Ovni?

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ajt

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Are there any Ovni owners out there?

I looked at the Ovni 365 at The boat show and was impressed by the design and layout of the interior and deck but have no experience of aluminium boats. Do you have any reccomendations or info on these boats or the build material?
 
Ovni have an enviable reputation as being well built world girdlers. Where ever I've been off the beaten track, I usually meet at least one crazy Frenchman in an Ovni.

There is at least one Ovni owner (from NI I believe) that regularly posts on tihs board.
 
Yes it is the 395 I am interested in, pricey but practical.
We intend to do an extended cruise in about five years time but wanted to get the boat earlier to get used to it and fit any additional equipment required.
We are hoping to be away for at least one year but may go for longer, funding dependant.
We have looked into various boats and sizes and ended up with this model as a good strongly built world cruiser.
If we get the time, we will be going to the Paris boat show to view the range, as there was only the 365 at Southampton
 
I looked very seriously at the 345 and may yet go back and buy one or the 365. There are a lot of arguments in favour, not least that they seem to have detail design done by someone who sails. But as with everything, there are disadvantages too.

I was nervous of the aluminium - not so much the corrosion, though you have to take real care to prevent electrolytic corrosion problems. More the painting and cosmetics. Its very difficult to get paint to stick to ally and you can expect an ongoing problem of touching up / stripping and painting to keep in "as new" condition. There is also the problem of dints - a gouge in GRP is easily brought back to as-new, but repairing ally is going to be more difficult. Particularly with the unpainted bits.

The second slight worry was tenderness and stability. The AVS is a bit low and the inverted stability correspondingly high thanks to cabin floor ballast, and low cabin top. This may well be more a peace of mind issue than a real problem outside the southern ocean, and as you say you do see Ovnis everywhere. Nevertheless, as one of life's witterers, it did give me cause for thought.

If they were as expensive as the Swedes or Island Packet I would unhesitatingly chose the Swedes GRP boat. But as a sturdy boat priced in between BenBavJean and the Swedes, they have a lot going for them IMHO.

And last point - depreciation. How will they fare? Thats another argument for the Swedish option
 
Thanks for the replies so far!
I have just been looking back at the previous posts on here and the same concerns seem to come out. From what I have read I still think this is the boat for us and can appreciate the worries of some but did we not have the same when GRP first came onto the market?
A lot of the commments come from people that have had no experience of these boats, which is somewhat surprising.
So any info from owners or people who have sailed these is obviously more informed.
The brochure from the manufacturer was a little basic but the owners showing the boats were impressed with thier boats.
Nothing I have seen so far has put me off but I would still welcome any more info!
 
In a world of crowded anchorages the ability to anchor in really shallow water-especially when it means that you can get upwind of anything that is going to drag down on you in a storm anchorage...is worth its weight in ..Aluminium.
Be 'annode aware'obviously, but there's your visual indicator of the state of things electrolytically. And bare alloy is a bit 'greasy' and may get very hot to the touch in the tropics ,but there are quite a lot of OVNIs in the Caribbean.Alas I have only been a guest on a couple,but I was impressed and the owners were relaxed and confident about their boats.
 
[ QUOTE ]

A lot of the commments come from people that have had no experience of these boats, which is somewhat surprising.
So any info from owners or people who have sailed these is obviously more informed.


[/ QUOTE ]

Thats why I limited my comments to the aluminium and the stability. After a lifetime in the metals industry, I would prefer GRP to steel or ally from a maintenance point of view. Keeping painted ally looking smart is a real issue. And the stability comments come after a fair amount of work with numbers.

Its inevitable that you would speak to owners who are very happy - unhappy owners sell boats!

Personally I would still buy one, but they arent the answer to the maidens prayer. There is no perfect fault free boat. All have merits and all have issues.
 
Given that these boats are aluminium, I always thought that they could have shaped the hull rather better eg more rounded by using more sections. I pondered that more sections = more welds = more potential corrosion so kept it fairly utilitarian ..
 
I also think chines work very well with lifting keels as they provide more lateral resistance than a smooth curve.

They are great boats and I have had an eye on a 395....just the sailing performance upwind concerns me. That and the fact that the current boat is also good, but in different areas so although I would gain lifting keel and ruggedness, I would loose space, upwind ability and a good wedge of money.
 
And 'anode aware' doesn't cover half of it. The biggest sin, fortunately rare, is to use copper-based antifoul which will eat the bottom out in very short order. Less obvious is pocket change slipping into the bilge. A penny in the bilge water will eat its way through the hull in a few weeks. Another common offender is tiny bits of copper wire which all electricialns drop. On an aluminium boat you must be scrupulously clean when doing any wiring. If you use a professional he must be told about it in no uncertain terms.

Re painting, ally hulls look pretty good unpainted.
 
I had a look at one at SIBS; I have been curious about Ovnis as they do seem to get around a lot.

But for me, one of the Northshore range would be the choice. A bit more stability with the large drop keel, rather than the French yacht's plate, and beautifully finished.

Even more expensive sadly /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Are there any Ovni owners out there?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yup! Here's one!

I have a 385 which I'm preparing for some serious sailing, and so far I'm not regretting the choice.

I agree with most of what the others have said:

- Ovni's are a reasonably-priced option for sturdy, long-distance cruising boats.

- with normal precautions (non-copper based antifouling, electric circuitry fully insulated from the hull, no saltwater sloshing in the bilges,...) aluminium is very long lasting, and this reflects in used boat value which is very high.

- indeed, an aluminium hull may survive accidents that would sink or seriously damage a GRP boat, but small damages are difficult to repair and require professional tools and skills.

- a hard-chined hull is the price to pay to keep the cost down; there are a lot of round-hulled aluminium boats on the market, but they are much pricier than Alubat's.

- the (optional) hull and deck insulation is essential (and is very effective to keep internal temperature under control)!

- frequent paint touch-ups are actually needed, and they need to be done properly (8 layers of 4 different products....).

- the lifting keel is a (very) mixed blessing: you can go everywhere, but performance upwind is mediocre (expecially in light winds) and AVS is low.
Frankly, I'm much more annoyed by the first than by the second: I'm aware of only one Ovni (over 1000 boats sailing all around the planet in the last 20 years...) which capsized in quite extreme conditions, and it DID right up, low AVS notwithstanding.

- an important aspect for perspective long-term cruisers is that there is a very high margin for customisation: basically no two Ovni's are identical (this is important to remember if buying second-hand: some owners may have very peculiar ideas, but I've also seen some boats which are better than the standard versions)

- deck gear is OK, if somewhat varied: all top makes and sturdy.
 
Birdseye

my comment was not aimed at you or any other on the forum, it was an observation that people I have talked to in the past have told of stories of woe, then admitted they had never been on an aluminium boat.
All of your comments were useful as were the comments from others on here, as usual!
 
<<Yup- got a 395 at Easter - magic - exceeds expectations - PM me and I can tell you more.>>

I need to do 3 more Jewellers, a couple of Post Office blags, and another 200kg of Moroccan Black, then I can think about it.

The only objection I have is that the Interior Stylist appears not to have any French Curves or Splines in his Draughting Kit.
No matter, I still took away a raft of ideas to incorporate in the current money pit. Not the least of which was the chart stowage in the forecabin, and the Stern Roller/Box arrangement.
Oh and the Radar Arch too.
Would like to look more closely at the arrangement for lifting the keel, that seemed interesting.
Forget the slatted park bench in the cockpit though. Orrid.
 
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