Oyster 495 Review, Price and Ownership Guide

The Oyster 495 and the Hadida reboot

Oyster Yachts spent the years before 2018 moving steadily upmarket, toward the 82 and 88 footers that defined the brand in superyacht circles. When software entrepreneur Richard Hadida bought the company in 2018, the first boat fully conceived under his ownership went in the other direction. The Oyster 495 was the smallest yacht the Southampton firm had developed from scratch since 2005, aimed at a younger, often first-time Oyster owner who wanted the brand's ocean pedigree in a boat a couple could run alone.

The bet paid off quickly. Yachting Monthly reported 16 boats sold off plan, and Yachting World noted that only two of the first 15 buyers were existing Oyster owners. Oyster built a dedicated production facility for the 495 at Hythe, aiming for 12 boats a year, and SAIL magazine shortlisted it among its Top 10 Best Boats nominees for 2024. In July 2026 Oyster announced the Oyster 515 as its successor, so the 495 is now a used-market boat.

Rob Humphreys' hull under the Seascape windows

Humphreys Yacht Design drew a long-waterline hull, 46 ft 10 in on a 52 ft 10 in overall length, with a wide aft section carried on twin rudders and an L-shaped bulb keel drawing 7 ft 6 in, or 6 ft 0 in in shoal form. Lightship displacement is 21,000 kg (46,297 lbs) with 6,645 kg of ballast, heavy for a modern 50 footer, which is exactly what Oyster buyers want when they are hove-to off Cape Hatteras.

Construction is resin-infused fiberglass with a vinylester outer skin below the waterline to resist osmosis, plus carbon-reinforced stringers and frames. Cruising World described the laminate as over-specified. Topsides, the 495 keeps Oyster's signature deck saloon with its dark Seascape windows and adds vertical hull portlights, a flush foredeck with removable dorades and an electrically deployed cassette bathing platform aft.

How fast is an Oyster 495 under sail

Yachting World sailed the 495 in conditions from a 10 knot sea breeze to 15 to 20 knots true with gusts in the mid-20s. In the light stuff it made 7 knots close-hauled on flat water. Once the breeze filled in it settled into the high 8s upwind, the 9s when freed, and double figures broad reaching. The tester's conclusion was that you can reliably plan passages at 8 knots, and Yachting Monthly adds that broad reaching with the 197 m2 asymmetric the boat will manage 11 knots in a blow.

Yachting Monthly had a much lighter day, recording 5.1 knots fetching in 8 knots apparent, and found the boat light and responsive. Yachting World's tester, by contrast, found the helm initially heavy until Oyster's crew adjusted the gear, and warned that the long geared linkage from the twin wheels of a raised center cockpit to the twin rudders will always limit feedback in light air. This is a powerful, stable boat that wants 12 knots of wind and up to feel alive. In under 8 knots, expect to motor or fly a code zero.

Push-button sailing and the hydraulics question

Every halyard, sheet and furler can be driven from buttons at the helm pedestal. Electric in-mast furling is standard on an aluminum mast, with a Seldén carbon rig as the main upgrade, and the optional hydraulics package adds powered mainsheet, vang, outhaul, backstay and in-boom furling ram. Primary winches sit on a raised step outboard of the coamings within reach of the helmsman, and boarding ladders fold out of the guardrails.

The system works, and it is the reason a couple in their sixties can handle 1,300 sq ft of sail. But Yachting Monthly questioned how much a bluewater cruiser should rely on hydraulics far from a service agent, and criticized the captive halyard arrangement that needs a mousing line to lower. Our view: if you are buying for ocean passages, ask for a full hydraulic service history, carry seal kits and know how every powered system is overridden by hand.

• Standard in-mast furling sail area about 115 m2; full sail plan about 124.6 m2
• Carbon mast saves about 200 kg aloft
• Pre-rigged preventers and deep, angled cockpit footwells for sailing at heel
• Sail locker hatch is small for handling a bagged gennaker

Three cabins, a semi-raised saloon and twelve steps

The interior is a three cabin, two head arrangement for six. The owner's stateroom is aft with 6 ft 4 in headroom, vertical hull ports, a sofa, cedar-lined lockers and an en suite with separate shower. Forward are a double guest cabin and a compact Pullman or bunk cabin, sharing a second head with separate shower. The U-shaped galley is to port, two steps down, with a starboard passageway linking saloon and owner's cabin.

Testers loved the light and the stowage world cruisers will need, but there are trade-offs. Yachting Monthly counted 12 interior steps besides the companionway, which matters at sea at night. Clothes storage is limited for a long-term liveaboard couple, there is no dedicated wet locker for foul weather gear and the navigation station is set low and dark, with no view out. The large cockpit table seats eight and folds into a lounge, and the saloon table drops to berth height.

Yanmar 110, generator and motoring range

A 110 hp Yanmar 4JH110 drives through a saildrive, in a heavily insulated engine room that testers described as unusually quiet. An 8 kW Panda generator sits in its own sound-shielded compartment, an 800 Ah gel battery bank and CZone digital switching are standard, and a 110 liter per hour watermaker was a popular option.

Under power the 495 is fast and frugal for its weight. Yachting World logged 8.5 knots at 2,100 rpm burning about 6 liters per hour, and Yachting Monthly saw 8 knots at 2,300 rpm on 8.7 liters per hour. With 800 liters (211 gallons) of diesel, that is roughly 650 to 1,000 miles of motoring with a 10 percent reserve, depending on how hard you push.

Buying a used Oyster 495 now the 515 has arrived

Because almost every 495 was ordered with a long options list, two boats of the same year can differ by several hundred thousand dollars in specification. Compare like for like: carbon rig or aluminum, hydraulics package, thrusters, generator, watermaker, lithium or gel batteries, and sail inventory. Hull number one spent much of 2023 on a promotional world tour, and prototype issues reported by testers, such as a cracked skin fitting in the lazarette, were fixed by the yard, but ask for warranty records on early hulls.

Oyster runs its own brokerage and an owner support program, and its annual regattas and world rallies keep a strong community around the boats. That support is part of what you buy. Budget $75,000 to $145,000 a year in the US for insurance, a 55 ft slip, haul-outs, generator and engine service, hydraulic and electronics maintenance, and a sail and rigging reserve.