Russell, tell us about the Alubat Ovni you've got your eye on. I looked at the specs for a 37-footer that's listed for sale and it appears very interesting, but I couldn't see what it does for a keel. There's a picture of what seems to be an AluOv squatting flat on the hard like a duck laying an egg.
What are the features that attract you? I have a feeling that the French are way ahead of us in some ways when it comes to practical cruising boats. (And it's not a nice feeling.)
Cheers,
John Vigor
Cape Dory 30 versus Bristol 32 or Douglas 32
Moderator: Jim Walsh
The Ovni has a lot of appealing aspects to it, though looks are certainly not one of them! They are an ultra modern boat. But of high quality, which is uncommon. I think your right in that the french are ahead of all others when it comes to modern sailing boats, but they take more risks too. I like the idea of alumiun construction, it of course has its downsides, such as electrolosys. But in collision and strength it beats GRP.
Its keel design is unusual, its a centerboard only, similar to a southerly. The rudder actually pivots back as well to allow grounding, which differs from southerly which has two short rudders instead of one small. This setup allows for ultra shallow draft and safe easy grounding in tidal areas. But I imagine the boat wont track well under sail, I also wonder about stability. Jimmy Cornell though had enough confidence in his Ovni to take it around the world including around Cape Horn and a trip to Antarctica! But lots of people sail unsuitable boats to far off places, so I am not saying that "proves" the concept.
I have seen a lot of these boats in the Caribbean, mostly under a french flag. They are rather unknown outside Europe, but in France they have a bit of a status as a coveted boat among cruisers. Looking at them there are lots of fine details to them focused on offshore cruising. The rig is simple, well laid out and strong. For ports it actually uses small offshore hatches on the cabinsides, stronger (though unnessisary really), funny looking, but effective and very good ventalation. The factory layout options include having the aft cabin be laid out as a workshop rather then a sleeping cabin (a nice cruiser feature for sure). The boat has the best built in liferaft storage I have seen, in the transom of the boat where the swim step is, avoiding the cabintop problem of losing the raft in capsize yet you still have easy release. The interior layout is rather unusual, but looks very effective offshore, the wide beam of the boat is utilized but leaves no wide open areas to get thrown around in at sea, no dance floor in the saloon like typical wide beam boats. There are tons of details like this that go to show this boat was built for serious ocean sailing. Nearly every one you see has a windvane installed, not a common feature on modern designs! Its actually a factory option.
Really it comes down to that they took modern hull design and built a realistic offshore boat, I cant think of any other company who has done that, most modern hulls are dock condos. THough the keel/rudder design still has me wondering about stability. Without a doubt it will be far less comfortable then a CD at sea, I imagine a fair amount of pounding, but stability is more of a concern.
Its keel design is unusual, its a centerboard only, similar to a southerly. The rudder actually pivots back as well to allow grounding, which differs from southerly which has two short rudders instead of one small. This setup allows for ultra shallow draft and safe easy grounding in tidal areas. But I imagine the boat wont track well under sail, I also wonder about stability. Jimmy Cornell though had enough confidence in his Ovni to take it around the world including around Cape Horn and a trip to Antarctica! But lots of people sail unsuitable boats to far off places, so I am not saying that "proves" the concept.
I have seen a lot of these boats in the Caribbean, mostly under a french flag. They are rather unknown outside Europe, but in France they have a bit of a status as a coveted boat among cruisers. Looking at them there are lots of fine details to them focused on offshore cruising. The rig is simple, well laid out and strong. For ports it actually uses small offshore hatches on the cabinsides, stronger (though unnessisary really), funny looking, but effective and very good ventalation. The factory layout options include having the aft cabin be laid out as a workshop rather then a sleeping cabin (a nice cruiser feature for sure). The boat has the best built in liferaft storage I have seen, in the transom of the boat where the swim step is, avoiding the cabintop problem of losing the raft in capsize yet you still have easy release. The interior layout is rather unusual, but looks very effective offshore, the wide beam of the boat is utilized but leaves no wide open areas to get thrown around in at sea, no dance floor in the saloon like typical wide beam boats. There are tons of details like this that go to show this boat was built for serious ocean sailing. Nearly every one you see has a windvane installed, not a common feature on modern designs! Its actually a factory option.
Really it comes down to that they took modern hull design and built a realistic offshore boat, I cant think of any other company who has done that, most modern hulls are dock condos. THough the keel/rudder design still has me wondering about stability. Without a doubt it will be far less comfortable then a CD at sea, I imagine a fair amount of pounding, but stability is more of a concern.
Russell
s/v (yet to be named) Tayana 42CC
s/v Lady Pauline Cape Dory 36 #117 (for sale)
s/v (yet to be named) Tayana 42CC
s/v Lady Pauline Cape Dory 36 #117 (for sale)