The O'Day 32: How It Gives You Aft-Cabin Privacy In A Boat That Really Drives To Windward (1977)

Cruising on the O'Day 32 on a Beautiful Sunny Day. | GGA Image ID # 3001g37d9w

Time was when you had to give up pointing ability and speed to get the privacy and breathing room of an aft-cabin design.

But now there's an aft-cabin boat that sails to windward without compromise: The O'Day 32 Yacht.

A Superior Boat Upwind

A high sail-to-wetted-area ratio gives the O'Day 32 surprising boat speed. While a low-drag, high-lift centerboard (draft with the board down is 7 feet) makes her remarkably close-winded.

The O'Day 32: How It Gives You Aft-Cabin Privacy in a Boat That Really Drives to Windward. 1977 Print Advertisement. | GGA Image ID # 300644x9p3

Living Space for Six

Many 32' boats have berths for six. But few have room for six to live in comfort and in privacy for weeks on end. The O'Day 32 most definitely does.

Forward, she's as roomy as many after-cockpit boats. A big galley. An enclosed head. 6'5" headroom. And a table with room for six. And their elbows.

Amidships, there's the reassuring comfort of a center cockpit—high coamings for security and excellent visibility from the helm.

Aft lies the owner's private cabin. A huge athwartship bunk. A second head with its own vanity. And a generous 6'1" of headroom.

Two Rigs and a Choice of Keels

A sailboat ought to fit her cruising grounds, which is why we build the O'Day 32 yacht with an optional ketch rig. And a choice of keel or centerboard.

The sloop is best for windward work. The ketch more flexible. More sails, but smaller ones, make it easier for a family crew to handle. And a ketch can tackle heavy weather comfortably under working jib and mizzen.

The fixed keel was designed for deepwater sailers. It still draws only 4'6". The centerboard model lets you sail up rivers and anchor in secluded shallow coves.

Board up, it only draws 3'4". And both O'Day 32 models are highly stable boats -- because both carry more than a ton and a half of fiberglass-protected lead ballast.

Note: A ketch is a two-masted sailboat with the mainmast positioned forward and a shorter "mizzen" mast in the rear. To technically qualify as a ketch, the mizzen mast must be mounted forward of the rudder post. This rig configuration provides excellent balance, making it popular for long-distance cruising and liveaboard lifestyles.

$6,500 in Extras Built In

The O'Day 32 comes with pressure water, Barient winches, pedestal steering, and sails -- all hidden "options" on many boats her size.

Pulpits, lifelines, a self-draining anchor locker, and dozens of other extras are standard equipment.

And the resale value of the 32, like all O'Day boats, is among the highest in the industry.

The O'Day 32 Advantage

Aft-cabin privacy in a boat that really drives to windward. The O'Day 32 is a solid offshore cruiser with the space, convenience, and privacy of a center cockpit and a roomy aft cabin. But unlike many aft-cabin boats, she's also a powerful sailing boat, with sharp close-winded performance on a boat.

She has bunks for eight, three separate cabins, and two private heads. And the O'Day 32 is available in a sloop or an easy-handling ketch rig.

Suggested retail sailaway price is $31,500.

What Was the 1977 Price Worth in Today's Money?

In 2025, the Relative Values of $31,500.00 from 1977 Ranges from $130,000.00 to $465,000.00.

A Simple Purchasing Power Calculator Would Say the Relative Value Is $167,000.00. This Answer Is Obtained by Multiplying $31500 by the Percentage Increase in the CPI from 1977 to 2025.

If You Want to Compare the Value of a $31,500.00 Commodity in 1977 There Are Four Choices. in 2025 the Relative:

• Real Price of That Commodity Is $167,000.00
• Labor Value of That Commodity Is $168,000.00 (Using Production Worker Compensation)
• Income Value of That Commodity Is $300,000.00
• Economic Share of That Commodity Is $465,000.00

The Other Options: Income or Wealth, or a Project, Are Similar but Appropriate for This Comparison.

Note from GG Archives: Historical price comparisons are approximate. A 1975 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 Information Center
Fall River, Mass. 02720

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O'Day Sailboats & Yachts

A Bangor Punta Company

Fall River, Massachusetts • Costa Mesa, California

© 1977 Bangor Punta Corporation

GGA REF: BPODY-028-1977-BW-AD