Hi Martin: The Oceanus range, like many other modern designs which are heavily influenced by the charter trade, are great boats for day sailing and short-hopping between islands. However, in our opinion they have a number of shortcomings for offshore work where you are likely at some point to encounter heavy going.

The beamy, high volume hulls, coupled with a relatively high vertical center of gravity mean they do not do as well in knockdown situations as narrower and/or boats with lower VCGs.

There have been several problems with the Oceanus type designs in your part of the world. One of these is detailed in our book Surviving the Storm, and was the subject of a UK Marine Accident Investigation Investigation report. They echoed the comments in the preceding paragraphs.

Having said all of the above, I should go on to tell you that the skill of the crew is usually far more important than the design or equipment of the vessel. And we’ve seen all manner of craft which we thought were unfit for offshore work make successful cruises. Nothing in life or the sea is 100% certain–but we like to have the odds as much in our favor as possible–and the design types about which you are asking, have less margin of inherent safety, than is our personal preference. Regards– Steve Dashew