Oyster 39

I delivered one albeit just 48 hrs, built like a brick sh#### ketch rigged, tons of space, needed quite a blow to get her going. loads of space and lots of freeboard. A lovely one passed through Southsea marina on her way to Wales this year or last year. Rarely on the market. Expensive, but loads of boat for your money
 
I have a friend who lives on one in liverpool marina.
He and the boat have just come back from an atlantic circuit
What would you like to know and ill ask.
Rob
 
We have had an Oyster 39 forthe last six years, and are absolutely delighted with her.

She sails well - despite the comments of another respondent, but don't expect her to sail like a lightweight day racer. Setting up a ketch is a learning experience - each model of ketch seem to have their own foibles, likes and dislikes.

We have a combination of cruising chute, mizzen staysail and convential heavy duty sails: the spinnaker is huge and a bit much. She goes pleasantly under just genoa, and when singlehanded pottering around the coast the genoa and mizzen make a very easily handled rig and a comfortable combination. We have never been left behind in club cruises - often the reverse.

Certainly it is when the weather gets 'interesting' that she comes into her own. Read the report of Morningtown in the 1979 Fastnet: she was the Oyster 39 that acted as Safety Boat during that fatal storm.

She has tracked beatifully under part rolled genoa and main with a locked wheel for an hour in 20kts of wind rain and a lumpy sea off Isle of Man - after that we had to tack. Set up on the other tack, she settled again into looking after herself.


Comfort below is wonderful. Easy motion, seamanlike and strong arrangements of fittings and furniture make living and travelling on her an enjoyable experience - and the space is 'awesome' in modern parlance.

One annoying characteristic is the handling when going astern in confined spaces - modern marinas, who cram the maximum earning potential in the minumum area, are not our favourite places. Certainly warping around and timely use of sail at appropriate moment helps.

The deep centre cockpit is reassuringly safe, and a very sociable place when entertaining. Foredeck allows strolling just as on a cruise liner - okay maybe I have exagerated that.

Anyway find one, buy it, and enjoy a true cruiser - whatever you are doing and wherever you may be going.

Good luck.
 
Hi,
We have a Oyster 39 built 1980 and have had her for 10 years now. Sailed from UK to Azores and back and from UK to Greece, spend about five months on board average per year. Lovely boat, sails well, comfortable at sea and in port, big tanks, great galley, super accom. Ketch rig so easy sail handling. Plenty of hatches and a lovely big cockpit so ideal for hot climates. Modern boats sail past us if the wind is less than 10 knots but after that it equals out. Well built so nothing drops off. All in all we have been really pleased with her. We have a bowthruster so manoeuvering astern isn't a problem, plus a 2 blade prop not the standard 3 blade. Only moans I have heard have been with reference to the teak decks requiring renewal at around the 15 to 20 year mark, luckily we have trackmark so that hasn't been a problem. Any more info needed pm me with your questions.
 
Can only echo the words of Tam_Hazan and DaiB. We bought one recently and are very happy with her. We were looking for a liveaboard boat to do some blue water cruising. She is solid as a rock and very comfortable both at sea and at rest. I couldn't recommend one highly enough but then it does depend on what you intend to do with the boat.
PM me if you want any more info, pics etc.
Terry
 
I'm inclined to agree with you Ken. Not one of Holman & Pye's best efforts.

At risk of thread drift It seems that most yacht designers have a dog or two in the plan chest.

Eg: Sparkman and Stevens and the SHE 32.
Bob Perry and the "containerised" Motor Sailer.
David Thomas and the little Hunters.
Van de Stadt and the Victory 40.
 
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I'm with Twister Ken on this thread, still, every boat is somebodies pride and Joy.
Wonder where the trend cam from for those galleon sterns, I think Maurice Griffiths had a bad stern day as well when he did the Atlantic Clipper.
 
I would agree with Obi. Not ugly at all. In fact this vessel is typical of that era in yacht construction where no expense was spared and no compromises made on quality. The yards had a tough time making profits and some of the boats from that era were sold nearly at cost. This intensity of build is unrepeatable today. Your comment sounds like sour grapes to me, sorry.
 
Sequoiah1 said:
I'm with Twister Ken on this thread, still, every boat is somebodies pride and Joy.
Wonder where the trend cam from for those galleon sterns, I think Maurice Griffiths had a bad stern day as well when he did the Atlantic Clipper.
Click to expand...
I agree - the stern view of the Oyster is just plain ugly - even more so in the flesh than the pictures show. That said other than that they are such good boats that I would certainly consider one even so.

The reason the "Galleon Stern" is popular is that it allows for a massive aft cabin - just look at the interior pictures, it is hard to imagine a better interior layout in under 40'
 
bedouin said:
I agree - the stern view of the Oyster is just plain ugly - even more so in the flesh than the pictures show. That said other than that they are such good boats that I would certainly consider one even so.

The reason the "Galleon Stern" is popular is that it allows for a massive aft cabin - just look at the interior pictures, it is hard to imagine a better interior layout in under 40'
Click to expand...

Er...not quite.
I also have a 39 footer, actually 38'6", that has ten berths, full galley, two full bathrooms, nav station, centre cockpit sloop. Only 42 were ever built.:D
 
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