UFO 31

[Waffoo]

Presently looking at some UFO 31 boats for sale, after considering various GK29 boats over the last few months.

I've browsed all the messages posted in the forum and now I would be grateful if anybody has thoughts on areas specific to the UFO 31 which need particular inspection when viewing or surveying a boat. That is beyond the items which one would typically look at on any boat of 20 years age.

All resposes would be most welcome.

Cheers
Waffoo

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[DanTribe]

Pay special attention to the mast step area as there were stories of weakness in some early boats, although I have not personally seen any problems. Also check fin keel to hull joint, this is an area of high stress and some movement is likely.
I have had to replace the original steel fuel tank this year which has been a cow of a job.I knew it needed doing when I bought the boat but love made me blind.
We found it very difficult to choose between a UFO & GK29 but the comfy cockpit finally tipped it.No regrets after 3 yrs.
Dan




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[uforea]

I too would agree with the comments of a previous post but cannot add to it. The hulls were moulded by Colvic and all the ones that I looked at seemed of good quality. Some were home completed and the three that I looked at were very sub-standard. I eventually bought one built by Hartley Marine and I would recommend their work highly. Great boat and worth the risk of an inherent fault, if they have one.

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[warrior40]

I have had both a UFO 27 and a UFO 34, I passed on the 31 because of unanamous reports from members of my sailing club and that of another one, where they used to race a lot of these UFO's in the 80's , that they are really bad sailing boats, this is because they were designed specifically to the IOR rule or something along these lines. The comments always go something like this,
'the 27 was half way towards being a descent sailing boat, the 34 is the best one and the original design, a stunning sailing boat, but forget the 31'
The 31 was the last one that they designed and having seen quite a few of these boats I can say that most are very roughly built except one, built in Northwich which was a stunner.All these boats are very twitchy downwind and all the drive comes from the big genoa. The original no.1 on the 31 almost reached back to the cockpit!

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[Guest]

I have owned a UFO 34 for the last two years, and have cruised fairly extensively in her - I would comment as follows :-

1) very, very good sailboat on all points of sail (bit rolly but not too bad downwind) - she prefers it when it blows a bit and is slightly sluggish when compared to lighter boats in light airs.

2) very seaworthy and surpirsingly dry - deep, safe cockpit. Lead keel leads to comfy motion and a feeling that she can take more than we can

3) Massively built and well laid up - colvic hulls are good with few reports of osmosis! Hole for depth transducer shows lay up to be two inches thick to the front of the keel!

4) very good looking which is always important - many people comment and ask what type of boat she is.

5) on a downside the accommodation layout is small and somewhat outdated but can be made comfortable and cosy - deep keel is also inconvenient at times but gives piece of mind and excellent sailing performance.

if you can, I would go for the 34 instead of the 31, as the 34's reputation comes before her - you can pick up some reasonably priced 34's if you're prepared to do some work. In my opinion, your looking at the right kind of boats - heavily built boats from the 70's which will offer safe cruising and racing for years to come - when it;s more than likely that the a number of modern production cruisers may be falling by the wayside- Go for it! - BUT as you may have guessed I am biased!

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[warrior40]

SMorgan,
which UFO 34 did you own? I had one and I think she was a fabulous boat of outstanding pedigree and seaworthiness, 10X the boat of a Contessa 32 or Sadler 32, better than an S&S 34 and cheaper than just about everything! I cannot praise the virtue of this design enough, but I cannot say the same for the 31, which is a pitty.

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[Guest]

Re: UFO 34 - SunrunnerII

Warrior

I still own her - she is colvic built and fitted out by Landamores - one of the earliest boats I believe 1975 - maybe even a prototype???

She is Sunrunner II (originally of heybridge I believe)

She was sailed off the East Coast for the first part of her life.

She was then delivered to Conway where I understand she was extensively raced by her second owner.

Her third owner initially sailed her out of Liverpool bay (racing and cruising) and later out of Victoria Dock Carnaerfon (nWales)

I bought her in 2000 and sail out of Pwllheli N Wales . I agree - they are fantastic boats especially for the money - but as I said before - I am biased.

I would be interested in hearing your experiences with your UFO. Or indeed any one elses ? are there enough out there for an owners club??

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[warrior40]

Re: UFO 34 - SunrunnerII

Oh Hi,
I know Sunrunner, I think that you must have bought her from that shower at Dickies, I looked over her a couple of times, very similar to mine, what impressed me about Sunrunner was that she still had the original topside gelcoat. She is a great boat, not sure about the compass set up on the cockpit sole on your boat, and something up with the rudder if I remember? She is part Landamores.part somebody else. Youve got a good one there.
When I was looking for mine there weren't many available but there are a few I notice now. If you sail in the Irish sea, you will find one called 'Hard Seed' at Barrow in Furness, one at Fleetwood called Hula Hoop and one at Holyhead called Elidir, there is a guy on this forum who has one up at Fleetwood too called Euphpo. There is one down my way called 'Brandy Bottle', and 'Freeway' aswell as another 2-3 in Plymouth I have noticed . I thik a lot have remained on the East coast
If you get a copy of the new version of 'Heavy Weather Sailing' there is a chapter in there relating to a 34.
mine had sailed to America and back once, She would steer heself to windward without the Autopilot, if you put a loose lashing on the wheel or, in your case, the tiller. I think the Tiller is possibly better because when in port you can lift it up and make use of that huge cockpit.
They are pure joy to sail, and remember that they too finished the '79 Fastnet, which is what people always hark back to for some reason.
I feel that the Oyster 37 is her big sister, same designer and fab good looks.


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[warrior40]

more on Sunrunner

I have just thought , your hull, like mine would be an Ardleigh plastics hull and not a later Colvic hull . Out of interest, the Colvic hulls have a stripe moulded into the hull of the Holman&Pye trademark.

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[Guest]

Re: more on Sunrunner

Warrior -

Thats sunrunner - you've got the right boat -

I bought her from dickies - she was in a bit of a state internally and I've spent a lot of time trying to put it right. Externally and mechanically though, she is fine with new spars and rig in mid 90's and engine overhaul in 2000.

You're right the topsides are original gelcoat and gleam like new when they are polished - none of the chalkyness that you see on boats half the age.

she has no moulded stripe so I guess you're right with the Ardleigh Plastics Hull - were these as good as the colvics??

which 34 did you own?



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[warrior40]

Re: more on Sunrunner

The hulls were as good if not better than the Colvic ones, although if I were looking for one now I'd search out for a Colvic one because they were more recent. Most of the Colvic ones had Treadmaster decks too, put on before they left the factory, even when sold as mouldings. The best ones were built by an outfit called Hazelwood yachts and were marketed as Hazelwood 34's, they had a proper saloon and table and also an aft cabin shoehorned in behind the galley.
Mine was called 'Celtic UFO' .It is probably quite sad that I know all this trivia, I could go on...! Where is yours now? I must say I did like your boat and envied that hull!! Be sure not to paint it!!!

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[DanTribe]

Oh dear, I can't let you get away with such generalisations!
1/Ufo 31's cannot be described as "really bad sailing boats" even if the bloke down the pub tells you so. Mine's a cracker even with a tired cruising rig.

2/ The 34 is probably a better boat, but it,s bigger more expensive to buy & to run.But that wasn't the original question. I think that a Swan 48 would be a better boat also.

3/ They have large genoas. Fact, can't argue with that, it's the design.

4/ "They are mostly very rough except one". Just plain old not true. Many were home completions and standards do vary hugely, but many were professional fit outs to a very high quality

5/ Twitchy downwind? Comared to what? Actually I might half agree, but I had a Stella before so I thought downwind rolling was normal.

Dan

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[uforea]

Got to take you to task on this one. This is all second-hand rubbish by armchair sailors who like to tell a good tale. My previous boat was an Elizabethan 29 and are usually well regarded by those at the bar who know of the type. Downwind in this boat could at times be a nightmare rolling so bad that first the boom end was in the water followed very quickly by the end of the spinnaker pole. I have never had this situation with the UFO 31 and in any case tiller response is so much quicker than the long keeled boat giving more control and more confidence. Headsail is large but then so it is on a 34 which had also been influenced by the IOR rule. The answer here is of course furling gear which any boat with large headsails will benefit from. Yes, some of these boats are in a mess but in my experience these are all home fit-out jobs and should be treated with caution. I have seen 34s that have suffered at the hands of the DIY brigade and again it was not a happy sight. The point is, a UFO 31 is an awful lot of boat for not an awful lot of money due in part to guys talking rubbish at the bar or on this Forum. So my advice to anyone out there thinking of buying one is to hurry up before the sailing fraternity catch on and prices rise due to demand. Then I can sell you mine and buy a !!!!!!

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[Waffoo]

Dear All

It is less than 24 hours since I posted my original message seeking information on specific points to look out for when considering a UFO 31 and it has been fascinating to observe how the thread has shaped a meandering course.

I thank all those who have posted comments and I welcome further ones on both, things to look out for on UFO 31 and the subjective assessment of the merits of the 34 against the 31.

It appears to me that the debate on the latter point is not so much concerned with the UFO marquee, but with that in general of the half ton versus three quarter ton rule of the 70s/80s. Would be interested to hear more from owners about their boats in terms of the ton rules, rather than decrying a particular make or model.

I am quite happy with a half ton boat. As active racing Laser sailors (my son and I that is; we will be sailing at the World Qualifier at Highcliffe this weekend, anybody up for it?) we welcome the challenges of large gennies, exhilarting downwind sailing and physical sailing. Anything less would be a disappointment, we are not quite ready for a Centaur yet!

I know of four UFO 31 presently for sale, some not so convenient to Falmouth. Are there any more out there?

Does anyone know if the is a UFO 31 (s) in Falmouth? If not there could soon be one. Anyone up for Falmouth week?

Forget who mentioned it in their message, but an owners club/web site would be good. There is definitely a lack of UFO information available on the web. If/when I acquire a boat, I would like to revisit this matter.

Fair winds to all.
Waffoo









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[warrior40]

I think that there is a Holman & Pye association.

Information regarding the sailing attributes of the 31 are not from blokes down the pub as you put it, but a group of highly experienced sailors of the utmost integrity. I respect these people enormously and between them they probably have more technical knowledge about building and sailing UFO's than anyone.

I meant that there was only 1 that I have looked at lately that seems to have faired well. you are correct that a lot of 34's are in a same state and I would accept that.




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[DanTribe]

Sorry, I didn't realise that these paragons of yachting were infallible.
It's a good job that you let me know that my boat is really bad, or I might have gone on enthusiasticallysailing her for years without knowing any better.
Thanks for your guidance.
Dan

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[warrior40]

Hi Dan,
Don't take it personally, I didn't want to dis your boat, but I could suggest that after sailing a Stella, anything else would be a revelation... (tongue in cheek) Don't want to have a fin V Long debate but I'm on the fin side and I guess you have moved over too!
I would add that actually I always say that it don't matter what boat you have as long as she takes you sailing, after all the views are the same when you look out from the cockpit..
Happy Sailing ..

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[DanTribe]

Don't worry, no offence taken or implied, but hey, don't start on Stellas or the Stella Association might send the boys round to have a word.

Dan

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[warrior40]

Actually I think I've sailed on your boat any way, Brighton /E Coast, white hull, green treadmaster, round porthole in hull side?

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[DanTribe]

Hi
That sounds like the old girl. When was this?
Dan

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