Sanity check please. A boat has caught my eye…

[paulbrown22]

The hydraulic issue referred to, what might that be?
Backstay, autopilot or rudder and centreboard lifting?

To my mind the paint and knackered appearance of the canvas work are a large part of the £40k instant discount on the initial pricing..

What someone negotiates above and beyond ( ie below) that is up to them.
But there are a lot of bare or part painted French aluminium boats sailing around since the 1970s

A surveyor would have an opinion on the maintenance or not of all the sundry parts, winches etc
The interior would ( to me) turn around in a heart beat.

The only 2 items of hydraulics on Little Wing are the Hydroem (manual) hydraulic rudder pump and the autopilot (Simrad RPU 180 pump coupled to a Lecomble and Scmidt ram). The centre board on an Ovni 385 is block and tackle.

 

[paulbrown22]

Some videos of Little Wing from her teenage years:

 

[paulbrown22]

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.

Definitely not this Ovni - she's a 3 owner boat, and we owned her for nearly 20 years.

 

[paulbrown22]

What is the mainsail arrangement on this boat?

Is it in-boom furling? If so, a new one on me.

Many thanks.

Profurl Mk1 in boom furling with fully battened sail, with a fixed stainless vang/kicker. Lovely setup and infinitely reefable, but slower to drop than a standard main in a lazy bag if you're in a rush.

 

[fredrussell]

Well, having given this a lot of thought I think for the time being I’m not going to pursue this any further. 3 main reasons:

Firstly, whilst I could probably scrape the money together to buy the thing I would then find myself in a position where I had very few funds left to actually do the boat up and I think we can all agree it’s a boat that needs not an inconsiderable amount spent on it.

Secondly, I really don’t enjoy painting and the prep work it entails, and due to reason one I would definitely not be in a position where I could pay a professional to do it. What’s worse, if I got the paint/prep wrong I might end up having to do it again a year or two down the road. It’s a forty foot boat, and that’s a lot of painting.

And finally, it’s a tough as old boots blue water boat, and though it pains me to admit it, I’m a poncy sort of ‘nip up and down the east coast from one estuary to another’ type of sailor. I really enjoy sailing my current fairly nippy boat and I just think I’ll miss that on a 40ft expedition type boat.

Cheers for everyone’s input. Much sage advice, as ever.

 

[mrming]

Well, having given this a lot of thought I think for the time being I’m not going to pursue this any further. 3 main reasons:

Firstly, whilst I could probably scrape the money together to buy the thing I would then find myself in a position where I had very few funds left to actually do the boat up and I think we can all agree it’s a boat that needs not an inconsiderable amount spent on it.

Secondly, I really don’t enjoy painting and the prep work it entails, and due to reason one I would definitely not be in a position where I could pay a professional to do it. What’s worse, if I got the paint/prep wrong I might end up having to do it again a year or two down the road. It’s a forty foot boat, and that’s a lot of painting.

And finally, it’s a tough as old boots blue water boat, and though it pains me to admit it, I’m a poncy sort of ‘nip up and down the east coast from one estuary to another’ type of sailor. I really enjoy sailing my current fairly nippy boat and I just think I’ll miss that on a 40ft expedition type boat.

Cheers for everyone’s input. Much sage advice, as ever.

If you eventually do need a slightly larger boat with variable draft, there are plenty of Beneteaus and Jeanneaus with swing keels, or stub keels and centre plates that sail well. I like the Sun Odyssey 35 for example, which even has a proper stand up shower.

 

[paulbrown22]

If you eventually do need a slightly larger boat with variable draft, there are plenty of Beneteaus and Jeanneaus with swing keels, or stub keels and centre plates that sail well. I like the Sun Odyssey 35 for example, which even has a proper stand up shower.

I wouldn't be worried about an Ovni not sailing well or not being suited for popping up and down the East coast. It's obviously not a lightweight performance yacht, but we never had any issues getting good speed out of it under sail, and most regularly used it for small hops along the south coast between Poole, the Solent and Weymouth. It's just as manageable as any other 38' plastic yacht for "normal" weekend usage, it's not some enormous heavyweight.

 

[mrming]

I wouldn't be worried about an Ovni not sailing well or not being suited for popping up and down the East coast. It's obviously not a lightweight performance yacht, but we never had any issues getting good speed out of it under sail, and most regularly used it for small hops along the south coast between Poole, the Solent and Weymouth. It's just as manageable as any other 38' plastic yacht for "normal" weekend usage, it's not some enormous heavyweight.

The “sailing well” was in reference to his existing Parker 31. As he’s decided to pass on the Ovni for now, he might still want a better condition, larger boat in the future, and equivalent sailing performance to the Parker would be important to him then.

 

[Blueboatman]

Some videos of Little Wing from her teenage years:

That’s a grand looking boat you had there! To have big boat momentum AND still be able to park a few meters from the beach- it’s the one thing I really missed from small bilgekeelers.
I hope LW finds the right new custodian, they are just lovely proper boats ( and I write this as an ex Rustler 36 owner) . Thank you for putting up the videos

 

[paulbrown22]

That’s a grand looking boat you had there! To have big boat momentum AND still be able to park a few meters from the beach- it’s the one thing I really missed from small bilgekeelers.
I hope LW finds the right new custodian, they are just lovely proper boats ( and I write this as an ex Rustler 36 owner) . Thank you for putting up the videos

Thanks, the Ovni 385 was amazing - very good long distance cruiser and floated in 50cm of water with the plate/rudder lifted up! We only swapped to get something with a protected helm position/pilot house. We ended up with a lovely late model Fisher 34 which I do love too, but really miss being able to park right on the beach, and miss the great transom step/scoop to house the dinghy and allow super easy access into said dinghy.

 

[Ribtecer]

This has been a great and enjoyable thread to read.

In a way I hope Fred has a deal on Little Wing.

 

[Neeves]

I wouldn't be worried about an Ovni not sailing well or not being suited for popping up and down the East coast. It's obviously not a lightweight performance yacht, but we never had any issues getting good speed out of it under sail, and most regularly used it for small hops along the south coast between Poole, the Solent and Weymouth. It's just as manageable as any other 38' plastic yacht for "normal" weekend usage, it's not some enormous heavyweight.

I thought the spec details suggested that if anything she was 'light'

Jonathan

 

[paulbrown22]

I thought the spec details suggested that if anything she was 'light'

Jonathan

They are generally about the same weight as the equivalent size well built plastic boat (e.g. HR or similar), but the alu construction means they are much stronger. Some people think the aluminium hull = lightness, but they are generally heavier than the equivalent size Bav/Ben/Jen. Definitely no issues using as a normal yacht though, they aren't so extreme or heavy that you can only do long passages on them.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

GRP has a tensile strength range from 10 to 130 kpsi. Aluminium from 13 to 69kpsi

Aluminium is not much stronger than GRP but may have other properties if suitably exploited in a design, that make it a better choice of material.

The high volume of GRP boats and the length of time GRP has been used in yacht building, suggests that it is a preferred material compared to aluminium.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

GRP has a tensile strength range from 10 to 130 kpsi. Aluminium from 13 to 69kpsi

Aluminium is not much stronger than GRP but may have other properties if suitably exploited in a design, that make it a better choice of material.

The high volume of GRP boats and the length of time GRP has been used in yacht building, suggests that it is a preferred material compared to aluminium.

It simply depends on what you want to use the boat for and where you want to go with it.

 

[Minerva]

Not sure that it was an Ovni, but I saw one or something very like it arrived in the Falklands having sailed single-handed from Spain. The sailor was the son of a lady who worked for me!

Crikey! What sort of manager were you! Her son launching a rescue mission sailing from Spain to the Falklands!! That sounds like an epic adventure.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Crikey! What sort of manager were you! Her son launching a rescue mission sailing from Spain to the Falklands!! That sounds like an epic adventure.

A pretty ordinary one, really. His father is Jerome Poncet. His mother is a biologist specialising in the birds of South Georgia, and I managed a project to create a geographic database of South Georgia (www.sggis.gov.gs) to which she contributed her expertise. I should make it clear that I have never been to South Georgia; my work was mainly office based.

No rescue needed - the Falklands are quite civilised!

 

[Mark-1]

GRP has a tensile strength range from 10 to 130 kpsi. Aluminium from 13 to 69kpsi

Aluminium is not much stronger than GRP but may have other properties if suitably exploited in a design, that make it a better choice of material.

The high volume of GRP boats and the length of time GRP has been used in yacht building, suggests that it is a preferred material compared to aluminium.

I presume repair-ability + the failure mode is the benefit rather than outright strength. The aluminum bends but doesn't let water in whereas the GPR cracks open.

Those of us on the south coast likely remember from a few years back the steel Yacht that was in the boat park at Cherbourg for a season or two. It was dramatically bent like a banana, pretty much folded in half after being T-Boned by a substantial vessel. It was still watertight. (Perhaps only capable of sailing in tight circles!) I'd assume an aluminum boat would behave more like that than a plastic boat.

(I'm sure I'm not telling anyone anything they don't already know here, unless I'm wrong, obvs.)

 

[Blueboatman]

I have a feeling that a multichine aluminium boat would be inherently stiffer than a grp one.

And with cleats etc in alloy and welded to the deck, fewer holes leaks or bolts that require insulating.

I have a nesting ally dinghy and it sits outside without being overly cosseted or polished.

 

[Mark-1]

I have a feeling that a multichine aluminium boat would be inherently stiffer than a grp one.

And with cleats etc in alloy and welded to the deck, fewer holes leaks or bolts that require insulating.

I have a nesting ally dinghy and it sits outside without being overly cosseted or polished.

...and at end of life it's a valuable asset as scrap rather than an expensive liability.