An Oyster LD43 powerboat is listed on Afloat boats for sale. Ever since viable powercuisers first cut their way confidently across the sea, yacht designers and quality boatbuilders have aspired to create a dreamship which has all the attributes of a reliable motoryacht, yet also has that extra something which will appeal to a potential owner who first came to boats through sailing writes W M Nixon. 

The customer they have in mind will not have lost his or her interest in sailing, yet they’ll find that this option is readily available on the sailing boats of friends. But by having a “sailing man’s powerboat”, they are able in return to provide their sailboat-owning friends with an entertaining alternative and occasionally a very welcome support vessel, while for their own use they have a multi-functional yet elegant vessel which can handily nip out for a quick spin on a summer’s evening after a demanding day at the office, while as the same time having the capacity to make worthwhile weekend or longer ventures.

A good evening forecast? With an Oyster LD43, you and your family can be at the nearest beach within minutes.

In our Irish weather, with today’s forecasting providing unprecedented accuracy, a useful powercruiser such as the Oyster LD43 enables you to make snap decisions to take best advantage of a good weekend forecast without the hassle of having to assemble a full crew, as she can be easily handled by two.

British firm Oyster Yachts are of course best known for their top-end range of sailing cruisers, which have now penetrated the international market to such an extent that Round the World Cruises-in-Company have been organized exclusively for fleets of Oysters. In doing this, and in organizing a plethora of Oyster Regattas as various sun-filled venues, the Oyster people have been able to build up a clear view of the kind of powerboat their customers might like if they were so minded, and the Oyster LD43 is a fascinating project in her own right, as she also had the American market in mind – there’s a whiff of the stylish Long Island Sound private commuter launch about her.

The generous provision of stylish pace is a revelation for anyone accustomed to multi-bunk layouts.

For those of us accustomed to packing as much accommodation as possible into a smaller boat, the layout is a revelation. It’s arguable that from a cruising and overnighting point of view, she’s a two-person boat, even if there are two settee berths in the capacious saloon/wheelhouse. And with her twin Yanmar 440 diesel engines allied to computer-controlled Hamilton jet propulsion, it’s evident that the photo of her being used for a family outing to a handy beach is not just a promotional stunt – with jets, you can confidently go into shoal waters. As for badly-marked lobster and crab pot lines which are the bane of cruising under power inshore in Ireland – they cease to be a problem.

All the Oyster LD43s are finished in the same distinctive dark blue, and it suits them to perfection. Crosshaven Boatyard found there was such enthusiasm for the marque in Ireland that having sold one to the Dublin area, they have now added this English-based on to their books. Total style and quality finish like this doesn’t come cheap, but with the pound sterling going through some fluctuations recently, you may find this boat is now priced at something less than the originally-quoted €235,000.

View the Oyster LD43 advert on Afloat boats for sale