Ocean Alexander 88 Motoryacht Review and Buyer's Guide

The Ocean Alexander 88 Motoryacht and the Monk lineage

Ocean Alexander was founded in 1977 by Alex Chueh, who gave the company his name, and its first model, the Mark I, followed in 1978. For three decades the yard in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, built its reputation on traditional, sea-kindly motoryachts drawn by Ed Monk Jr., the Seattle naval architect whose relationship with the builder runs through most of its history. In the US the boats were sold and serviced largely through Alexander Marine USA, with offices in Seattle and Fort Lauderdale.

The Ocean Alexander 88 Motoryacht, built from about 2007 to 2010, was the largest expression of that Monk-era philosophy before the company moved toward the more modern Evan K. Marshall designs that began with the 120 in 2014. Yachting magazine tested it in January 2009 and came away describing space you would expect on far larger yachts and an almost total absence of noise. It is a four stateroom, skylounge motoryacht built for owners who cruise with a small professional crew.

Three specialists behind one hull

The 88's hull started as an Ed Monk Jr. design and was then handed to Ed Hagemann, a specialist in underwater surfaces, who fine-tuned the running shape and especially the prop tunnels. Tim Nolan carried out the structural analysis. That three-way collaboration is unusual for a production motoryacht of this period and reflects how seriously Ocean Alexander took the project.

The structure itself is what Yachting compared to a NASCAR roll cage. The fiberglass hull and superstructure are reinforced with aluminum I-beams in the decks tied into carbon-fiber arches, and aluminum bracing runs inside the window mullions. The point is stiffness: a rigid structure transmits less vibration and creaks less in a seaway, which is a large part of why the boat is so quiet.

Dimensions for the original boats are 88 feet overall, a 76-foot 3-inch waterline, a 22-foot beam and a draft of 5 feet 4 inches. Tankage is serious for coastal and island cruising, with 3,000 gallons of fuel, 650 gallons of water and a 200-gallon black water tank.

Enclosed bridge, boat deck and Portuguese bridge

The enclosed bridge is a proper second saloon. It is reached by an interior stair from the galley and by stairs from the boat deck, and it carries a day head and a wet bar with refrigerator, ice maker and wine chiller. The helm uses a pair of electric Stidd chairs, a black-finished console designed for glass-cockpit displays and a ship-sized wheel inlaid with sapele.

Outside, a walkaround Portuguese bridge with angled doors on each side protects crew working the foredeck and lines. The boat deck aft of the bridge carries a 14-foot tender on a 3,000-pound Steelhead davit, and there is a summer kitchen with a Firemagic grill and sink. The bridge overhang extends over the side decks, giving protected passageways and shading the saloon windows.

For US owners in Florida or the Pacific Northwest, this combination is the core of the boat's appeal: everyday cruising from an air-conditioned or heated skylounge, with the tender, grill and open deck one step aft.

• Interior stair from galley to skylounge
• Bridge day head and wet bar
• Walkaround Portuguese bridge
• 14-foot tender on a 3,000-pound davit
• Boat deck summer kitchen with grill

Destry Darr's country galley and four en suite staterooms

Fort Lauderdale's Destry Darr Designs handled the layout and decor, and the result is classic American yacht style rather than Italian minimalism. The joinery is sapele with ribbon-grain accents, camphor burl and inlays throughout. A formal dining table seats eight in front of a mirrored forward bulkhead, and a bow-front buffet holds a wine chiller and an ice maker.

The U-shaped country galley is the heart of the main deck, with granite counters, a Sub-Zero refrigerator and freezer, a Gaggenau four-burner cooktop and oven and a Fisher and Paykel two-drawer dishwasher. A small desk in the forward galley settee area works as a ship's office. There is also a walk-in laundry room with full-size washer and dryer, a feature crewed owners appreciate more than any finish choice.

Below, the master spans the full beam with a king berth, a love seat and two cedar-lined walk-in hanging lockers. Two double guest staterooms have en suite heads, and a forward cabin with upper and lower berths completes the four stateroom plan, sleeping eight guests in total. Each stateroom has its own head.

Crew quarters sized for a working team of three

Crew accommodation is separate from the guest areas, with a double cabin for the captain that includes a desk and hanging locker, a bunk cabin for two crew, a shared head with shower and a mini-galley. That is a realistic setup for a captain, a mate and a stew, and it is one reason the 88 works as a long-season boat in the Bahamas or on the Inside Passage to Alaska.

If you intend to run the boat with only a captain and do some of the work yourself, the 88 is about the upper limit of what makes sense. Beyond this size the crew list grows quickly.

Speed, sound and the honest performance picture

Power on the Yachting test boat was a pair of Caterpillar diesels, with Keypower bow and stern thrusters and stabilizers; the magazine did not publish the engine model or rating. The boat topped out at 18 knots on GPS, and the tester noted it was somewhat under-propped. At 1,900 rpm, around 14 knots, his sound meter recorded just 58 decibels on the bridge, dropping to 56 at lower speeds and never exceeding 62. Those are extraordinary numbers for a motoryacht of this size and come from an outside sound and vibration consultant's package as much as from the stiff structure.

A 2025 brokerage listing for Sanibella, described as a 2019 Ocean Alexander 88 Motoryacht, quoted a 20-foot 1-inch beam, a 5-foot 11-inch draft, a 10-knot cruise and a 21-knot maximum. That listing data does not square with the 22-foot-beam boats of 2007 to 2010 or with the model's production dates, and it mentions refits in both 2014 and 2024, so any buyer should confirm the hull number, build year and engines before relying on it.

Ocean Alexander did not publish a fuel curve for the 88 that we could verify. For a sense of scale, Power and Motoryacht's test of the smaller Ocean Alexander 83 with 1,650 hp Caterpillar C32s recorded about 30 gph at roughly 11 knots and 114 gph at about 18 knots. Expect the 88 to sit in the same territory, which is why most owners cruise at 10 to 12 knots on long runs.

What it costs to own an 88-foot motoryacht

At this size the crew, not the fuel, is the largest line item. A captain, mate and stew, plus insurance, a 90 to 100-foot slip, Caterpillar and generator service, stabilizer maintenance, paint and varnish, and an annual yard period typically put the budget between $350,000 and $650,000 a year before fuel. Owners who run with a single captain and day help sit at the bottom of that range.

Refit cycles matter. Original 2007 to 2010 boats are now approaching or past their second major refit: exterior paint, electronics, soft goods, air conditioning and generators. The Sanibella listing cited an extensive 2024 refit, which is the kind of documentation that supports a premium price.

Finding an 88 for sale

The Ocean Alexander 88 Motoryacht is one of the rarest boats in the brand's history on the brokerage market. YachtBuyer's records show no listings for the original 88 Motoryacht in a three year stretch, with the last recorded asks in 2021 at about $2.6 million for a 2007 boat and $2.9 million for a 2010 boat. Sanibella, listed through HMY Yacht Sales in West Palm Beach as a 2019 boat after a refit, asked $5.795 million in 2025.

When one does come up, compare it with the Ocean Alexander 80 and 85 of similar vintage, which trade more often. A 2010 Ocean Alexander 80 listed at $1.95 million in 2025 and a 2017 85E at $5.4 million, which gives a useful sense of where an 88 should price. Expect to work through a broker with Ocean Alexander experience, and commission a survey team that includes a Caterpillar technician and a stabilizer specialist.