Oyster 625

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Sailing an Oyster has always sparked my wanderlust, but it usually has gone into remission a day or two later. After sailing the new 625 off Miami, I fear that my wanderer’s disease has gone terminal. Even though we were in the warmth of Florida’s sun, visions of destinations among the high latitudes continuously looped through my brain as I steered her on a close reach in a moderate breeze. She loped along, flirting with her theoretical hull speed of 10 knots while we played with the mainsail and 150 genoa to hold our speed, in spite of the minute variations in the wind’s direction and strength. She responded quickly and accurately to changes in sail trim and input at the wheel. The rudder spoke to my hands via the wheel — a pleasant conversation that made me feel part of the boat.

Throughout most of Oyster Marine’s lifetime, it has stressed robust construction, high-quality equipment and joinery, and thoughtfully designed accommodations for its cruising yachts. Oyster was among the first to raise the amidships salon a couple of steps higher than the forward accommodations and enclose the area within a handsome deckhouse. The company’s brochures referred to this design as a “deck saloon,” the first of which, the 46 designed by Holman & Pye, splashed in 1980. Hull No. 9 of the 46, Leisurely Leo, was the first of many models to circumnavigate the globe. Other sailors on adventurous passages aboard their Oysters built the marque’s cachet as news of their exploits circulated among the cruising community. Although the early Oysters weren’t the fastest boats of the day, their relatively heavy displacement, fine entry and U-shape forefoot allowed them comfortably to maintain maximum speed over a wide range of conditions.

Click here to see a full photo gallery of the Oyster 625.


The 625 replaces the popular 62, which Oyster developed from the 61 and built for about 10 years, and, like all the latest models up to 99 feet, came from the drawing board of Rob Humphreys. He established a reputation early in his career for designing fast racing boats, and he’s applied this talent to Oyster’s line. Beneath the waterline, the 625 still has a fine entry and U-shape sections forward, but her entire underbody is shallower than that of her predecessors. Even more important to speed and handling, though, is the substantial reduction in displacement.

Although these changes to the shape of the underbody and the lighter displacement give the 625 a livelier personality than her ancestors’, I was disappointed to see the mainsail unrolling from the mast. In the past, this type of mainsail didn’t have a great shape (often characterized by a hollow leech) and what shape it did have deteriorated with each roller-furled reef. In-mast furling still compromises the shape, but vertical battens and modern design and materials have reduced the disadvantages. I prefer the mainsail to have a substantial roach and full-length horizontal battens, but Oyster claims that most of its customers for the 625 have ordered in-mast furling, no doubt because it eases getting under way and reefing.