Sanity check please. A boat has caught my eye…

[Blueboatman]

There was a fine French tradition of building simple ( often f’ugly) and slow but stout steel boats and setting off to see the world.
To experience adventure rather than maintaining myriad bits of kit, furlers, whurlers, water makers and possibly curlers too.
You simply threw away anything and everything that failed! And carried on sailing

Now I look at aging boats and price up the hull and deck, some sort of motor, lots of sails and ask would it be fun to sail? And go where deeper boats cannot

 

[RunAgroundHard]

I think she is an ex charter yacht. I used too see her in Craobh Marina going out on charter. About two or three seasons ago when I last saw her going out, had been on charter for along time. She was a popular charter boat. The pictures suggest a lot of wear and tear, certainly to the woodwork, hull and deck coatings, and the engine looks like it needs a good inspection.

I don't think there is a large cockpit locker, which I assume because of two things. The video doesn't suggest that it is deep with the aft cabin, and I always remember her with lots of shit tied to her stern arch that I sore in my cockpit locker, which in itself is not that deep, but long.

At 26 years old, it is long in the tooth and looks quite tired and neglected. Expect more issues than even a surveyor will pick up. Could be expensive to get her back up to a safe and nice condition. Then again, it may just be cosmetic and could be a good yacht.

While I believe this is the same yacht, I may be wrong, but it looks the same and the stern arch is what stands out, and the rough paintwork. There are other Ovni's that charter on the west coast and I may be mixing up boats.

 

[Steve_N]

There are fairly recent posts from her owner on the FB Ovni/Alubat owners page.
Advertised for £92,000 last September, reduced to £87,500 in December and now £65,000.
An April '23 post stating 'I have just got home to Scotland with our new to us 1999 385 'Little Wing'' suggests that she's neither the smart Ovni that I saw at Creran a few years back nor a Scottish charter boat.
Current owner only had it a couple of years then by the look of it..

 

[robmcg]

Looks like a decent boat hiding under all the cosmetic neglect. The only real way to find out is with boots on the ground. Perhaps plan a bit of a road trip up there. Doubt there will be much wrong with the engine it's an MD22 and there are lots of parts available as it's a Perkins Prima base engine. Yes, you will have to spend money on the boat, but that's usually the case for all used boat purchases. Price is competitive. Painting the deck is a bit more involved than a fibreglass boat and would benefit from being in a shed as painting the aluminium is a multi stage process where prep work is all important.
It has some unusual oxidation which I would investigate further.

 

[simonfraser]

and this is ?

 

[Fr J Hackett]

It's the fitting for a servo pendulum wind vane

 

[Sea Change]

Can you do ultrasound on an aluminium boat?

 

[RunAgroundHard]

I’ve always had a bit of a thing for Ovni boats. I like lifting keel boats - have a great love of sitting up a muddy east coast creek, and currently have a Parker 31, which I love. I also have an ancient dog and when he goes to the great kennel in the sky I would love to live on a boat, so looking for a bit more room. Lifting keel boats in the mid - 30ft and upwards bracket are not too common, mostly Southerlies or French aluminium types. These boats are generally out of reach for me financially, but…

There’s a ‘cheap’ Ovni 385 currently for sale on Apollo Duck. It’s a fixer-upper, or perhaps a project boat (the difference for me being that a fixer-upper can be put in the water and used whilst work commences, whereas a project boat ends up in a boatyard for months or years). Here’s a link to boat ad:

Alubat Ovni 385 for sale UK, Alubat boats for sale, Alubat used boat sales, Alubat Sailing Yachts For Sale Alubat Ovni 385 - 1999 - 12m 40ft - REDUCED - Apollo Duck

I’m only currently at stage one of boat madness, ie repeatedly looking at the ad and thinking “hmmm”. Your job is to help me avoid stage two which means going to look at the boat. Thankfully the boat is bloody miles away, if it were local I fear I’d be at stage two already.

What do you all reckon? Any experts on painting aluminium decks out there?
It’s been on the market a while and the price has been coming down and I suspect may be reduced more.

It is not far away, a few hours driving and you will be there. Overnight stay and a few hours driving back down. I drive to Southampton from Glasgow, or Devon, or Norfolk to see family, business. If you can't afford the time or the fuel / overnight costs, then don't buy the boat. If you can't be bothered driving what is less than a working day time wise, it suggests that old boat ownership requiring time might not be suitable.

If on the other hand, your "bit of a thing for Ovni boats" is more than just a fancy thought, then get in your car, go for a look, if happy at what you see, then decide to engage a surveyor and if all okay, negotiate a price and take ownership. Price in a truck down south of it needs work done. There can be too many opinions and over analysis that can leave one even more undecided.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

Can you do ultrasound on an aluminium boat?

Yes

 

[Bilgediver]

If it was my boat I would speak to the techies at International or other marine paint companies and find the correct primer product for aluminium,. It may not normally be on the shelf at your marina.

Using ab incorrect primer on aluminium can result in bubbling of the top coat.

 

[Blueboatman]

Little Wing- a bit more detail from the original advertisement including known faults ( how this forum loves to see faults )

1999 Alubat Ovni 385, £ 92.000,-

My last boat but one, I spray painted the old aluminium spars using Imron industrial 2 pack over hi build epoxy over etch primer.
It was straightforward, looked amazing and the paint stayed on, too. ( I had no previous spraying experience).

Kiwigrip is another deck option too

 

[Fr J Hackett]

So engine not a problem, window seals not a huge problem but one that needs sorting quickly, hydraulic seals ??? wonder what those are as there is no mention of any hydraulically driven equipment but again not a big problem. as for hull thickness I would be more interested in local galvanic corrosion all of which should be visible. I wouldn't paint the deck I would use the cork/ resin imitation teak decking then paint the topsides as you suggest.

 

[fredrussell]

The paint issue is the biggie. I’m happy to tackle anything boaty (was in the boat trade for a few years), but that boat needs a lot of painting on a material known for needing exacting technique. Someone up-thread mentioned getting boat inside for best results- that obviously will cost plenty and I’d really prefer her to be afloat from the get-go.

I had my boat in the yard at a local marina for antifouling recently and there was a similar vintage aluminium boat (not an Ovni) that looked really scruffy. Lots of oxidisation going on all over the place. My fear is that once an aluminium boat is let go past a certain point you’ll have a constant battle against it going white and flaky.

Engine being the original is much less of a concern. My boats Yanmar is ten years older and runs perfectly.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

The deck and flat sections at the transom can be done with the modern artificial teak composites. The aluminium topsides can be done with an etching primer after sanding or bead blasting then use a roller or HVLP spray ideally inside but with good weather could be done outside.
If you can get the boat in the £50K region it's a lot of boat for the money but you would have to spend some time to get it in the £90K valuation region.

 

[jamie N]

I just took a quick look at stuff available on Apollo Duck, in that price range.
There are loads of more modern boats of a similar 'type', not requiring any work, and built out of a more easily maintained material.
Reverse that all and make a case for spending that amount of dosh on a boat with faults that require fairly urgent intervention before heading over a cliff with terminal corrosion, and will then need far more effort to maintain.
Would a wooden boat require more or less care than something made from an old Boeing?

 

[Skylark]

I have great admiration for fixer-uppers but it's not something that I would consider for a nanosecond.

Buy an old nail of a boat for £50k, spend £40k on in, excluding lost time and heartache. Once done, it's probably worth £55k and the owner will never really be happy with it. Another form of delusional fantasy.

Don't do it.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

I just took a quick look at stuff available on Apollo Duck, in that price range.
There are loads of more modern boats of a similar 'type', not requiring any work, and built out of a more easily maintained material. …

I think this strategy is a good approach. Fix budget then look for boats in that price bracket but target newness and less work.

I can vouch on the limitations of being focused on a type of yacht, bought it, spent a fortune in time and money on refurbishing.

For much less cash and time I could have had a modern, sailaway yacht. Don’t let rose tinted glasses drive a decision and definitely don’t let certain features fix your opinion unless absolutely necessary.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

The paint issue is the biggie. I’m happy to tackle anything boaty (was in the boat trade for a few years), but that boat needs a lot of painting on a material known for needing exacting technique. Someone up-thread mentioned getting boat inside for best results- that obviously will cost plenty and I’d really prefer her to be afloat from the get-go.

I had my boat in the yard at a local marina for antifouling recently and there was a similar vintage aluminium boat (not an Ovni) that looked really scruffy. Lots of oxidisation going on all over the place. My fear is that once an aluminium boat is let go past a certain point you’ll have a constant battle against it going white and flaky.

Engine being the original is much less of a concern. My boats Yanmar is ten years older and runs perfectly.

Why bother painting it? It's not necessary to protect the aluminium.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I just took a quick look at stuff available on Apollo Duck, in that price range.
There are loads of more modern boats of a similar 'type', not requiring any work, and built out of a more easily maintained material.
Reverse that all and make a case for spending that amount of dosh on a boat with faults that require fairly urgent intervention before heading over a cliff with terminal corrosion, and will then need far more effort to maintain.
Would a wooden boat require more or less care than something made from an old Boeing?

I think you are letting poor paintwork influence you, there is no evidence as yet of terminal corrosion or anything near it nor is there anything that requires urgent attention. Aluminium is not a problem to maintain either in its bare form or properly painted. What is critical though is a correct electrical installation and to ensure that there is no galvanic corrosion caused by poor installation of dissimilar metal equipment.

 

[Stemar]

fredrussell, don't send this guy to do your negotiations.

That's what I'd be looking for myself, as for the seller, it's more like, "That engine hasn't run for years. Even if it works, I don't know how long it'll last, so I have to budget for a new one"