Description
The O'Day Day Sailer Mk I (also known as Day Sailer I) is an American-built fiberglass daysailer designed collaboratively by British naval architect Uffa Fox (planing hull) and George O'Day (cuddy cabin) and first produced in 1957 by O'Day Corp. in Fall River, Massachusetts, as a groundbreaking trailerable recreational boat revolutionizing post-WWII sailing with its lightweight responsiveness, family-friendly simplicity, and competitive one-design racing potential for beginners or club sailors on protected bays, lakes, or coastal waters. Featuring a centerboard configuration for shallow-draft versatility and easy beaching, it displaces just 575 pounds with no ballast, measures 16 feet 9 inches LOA, 6 feet 3 inches beam, and drafts 0.75 feet board-up to 3.75 feet board-down, achieving a hull speed of about 5.6 knots and 145 square feet of sail area under a fractional sloop Bermuda rig (main 100 sq ft, jib 45 sq ft; optional 175 sq ft spinnaker for downwind thrills) powered optionally by a small outboard (2-4 HP) in a transom well for auxiliary propulsion. Renowned for its buoyant hard-chine hull enabling exhilarating planing in moderate breezes, expansive self-bailing cockpit seating up to four, minimalistic cuddy cabin with two V-berths and under-5-foot headroom for basic overnighting, brass-handled centerboard, and anodized aluminum spars for low-maintenance durability, the O'Day Day Sailer Mk I was produced through the early 1960s with thousands of units built before evolving into the Mk II with foam flotation and self-bailing cockpit, contributing to over 10,000 total Day Sailer variants and enduring as an affordable, timeless classic for nostalgic enthusiasts seeking unadulterated fun, one-design purity, and hassle-free portability in a sub-17-foot package where velocity and virtue eclipse versatility.
