Design and Construction
The hull is 62 feet on deck with a 63-foot 3-inch overall length, a 55-foot 1-inch waterline, and a beam of 17 feet 8 inches that occurs amidship and tapers gracefully aft. Its modern reduced-rake bow and scooped reverse transom frame a fine knuckle entry with a subdued forefoot back to station three or so, unfolding into deeper, fairly robust canoe sections that flatten toward the stern, where a skeg picks up the rudder. Humphreys’ keel is a short-chord fin with a streamlined ballast bulb raked aft, the bulb comprising 20,723 pounds of lead for a 29 percent ballast ratio, and the standard draft puts that majority of ballast almost nine feet beneath the surface. At 35 tons the package conveys a displacement/length mark of 189, light-to-moderate and pointing to terrific speed potential, while a beam near 18 feet is vast without sacrificing the taper aft. Sources differ on displacement: one lists 70,547 pounds, another 35 tons, and a third 74,000 pounds.
Hull fabrication specifies hand lay-up in solid non-cored GRP, using fiberglass predominantly though reinforced with Kevlar in critical areas especially below the waterline, with isophthalic resin for enhanced resistance to water permeation. Rigidity comes from conventional fore-and-aft stringers above and below the waterline and structural floors down low. The deck incorporates a balsa core for rigidity, weight savings, and insulation, but where load bearing occurs the balsa is replaced with marine-grade plywood, and all load-bearing fittings fasten across aluminum backing plates. The hull-to-deck detail bonds an inward flange in the topsides to the deck element. Oyster contends it has experience with carbon-fiber composite and vacuum technology but does not expect to use customers as guinea pigs.
Rig and Handling
Above the hull sits a towering 86-foot masthead sloop rig spreading 2,067 square feet measured at mainsail plus 100 percent foretriangle, for a sail area/displacement tipping in at 19.4. A true intermediate forestay is set up for a staysail or storm jib, and the spar is a stout three-spreader section shown without running backstays but with redundant fore and aft lowers. Test sailors found the hydraulic steering provided plenty of feedback and made the boat fun to drive, and the genoa could be tacked over a sheeted staysail to avoid hanging up on the inner forestay. On the wind the boat sailed at about 40 degrees off the apparent wind, bashing along to weather into a sharp chop at a solid 7.5 to 8 knots. The builder’s aim, as ever, was a well balanced yacht light and responsive to steer but tram-like in directional stability.
The deck plan revolves around Oyster’s Deck Saloon configuration, a streamlined low-profile cabin structure pitched aft from the mast base, opening onto a large central cockpit flanked by primaries and secondaries with dual wheels and consoles port and starboard. A split cockpit was the biggest change on deck: aft the working area with twin wheels, forward one of the safest, family-friendly cockpits in a yacht of this size. The foredeck is nearly flush, the bow wide open, the side decks clear, and behind the helmsman’s niche is tiered fantail lounging to the scooped boarding platform in the transom.
Accommodations
Rob Humphreys’ design work is resolved below in an accommodations package developed by interior designer Dick Young, using buoyant American white oak and cherry woods with traditional teak as an alternative. The standard layout includes a full-width deck saloon with a large oval settee and dinette to starboard and casual seating plus the nav station and communications center to port. Three double staterooms sharing two heads reside forward and down a step, while a walk-through galley-cum-passageway on the port side leads to the owner’s suite in the stern, a roomy affair with its own vanity/office niche, commodious head and shower, and private egress to the fantail. A fifth double stateroom with over-and-under twin bunks sits starboard aft of the dinette. The 62 came with either a four or five cabin layout, up to three head/shower compartments, and offers accommodation and features comparing favourably with many much larger yachts; Young’s suggested alternative pares the body count with two ancillary double staterooms.
Performance and Voyaging Record
Performance under sail is excellent, with 200-mile days in full cruising trim possible. The 62 has had easy class wins in the ARC, cruising line honours and first-to-finish in all cruising classes with 178 yachts astern, and a 62 won all five races in Cruising Class 1 at Antigua Sailing Week. An accomplished circumnavigator, the type was sailed by America’s Cup and Fastnet winner Gary Jobson to the Arctic, reaching 80 degrees north. The auxiliary is a Perkins/Sabre M225Ti 225-horsepower, and fuel and water capacities run 396 and 317 gallons respectively.
Known Issues and Ownership Notes
No documented defects or systemic faults appear in the surveyed record for this model; the construction specifics above define the as-built standard rather than a list of failures. The shoal draft option of 6 feet 6 inches was offered against the standard 8-foot 6-inch, and the Kevlar reinforcement below the waterline is a specified critical-area treatment rather than a repair. Owners shopping the type should verify aluminum backing plates at load-bearing fittings and the balsa-to-plywood transition on the deck, as these are the as-built details rather than reported trouble spots.
The Verdict
The Oyster 62 is a Deck Saloon performance voyager that turned the earlier 61’s volume and waterline into a taller-rigged, split-cockpit offshore platform without losing the marque’s comfort brief. Its Humphreys hull and Kevlar-reinforced solid GRP layup, 29 percent lead-ballast bulb, and 19.4 SA/D ratio produced a boat that won ocean races and reached 80 degrees north, yet kept a family-friendly forward cockpit and a full-width saloon with a stern owner’s suite. It is a considered, evidence-backed evolution of the Oyster mid-range rather than a reinvention.
Pros
- Replaced the 61 with more volume, longer waterline, and taller rig while preserving core Oyster design tenets
- Split cockpit with safe forward family area and aft twin-wheel working space
- Solid non-cored GRP hull with Kevlar critical-area reinforcement and isophthalic resin
- Excellent sail performance with documented ARC and Antigua S 1 Week wins and 200-mile days in cruising trim
- Full-width deck saloon and stern owner’s suite with private fantail egress
Cons
- No documented defect history, but as-built deck balsa core and load-bearing plywood transition require verification
- Standard 8-foot 6-inch draft limits shallow access; shoal option still 6 feet 6 inches
- Five-cabin standard layout packs body count high versus Young’s alternative
