Draft:Oyster 495

The Oyster 495 is a bluewater cruiser or sailboa t, first built in 2022 by British yacht builders Oyster Yachts.

In 2023, the Oyster 495 was chosen as European Yacht of the Year in the luxury cruiser class.

Overview
The Oyster 495 is a monohull sailboat with a moulded fibreglass/ grp composite hull, with fixed bulb or optional shoal keel, twin rudders and fractional sloop rigging. It is the first 50 foot yacht built by Oyster Yachts for 16 years and the first in its class since Richard Hadida took over the company in 2018. Richard Matthews, Oyster’s original founder helped head up the boat’s planning and development. It was designed by British naval architects Humphreys Yacht Design and Oyster's in house design team.

Construction
The monohulls for the Oyster 495 are made from solid laminate which is reinforced below the waterline, in the keel and forward parts of the hull. The design incorporates composite stringers and frames for structural strength with closed-cell foam cores for strength and insulation. Reinforced plywood is specified in higher load areas on deck. Each hull and deck is certified for strength and quality by DNV.

Configuration
The Oyster 495 has a deck saloon, first introduced on the Oyster HP46 in 1981, a signature design feature pioneered by the brand. The boat is fitted with a cassette bathing platform, accessed by steps built into the transom. Below decks is a large saloon with U-shaped galley, navigation station and three cabins: an ensuite aft owners’ cabin and two forward cabins with shared WC/Shower compartments.

The yacht is fitted with a conventional aluminium Selden aluminium rig or may be upgraded to carbon. It is powered by a four-cylinder 110 hp Yanmar diesel engine when not under sail.

Production
The completed hulls are fitted out at the company’s production facility in Hythe in Hampshire, England. The facility is sited in the historic Grade II listed buildings on the site known as the Admiralty Shed of Flying Boat Hanger, where seaplanes were built before WW1 and later became the maintenance base for Empire flying boats.