspect
Fin-keel examples can show a hairline crack at the front of the keel-to-hull joint, the so-called "O'Day Smile," which may be superficial gelcoat or indicate a structural issue anchor. Osmotic blistering below the waterline is likely unless remedial repairs were made. Deck cracking and crazing are quite common and in severe cases can compromise structural integrity, so probe the balsa-and-plywood-cored decks carefully.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats turn up in the United States, Saint Lucia, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Australia, and Canada. For a buyer, the short checklist is: confirm keel-joint condition on fin-keel models, survey hull for blisters and decks for crazing, verify engine access below companionway steps, and choose layout by berth-exit tolerance in the quarter cabin.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the O'Day 40. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 11 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25 | 2 | $46,000 | — |
| Sep 25 | 1 | $50,000 | +8.7% |
| Oct 25 | 1 | $44,500 | -11.0% |
| Dec 25 | 1 | $44,500 | 0.0% |
| Jan 26 | 2 | $39,000 | -12.4% |
| Feb 26 | 3 | $19,900 | -49.0% |
| Mar 26 | 8 | $39,000 | +96.0% |
| Apr 26 | 12 | $34,950 | -10.4% |
| May 26 | 1 | $69,156 | +97.9% |
| Jul 26 | 3 | $35,000 | -49.4% |
| Aug 26 | 1 | $89,787 | +156.5% |
Where they're listed
O'Day 40 listings appear across 4 countries. United States has the most listings with 28 (84.8%), followed by Saint Lucia and Australia.
Country view
33 listings · 4 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $37,000 | 28 | 3 | 84.8% |
| Saint Lucia | $32,995 | 3 | 0 | 9.1% |
| Australia | $89,787 | 1 | 1 | 3.0% |
| Canada | $69,156 | 1 | 0 | 3.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
8 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeanneau Sun Sun Odyssey 43 | 43.34' | $ 110,659 | 63 | 7 |
| O'Day 40You are here | — | $ 39,000 | 33 | 4 |
| Elan 40 | 39.04' | $ 92,021 | 30 | 6 |
| Oday 34 | 34' | $ 19,450 | 30 | 7 |
| O'Day 35 | 35' | $ 27,750 | 26 | 12 |
| ODAY 322 | 32.08' | $ 16,500 | 15 | 1 |
| Islander 40 | 39.54' | $ 28,750 | 14 | 6 |
| J/BOATS J/40 | 40' | $ 69,000 | 13 | 8 |