O'Day 23 Sailboat: Fixed Top or Pop Top Racing and Family Cruising Models (1973)

A Family Cruises on a O'Day 23 Sailboat. | GGA Image ID # 23f12927e4

Gold Medal fleet twins, the O'Day 23 Fixed Top and the O'Day 23 Pop Top… two racing and family cruising models in the O'Day tradition.

C. Raymond Hunt Associates designed the hull and rig. In contrast, Andrew T. Kostanecki, Inc. designed the accommodations and engineered the expanding 23 Pop Top cabin concept (design patent pending).

This team of specialists has designed a pair of 23-footers that approach the cruising comfort of many 30-footers while maintaining great sailing performance.

The Gold Medal Twins, the O'Day 23 Fixed Top, and the O'Day 23 Pop Top.

The lockable cabin configuration on both models is nearly the same, with emphasis on cruising comfort, berths for five adults, a convertible dinette, a galley area, a hanging locker, and a head area for a marine toilet or a self-contained unit.

In the fixed-top model, there is a full bulkhead with a sliding door separating the forward/head area from the main cabin. Secure stowage is provided beneath all bunks, the dinette, and the galley counter.

The cabin area is molded as a one-piece section extending from the bow to the cockpit. This adds strength to the hull and eliminates many seams and joints, making the 23's cabin easy to clean and maintain.

Women Making Tea in the Galley of the O'Day 23. | GGA Image ID # 23f15511d3

With the cabin top on the O'Day 23 Pop Top in the "down" position, headroom is 4'7". With a few turns of a single winch, the cabin top raises to yield 6'4" headroom and amazing comfort.

The lifting mechanism is adapted from the proven system used in thousands of camper trailers and, like the rest of the boat, is warranted for two full years.

With an optional camper cabin curtain, the entire cabin area is screened, and with weather curtains zipped in place, it gives warm, dry protection from rain and dampness.

When the cabin is in the "down" position, a pressure-compacted gasket prevents leaks from entering through the overlapping deck and cabin junctions.

Deck Plan Schematic of the O'Day 23 Sailboat for 1973. | GGA Image ID # 23f179d0ff. Click to View a Larger Image.

Two years of use under all conditions have proven this to be a problem-free solution for a dry, tight locking arrangement. Since the "23" can be transported on a car trailer, she can live aboard while on the road, too.

In the water and on the wind, Hunt Associates' design work comes into play. Again, both models are identical in design.

The combination keel/centerboard gives excellent stability on all points of sail, while aiding windward performance with the board down, and reducing drag off-wind when it is raised.

A Group of Young Friends Sailing on an O'Day 23. | GGA Image ID # 23f185db02

The long, narrow keel is 1,250 lbs. and makes both Gold Media! O'Day 23's self-righting. It effectively reduces sideslip so that you can sail close-hauled with the board up in shoal-draft cruising areas, a nice safety feature as well.

Her wide beam adds comfort below, while her shallow draft bottom provides surfing performance downwind. Although not necessary, it can be removed for trailering.

In the deep cockpit, which easily seats six and is self-bailing, you will find a large seat locker for stowing your outboard engine and sails.

View of Interior Cabin of O'Day 23 While Mom Charts a Course and a Youngster Plays in the Background. | GGA Image ID # 23f1c04517

A reinforced outboard motor mount is located on the transom. The cockpit floor, seat tops, and deck areas are molded with a non-skid pattern.

The tall masthead rig affords generous sail area. When overlapping genoas (Note 1) are used, windward and reading performance is startling. With the addition of a spinnaker, the O'Day 23 becomes the boat to beat in cruising class races.

In her three seasons of racing, the O'Day 23 has beaten a host of larger, more racing-oriented competitors: both boat-for-boat and on corrected time. The Gold Medal O'Day 23 is truly a boat to beat.

Note 1: A genoa is a large, overlapping headsail that extends past the mast and over the mainsail. By generating massive amounts of lift, it drastically increases boat speed in light to moderate winds. Categorization of sizes is by a percentage of overlap (e.g., a 150% genoa) relative to the boat's foretriangle.

O'Day 23 at the Marina and a View of the Inner Compartment. | GGA Image ID # 23f1c95de5

Basic Specifications

Lenght: 23'
Beam: 7'11"
Draft: Centerboard up 2' down 5'5"
Sail area: 245 sq. ft.

Pricing of the O'Day 23

Standard Boat: $4195. Fixed Top | $4550 Pop Top | Main & Jib $325

The Standard Price includes as Standard Equipment $553 worth of features and equipment as follows:

Pleasure Group $195. Value
Storage locker (65). Dinette table (50). Galley door (25). All hardware is non-corrosive or made of stainless steel. 2-year warranty. Storage shelves—vinyl gunwale guard (55).

Accent Group $100. Value
Molded in waterline stripe (30). Gold anodized mast and boom (20). All colors molded in. Gold racing stripe (10), Two-tone deck color (20). Teak trim (20)

Safety Group $77. Value
Roller reefing (12). Stainless steel rigging with swaged terminals (25). Thru-Bolted® mooring and stern cleats (30). Self-righting. Self-bailing cockpit. Non-skid deck. Cockpit drain plug (10).

High Performance Group $93. Value
Stainless steel wire halyard with Dacron tail (18). Stainless steel turnbuckles (75). Best Dacron running rigging.

O'Day builds valuable, necessary equipment into each boat as "standard"… for your safety and enjoyment. Compare O'Day's equipment and construction with any other boat for total value and quality.

Prices shown are Suggested Retail. F.O.B. Factory

What Was the 1973 Price Worth in Today's Money?

In 2025, the relative values of $4,550.00 from 1973 ranges from $25,100.00 to $98,200.00.

A Simple Purchasing Power Calculator Would Say the Relative Value Is $33,000.00. This Answer Is Obtained by Multiplying $4550 by the Percentage Increase in the Cpi from 1973 to 2025.

If You Want to Compare the Value of a $4,550.00 Commodity in 1973 There Are Four Choices. in 2025 the Relative:

• Real Price of That Commodity Is $33,000.00
• Labor Value of That Commodity Is $35,000.00 (Using Production Worker Compensation)
• Income Value of That Commodity Is $60,900.00
• Economic Share of That Commodity Is $98,200.00

Samuel H. Williamson, "Seven Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1790 to present," MeasuringWorth, 2026. URL: www.measuringworth.com/uscompare/

Note from GG Archives: Historical price comparisons are approximate. A 1973 price converted to 2025 dollars reflects relative purchasing power, not the actual modern market price of a comparable item. Modern prices may differ because the product, market, quality, scarcity, and method of production have changed.

O'Day 23 - O'Day 1973 Gold Medal Fleet Catalog, Part 1 of 3. | GGA Image ID # 23f20063b1

O'Day 23 - O'Day 1973 Gold Medal Fleet Catalog, Part 2 of 3. | GGA Image ID # 23f240aa56

O'Day 23 - O'Day 1973 Gold Medal Fleet Catalog, Part 3 of 3. | GGA Image ID # 23f27823e9

Source: O'Day 1973 Gold Medal Fleet Catalog

GGA REF: BPODY-010-1972-C-CAT-02