what are your thoughts on the french OVNI range of cutters produced by builder Alubat?
they have several features – variable draught, all alloy construction, ability to be beached and a reasonable price – which i believe might make them a good starting point fo a long distance crusier.
my main concern, and it stems from having never personally sailed on a large centre-boarder – is their ability to go well to windward when required and their ability to cope with really rough conditions.
your comments?
many thanks
Marcus Petraska
New Zealand
Hello Marcus:
We have run into these yachts in various places and their owners seem to like them. The shallow draft and ability to dry out is certainly a nice feature. We discuss centerboarders and heavy weather in Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia in detail, but briefly, they are going to be harder to steer because of greater beam and almost certainly have less range of stability. On the positive side, you can pull up the centerboard and skid off with the breaking seas.
Posted by Steve Dashew (January 26, 2010)
