Design and Construction
Alubat built the 455 in aluminum, with both hull and deck welded from the alloy rather than assembled from composites, and the hull itself is a solid aluminum shell. Her lifting keel drops to a maximum draft of 7.87 feet and retracts to 2.62 feet, letting her dry out or enter shoal anchorages that a fixed-keel 49-footer could not. At 14.27 feet of beam and a displacement-to-length ratio of 167.17, she is beamy and comparatively light for a cruising boat of this size, which the design data classify as a light sailboat. The capsize screening value of 1.92 and a good righting capability if capsized place her among the more self-respecting offshore-capable cruisers of her era anchor.
Rig and Handling
The 455 carries a cutter rig with a 100 percent sail area of 1,140.97 square feet, returning a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 20.64 — numbers that support the flat assessment of her as a high performer and a stable, stiff boat under sail. Her hull speed is calculated at 8.62 knots. A single Volvo Penta MD22 diesel of 60 horsepower drives her, and the published specs note good fuel capacity at 106 gallons with a 159-gallon water supply range, figures that suit extended cruising without frequent reprovisioning. The published review rates her best suited as a fast cruiser rather than a bareboat weekender anchor.
Accommodations
The source lists a headroom of 6.46 feet in the 455, confirming a standing interior despite the alloy hull's hard chines. The same source records zero cabins, zero berths, and zero heads in its database fields, which reflects a gap in the surveyed record rather than a boat with no interior — the design's cruising intent and water supply range argue for a finished living space, but the documentation does not itemize the layout. Buyers and reviewers should treat the accommodation count as unstated rather than open-plan.
Known Issues
Aluminum construction carries the general caveat of electrolysis risk in marina environments, but the sources do not report a prevalence of such damage on this model, and no record attributes a recurring defect to the 455's lifting keel, rudder, or deck join. A surveyor's judgment on an individual hull outweighs any model-wide assumption.
Refits and Ownership
Production ran from 1994 through 2007, giving a thirteen-year window in which Alubat refined the Briand design without a documented successor generation sharing the 455 name. Ownership of a 455 today means taking on an aluminum hull that avoids the deck-core rot common to composite cruisers, though the lifting keel mechanism and its trunk demand the same vigilance any retractable appendage requires. The 60-horsepower Volvo Penta remains a serviceable auxiliary, and the generous tankage reduces the pressure for immediate systems upgrades on a voyaging boat.
The Verdict
The Ovni 455 is a distinctly capable aluminum fast cruiser with a shoal-draft lifting keel and a stiff, light hull that suits both ocean passage-making and gunkholing. Her Briand pedigree and Alubat welded construction give her a clear identity among 1990s cruising boats, even if the published data leave her interior unresolved.
Pros
- Welded aluminum hull and deck, no composite core to rot
- Lifting keel: 2.62 ft retracted, 7.87 ft extended
- Stiff, stable, good righting if capsized; capsize screen 1.92
- Strong tankage: 106 gal fuel, 159 gal water
- Light, high-performing cutter rig for a 49-footer
Cons
- Interior cabin, berth, and head counts unstated in the record
- Air draft, sail-plan dimensions, and rudder type not detailed by sources
