secure footwells and seats with solid backrests. Aft of the twin helms is a spacious, uncluttered aft deck that can be useful for entertaining. ‘There’s a really easy flow-through from one area to another,’ Adamson says. Great care has been taken, however, to preserve Oyster’s core DNA. The new hulls still have excellent directional stability, for example. ‘It’s a big advantage for ocean cruising,’ Adamson says. ‘And if you get caught out with a bit too much sail up – which we all do from time to time – it’s no problem at all.’ The same goes for motion comfort, which is crucial on long passages, so the 495 does not have hard chines in her aft quarters like many other Humphreys designs. ‘For a moderate to heavy displacement design so much of the stability comes from the displacement itself, enabling more gentle lines and volume distribution along the yacht’s length,’ Humphreys explains. ‘Which is a benefit in terms of minimising wetted area across a range of heel angles and softening motions in a seaway compared to a more aggressively shaped hull form with chines.’
Excellent ergonomics is also part of the core Oyster DNA. The 495 is designed to be as comfortable as possible for a crew that may spend weeks heeled at 20°, which informs everything from the angle of the cockpit table corners to the shoulder clearance in the companionway. ‘We built an exact full-scale mockup of the boat from cockpit to transom.’ Adamson says, ‘to ensure that moving around the boat feels completely natural in a seaway.’ Another of Oyster’s USPs, the ability to carry a good payload, has
Above: the deck saloon provides a sheltered lee for the 495’s passenger cockpit,
reducing the need for a sprayhood. Below decks it creates a magnificent bright and airy living space. Right: the hull shape by Humphreys Yacht Design is optimised for motion comfort and sea-keeping, directional stability, high load-carrying capacity and balance. It’s also a lighter displacement yacht than the previous generation of Oysters with a greater
emphasis on performance
also been preserved. The 495’s full-bodied hull is designed to carry 2.5 tonnes of kit and stores on an ocean passage with a further 1.5 tonnes of fuel, fresh water and other liquids – without a significant effect on boatspeed, handling, motion or balance. You can’t say that about many yachts of this size. ‘We used our in-house design tools to develop and refine the hull,’ Humphries says. ‘However, in many ways the core naval architecture is the real driver in the development of our Oyster designs to facilitate their high load-carrying capability and ability to cover the range of rig and keel options on offer and the various optional extras that can result in some pretty big variations in displacement and centre of gravity.’ A lot of thought goes into things that other builders leave owners to figure out for themselves, like the boom preventer and the headsail poling-out system. ‘A huge number of blue water sailing miles have been fed into those setups, making sure they work flawlessly from the cockpit,’ Adamson says. ‘And there has to be a manual backup for everything.’ Despite the proliferation of automated, electric-powered systems, everything has been designed to make maintenance as simple as possible. There’s a full-height door into the engine room, where everything is laid out for easy access and clearly labelled. The same thinking informs all aspects of the yacht’s interior. The U-shaped galley is a secure, well- contained and practical configuration with excellent ventilation thanks to the front-opening saloon windows. And the large, forward-facing chart
table is another key feature. ‘We know that most people spend very little time navigating with paper charts nowadays, but many of our owners have a business to run and they need a place to work from,’ Adamson explains. ‘And a chart table is the best place to fit modern comms equipment like a computer and satellite phone.’
A full-beam master cabin is another part of Oyster’s core DNA and the three vertical windows have become a signature feature of the brand. ‘They let in a huge amount of natural light and keep you connected to the outside world,’ Adamson says. The electric-powered, cassette- style bathing platform is a new feature. It makes good use of the space between the twin rudders and frees up stowage space in the lazarette. Adamson explains 'the cassette is more versatile than a traditional fold out transom platform. For example, When you’re berthed stern-to a low dock, it can be used as a passerelle – you extend out just the amount that’s needed.’ Renewable power sources are of course available. To generate sufficient power for all systems on passage, Oyster uses a combination of solar panels, a Watt & Sea hydrogenerator and quick-charging lithium-ion batteries. ‘We are looking at all sustainable options such as hybrid drives’ Adamson says. ‘We’re very focused on the green agenda but very clear that we don’t want to greenwash. Sailing yachts are fundamentally a hybrid and we think there’s a growth opportunity as the motorboat market starts to shift back to sail.’
www.oysteryachts.com q SEAHORSE 67
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