Oyster 45 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

This is a substantial centre-cockpit cruiser with Oyster’s signature Deck Saloon profile. The hull measures 44 feet 4 inches, while overall length is just under 46 feet. Beam is 14 feet, and displacement is 35,000 pounds.

Design and Construction

Holman & Pye developed the 45 in collaboration with Oyster’s in-house consortium. The brief was explicit: provide more volume than the 435 and improve the boat’s motion through the water. The architects increased hull volume to enable three genuine cabins, a step change from the older boat.

Construction is to Lloyds-approved specifications. The solid GRP hull is laid up by hand to a careful laminate schedule and reinforced with stringers. The balsa-cored deck is sealed with Sikaflex along an in-turned flange and mechanically fastened with 6mm stainless bolts.

Completed hulls were laminated at a facility in Wroxham, then transported overland to Fox’s Marina on the River Orwell near Ipswich. There, Oyster’s own craftsmen carried out the outfitting.

The standard keel is Oyster’s “High Performance Bulb,” cast in antimony-hardened lead and externally fastened to a heavily reinforced stub. The rudder is a foam-filled fiberglass blade mounted on a solid stainless stock and protected by a stainless-reinforced skeg. Draft is 6 feet 6 inches.

Rig, Performance, and Handling

The Selden rig is a two-spreader masthead sloop with a Hood Seafurl jib furler and a conventional, full-battened mainsail. Mast height above the design waterline, including instruments, is 62 feet. The 100-percent sail area is 886 square feet, producing a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 13.24 and a displacement-to-length ratio of 285.

A Whitlock-engineered helm provides terrific response, while the external bulb keel makes the boat stiff and responsive under sail. Cruising World’s test sailors reported steady speeds to weather of 6 to 7.3 knots in true winds of 11 to 15 knots. They also found that the boat could sail within 30 degrees of the apparent wind.

The 45 offers better sailing performance than the 435. Its spacious centre cockpit and uncluttered deck also make the boat a delight to live aboard.

Accommodations

The Deck Saloon configuration subtly raises the deckhouse without giving the boat the bulk of a full pilothouse. Fixed wraparound windows of stout 9mm tinted glass bring ambient light into the interior.

The class-leading saloon extends across the full beam. A large L-shaped dinette sits to port, opposite a settee and navigation station to starboard. Owners could choose teak, cherry, or American white oak for the interior finish.

The boat sleeps eight, with cabin accommodation for six. The aft master stateroom has a double berth, a built-in settee, and a private head with shower. Forward is a double berth in a V-berth arrangement. A guest cabin has upper and lower bunks and shares a head with shower.

The galley is on the port side, just aft of the dinette and outboard of the companionway. Fuel and freshwater tanks are fiberglass and mounted beneath the saloon sole.

Machinery and Electrical Systems

The standard auxiliary is a 59-horsepower Volvo MD22 four-cylinder engine driving a saildrive unit. It’s mounted amidships and can be reached from the galley to port or from the workshop/wet locker to starboard, providing useful access from two sides.

The electrical installation is fastidiously executed. The 12-volt DC house supply draws from paired Varta deep-cycle 6-volt batteries rated at 230 amp-hours over 20 hours. A separate 88-amp-hour, 12-volt battery handles engine starting.

Verdict

The Oyster 45 is a thoughtfully developed successor to the 435. It gives up little while adding genuine three-cabin accommodation, a full-beam saloon, and a stiff, responsive bulb-keel hull that performs well to windward. It’s a serious liveaboard cruiser with carefully considered systems and a raised deckhouse that avoids the bulk of a full pilothouse.

Pros