Australians looking for an Ovni

[Balance55]

Hello all,
Im new on this forum and looking for a bit of help, hope this is the right place to post.
Currently my husband and I sail a 7.8 metre trailer sailer together and are looking to move to a bigger boat for cruising that we can handle two up.
We are heading to France & UK in August to look at Ovnis as we like the strength of aluminium and are used to a centreboard.
Its very rare that these boats are found in Australia, so it makes it difficult to view them or sail on them.
Can anyone recommend the best way to find a test sail on an Ovni or are we best to just wander every marina we find.
Look forward to any help possible,
Thanks
Marcelle
Sydney Australia

[cybelle]

Hi - you need to qualify this a little - eg size/budget, programme, what kind of condition you will accept (eg bigger/older/needs refreshing vs. smaller/newer). I can then try to answer without it being a long diatribe (there's a lot to explain and it gets very complicated given the lack of understanding of aluminium - even in UK and Oz compared to France). Apart from the 3 'main dealers' there will be just a few boats with various yards/brokers and the odd private boat (all of that searchable by internet) but in relation to 'series' boats there are only a few available at any one time and you risk travelling to the 4 corners of France to see 4 boats of the right size/budget
.
PS An acquaintance has a 32 for sale in Falmouth

cheers, Paul (ovni.co)

[Balance55]

Hi Paul,
We are probably looking for a 395 or 435, (a 32 is too small but thanks) comfortable to live aboard for long periods of time as it will be our home, preferably well set up for cruising. We would like the boat to be in good working condition and well looked after, with minimal work required.
We can see where they are available for sale with brokers at the moment, the internet is a wonderful tool.
What we are not sure of is how to manage a sail on an Ovni to confirm we are making the right choice of boat.
Any suggestions would be most welcome.
Thanks for your reply,
Marcelle (and Mal)

[De Zeebrecht]

Ovni36 Belgium
I think i can help you to make a trip...

[Balance55]

Hello De Zeebrecht
That would be awesome if you could help...we are certainly interested!!
I'm not quite sure how to send you a message, so if you wanted to email me;
marcelleclark@bigpond.com
Thanks, interested to learn your suggestion,
Marcelle

[Le Mameju]

Dear Marcelle,

We finished a sailing trip around last October with a 365. Since then, we did all the work to make her nice and ready to go again with new owners.
She is in south of France on hard, and we are now living in UK. We were in Australia 2 years ago and in Darwing, we had a couple who wanted to buy her, but we wanted to finish the big loop before!
I ordered her new and she is just 5 years old. I started single handed,so she is all prepared for easy sailing, and she was my home for the last 4 years so she has all the equipment required (sat phone, foldable bicycle, diving gear, radar, wifi, dinghy, dinghy engine,wind vane...)
You can contact me directly fred.riser@hotmail.com and I will be happy to forward you more information and pictures.
In the meantime, you can have a look at www.fredo-ocean-dreams.com and get a better idea of the boat and our adventure.
Hoping to read from you soon

Regards

Fred

[Balance55]

Hi Fred,
Good on you for completing the loop!!
Sent you an email but it was returned. Interested in having a look at your boat as we plan to head south.
Maybe you can send me some details instead at marcelleclark@bigpond.com
Thanks
Marcelle