# Morgan 24 and O'Day Mariner 21



## gpwil3847 (Dec 12, 2011)

I learned to sail as a teenager when we lived in Cocoa Beach and had a canal in the back yard complete with an occasional manitee. The canal connected with the Banana River and my very first boat was a 12' daysailer made by American Fiberglass, later my father purchased a Morgan 22 after being invited by our neighbors several times for some night sails on the river which were amazingly relaxing and very enjoyable. I loved sailing, and read two years before the mast, Joshua Slocum, William F Buckley's sailing books Atlantic High, racing through paradise and dreamed of circumnavigating the globe - dreamed I emphasize. After college I was desperate for a boat and purchased a couple of very small and very old day sailers one that was like a bath tub with a single main sail, another that was a dutch? 14 foot racing sloop probably vintage 1950's it's rubber flotation bladders had rotted away. Later I purchased a Chrysler Mutaneer which was a fun sailboat with a roller furling jib and it was a fast boat. Later I purchased a Morgan 25 back when I was single and she rode out several hurricanes, but I finally sold her. When I married I was stationed at Pensacola NAS and purchased an O'Day Mariner 21 from a Coast Guardsman headed for Hawaii. My wife and I enjoyed many days sailing on Pensacola Bay. Now in retirement I have purchased a 1967? Morgan 24 to rehab more for therapy as my wife has dementia - not how I saw retirement going. But I am excited about my project boat. Found the handwritten hull number it states Morgan 24, and 1-075 then below that it looks like 66-5?2?. will have to find the one in the port sailing locker. This is the early layout that sleeps 4 and has no dinett - but Morgans are not falling out of the trees so I bit for $700 which was my top dollar as she will need alot of work to bring her back. But the Hull appears to be sound, she has her mast and sails and a motor that runs. If anyone wants to talk about Morgan 24/25, or the Oday 21 to exchange info that might be a start. I will have to replace nearly all the plywood bulkheads, I suppose that means fiberglassing the bulkheads to the hull? George


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