May I make some observations as an actual owner of an Ovni 395, going on 3 yrs now? It has been a gorgeous ship that I sail singlehanded, last summer north of the Polar Circle. There seems to be a lot of theory and little first-hand knowledge floating around.
First, the centreboard: on the 395 and smaller models there are no hydraulics, only a rope easily pulled by hand to raise it. The keel swings back, so I have scraped bottom a few times without the slighest damage to it. The rudder does have a manual hydraulic lift, but it is secured with a tiny brass seal that punctures if the rudder is hit. Easily the cheapest spare I have met on a boat: €1 for a replacement to screw into place on the spot. I bought 40 of them, that should cover the next few years’ of bad maneuvering ☺
To the never-ending saga of Ovnis and “capsizing” formulas: I actually found one calculated at
In-Depth Discussion of Aluminum Boat Design & Selection, Part I|Offshore Sailboat Voyaging|Attainable Adventure Cruising
The short answer is: In 30 years, nobody has reported a capsized Ovni, and they are possibly the most consistently cruised boats in circulation. I believe some reasons lie in this: my boat has only 80kg of ballast in its “keel” but many tons of lead in the actual hull. For a start, that means it would survive a loss of keel without noticeable loss of balance. It has capsizing characteristics closer to motor boats such as the sea rescue launches, reknowned for their ability to do a “cano roll.” Add to this a lesser danger when broaching, as you can “surf” this boat with the centreboard up and thus avoid the capsizing momentum of a deep keel boat.
Finally, corrosion: By all means take it seriously, but can we please not explain matters as if there is an untreated bare aluminum hull lying in the water? That is equivalent to explaining the flaws of a fibreglass yacht as if it were built in ply sandwich without a gelcoat. The Ovni is coated inside and out with a pretty hard surface. The easily most exposed anodes are by the
propeller and rudder, as on all boats. The anodes on my hull are so far barely attacked. Without “dumping” on other materials I have to say the most satisfying feeling is to look in the incredibly clean dry bilge after three years. This boat stays dry! In November this year at sub-zero temperatures I lived in it and had brought a de-humidifier for comfort’s sake. To my surprise the hygrometer soon dropped to 40% and I stopped bothering with the de-humidifier.
There are many reasons why we prefer one boat or another. I just want to make the point that very few long-distance sailors would call Ovni a “risk” – to the contrary, this is a blue water thoroughbred.