The Boat of Cruising Dreams - Ovni

[ribbony]

While cruising Sydney waterways over the easter break, we went past a boat moored near the Spit Bridge that made us do a pirrouet and take many photos. It was beautiful ! An Ovni 435.

I was so impressed that I sought out the maker in France on the web today. If you have not seen one, then do not look as you may crave for one !

http://www.alubat.com/?lg=en Home

The also make some smaller models, the 37' version would be very nice for our needs.

The Ovni have swing keels and come in at 0.8mt draught when it is up, can be beached readily as it also has a folding rudder tip.

[maxingout]

Ovnis are very sturdy yachts. When we were cruising in the Canaries, we saw this one that sailed up on a reef. A fiberglass yacht probably would not have survived.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by ribbony

made us do a pirrouet and take many photos. It was beautiful ! An Ovni 435.

Lucky we are all individuals as they make me run for the rail and hurl!

There must be something about them as Jimmy Cornell has been very supportive of them.

Must be good inside? Sunken bath tub with never ending bubbles?

Mark

[bitman]

i have sailed the ovni 385 and yes indeed they are very nice and strong boats.

might buy one my self in a couple years time

my avatar is made while on the wheel of that ovni 385 sailing on the solent in september 2008

[ribbony]

We like metal boats, as they are more forgiving to rookies like us. I also like the cruising lines and practical design of the Ovni with its cockpit layout, taga bar on the back with radar, the steering position and nice big spoon back/transom area. Cant comment on the insides as we never got that close, but the ones onthe websites are impresive.

The photos of the reef dents are reassuring testomy to the strength of that vessel.

We would be happy to buy that damaged vessel for a song and fix it up

[bitman]

Originally Posted by ribbony

We would be happy to buy that damaged vessel for a song and fix it up

me too!

i personal don't mind the dents so only the twin rudders and the prop needs working on it.

and i can weld stainless & aluminium

[akio.kanemoto]

Originally Posted by bitman

me too!

i personal don't mind the dents so only the twin rudders and the prop needs working on it.

and i can weld stainless & aluminium

Just out of curiosity - how does one fix up something like that? Cut the bent chunks out and weld new plates in? Would that be trust/seaworthy again?

(no I don't know anything about metal boats.

[meyermm]

While on reef preferably at low tide unpack the welder and plug in. Select correct filler rod for the job and commence welding. Most reefs have three phase power so no problem. If you cannot weld your sure to find someone that can locally. After completing the job use crane to lift boat gently off the reef, you will need a crane as I have been told that metal boats tend to hit harder and manage do a better job of mounting reef. I am not sure how efficient these French models are but if in doubt a second hand freighter might be stronger.

[ribbony]

First step of repairs might be to check for distortion in the vessel. After checking all the damaged sections for anything that looks like a possible future failure point, if none, I would fill/fare the the dents under the waterline. The dents on the chine need a more serious approach and replating the sections after repairs to some of the frames that one would expect some slight damage to. All this is just speculation, I would have to grill the brother in law on that as he is the Aluminimum welding guru.

A local yachtie bought a boat off an insurance company for $6K AUD, it is a nice steel ketch, 44' long with lots of good gear, it sunk up to the deck level and sat there for a few days. A big task ahead but the gear on the vessel is good quality and much of the internals are fine, it is getting a engine overhaul and the electrics need rewiring.

[keelbolts]

Metal is good. Twin keels and shallow draft can be good. But I prefer a boat that looks like a boat. I fail to see the need for space age streamlining on a machine that's speed will regularly be bested by a 12 year old on a bicycle. I suppose the angled surfaces might better deflect waves that land on the cabin sides, but I find the resulting deck surfaces to be hard to walk on. A friend of mine has a Scampi and everybody who's sailed on it complains about how hard it is to move around on her deck.

[motion30]

At least the yard put wood blocks under her, look at the boat in the back right hand corner

[Sailndive345]

Sad to see the banged up Ovni... I was seriously interested in buying either an Ovni or a Garcia (I think the better boat) but after talking to a bunch of people who were more knowledgeable than myself, I discovered that these boats are not suitable for my lifestyle (I travel constantly - get to stay on the boat about ten days a month - so, the boat stays at a marina, unattended) Aluminum gives up electrons too willingly to leave the boat alone for extended periods of time.

However, if you are on the boat regularly and not at marinas -and/or- have the equipment to regularly monitor the potential... aluminum would be a good choice indeed.

Alubat/Ovni used to have a presence at the Miami boat show fairly regularly - it is a great excuse to take a trip

Fair winds!

Sailndive

[Sailndive345]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Lucky we are all individuals as they make me run for the rail and hurl!

There must be something about them as Jimmy Cornell has been very supportive of them.

Must be good inside? Sunken bath tub with never ending bubbles?

Mark

Not too fancy inside... I thought the nicest feature was a see through window by the swingkeel (or centerboard - been a while) so you could see what may be fouling things up

Sailndive

[meyermm]

Why do steel (metal) boats seem to be less valuable on the second hand market if they are the way to go?

[ribbony]

Ferrous Oxide !