Ovni 40

See her sail

The Ovni 40, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Footage from Halcyon Yachts - International Yacht Delivery

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

Shoal draughtDraws 0.70 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.

LivelySea-kindly

Her moderate displacement on a moderate beam gives 24 — a moderate, middle-of-the-road motion.

Comfort ratio 24

CoastalBluewater

2.13 — right around the 2.0 line, the edge between coastal and offshore.

Capsize screening 2.13

LightHeavy

217 — moderately heavy for her waterline, a balanced cruising weight.

Displacement / length 217

EasygoingPowered-up

25.2 — a lot of sail for her weight; powered-up and eager, a real performer.

Sail area / displacement 25.2

TenderStiff

42% of her weight is ballast — stiff, standing up well to her sails.

Ballast 42%

A capable offshore cruiser with an easy motion when the sea gets up.

Beamier than ~87% of boats her size on file

Compared with 267 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The Ovni 40, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Ovni 40 is a 12.6-meter aluminum cutter designed by Philippe Briand and built by Chantiers Alubat from 1984 to 1987. It features a lifting keel, a 4.3-meter beam, a 2.3-meter draft, and a displacement of 8499 kg. A delivery crew aboard an Ovni 40 transited from Galle, Sri Lanka, to Phuket, Thailand, motor-sailing through light winds and high-pressure systems in the Bay of Bengal. The crew maintained a watch schedule and monitored engine performance, including oil levels, impeller condition, and hydraulic steering. They managed high ambient temperatures affecting electronics and evaluated fuel reserves for the passage to Phuket.

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen once across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions

Weights

Ballast / displacement

42.4%

Rig & sail area

Rig

Cutter

Ratios

SA / displacement

25.2

Displacement / length

216.8

Comfort ratio

23.7

Capsize screening

2.13

Hull speed

7.8 kn

Pounds / inch immersion

1704

Hull

Hull type

Lifting Keel

Construction

Aluminum

Ballast type

Lead

Production

Years built

1984–1987

Designer

Philippe Briand

Builder

Chantiers Alubat, Alubat

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Ovni 37011.95 mSame hull family0.7 m shorterA modern lifting-keel cruiser with a versatile Solent rig, designed for shallow-water access and offshore capability

ARGENTINA MAKING PICTURES ONCE AGAIN - SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY THAT EXPORTS | Ep. 85 - Chez Team23:26 from Chez Team

Southerly 11010.82 mSame hull family1.8 m shorterA Rob Humphreys-designed fractional sloop with a swing keel that allows for shallow-water exploration and drying out

Southerly 110 from SVN solovelanet

Boreal Yachts 4714.55 mSame hull family2.0 m longerA 14.55-metre aluminium cutter with a 2.48-metre draft, optimised for high-latitude stability and blue-water performance

Ski and sail in the Lyngen area2:52 from SEILmagasinet

Ovni 3711.90 mSame hull family0.7 m shorterA Philippe Briand-designed aluminium cutter featuring a centerboard and a stern scoop extension for versatile cruising

Compact bluewater cruiser from Ovni0:15 from SEILmagasinet

Southerly 42012.86 mSame hull family0.3 m longerA Rob Humphreys-designed fractional sloop featuring a versatile swing keel that later evolved into the Southerly 430

Building an Aluminum Sailboat Pt 6 - Your questions answered | EP 2241:29 from Distant Shores TV

Henry R. Hinckley Bermuda 40-112.42 mSame hull family0.2 m shorterA long-running production classic with 203 hulls built between 1959 and 1991, featuring a versatile keel-centerboard.

Top 5 Classic Cruising Sailboats — Pearson 365, Westsail 32, Alberg 37, Valiant 40, & Hinckley 405:38 from Practical Sailor

The family

Boats like this

Nearby designs by size, type, and era — worth a look alongside her.

Ovni 41A 13-metre cutter with a 21.07 sail-area-to-displacement ratio, designed for high-performance offshore exploration Ovni 36A Philippe Briand-designed aluminum cutter with a lifting keel, built for versatile shoal-draft exploration Ovni 39A 12-metre masthead sloop with a lifting keel, balancing a 44% ballast ratio for stability in offshore conditions Ovni 435A 12.9-metre aluminum cutter with a lifting keel, optimized for offshore stability and shoal-water exploration Ovni 455A 14.95-metre aluminium cutter with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio, engineered for agile, long-range exploration Ovni 30A Philippe Briand-designed aluminum lifting-keel sloop built for shoal-draft exploration and offshore versatility

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

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