Conceived as a long range, blue water family cruiser, the Oyster 53 was designed to be spacious and comfortable, whilst at the same time being easy to handle for a couple.
The owner left his tried and true Oyster 53 with us over the winter to replace the worn-out teak deck and take care of a variety of other maintenance projects.
We had the check list complete for them when they arrived in early summer to resume their New England cruising itinerary.
After all deck hardware and hatches were removed, there is no other way to get the decks off than to chisel and power-plane them off. Once this is accomplished, the decks are sanded, skim-coated with Awlfair, and primed with Awlgrip 545 to fill in any voids and made smooth to be a receptive, impermeable surface for the new teak.
The Lewmar hatches will get new Lexan lens, o-rings, and gaskets. The Ocean Air hatch screens will also be replaced. In the rigging department, the mast will be repainted in the original Pure White, and a new lower section will be added to the headstay foil. Steve Tofield and the rigging crew will also service the windlass, replace halyards, service the in-boom furler motor, and replace all seals. The motor will also be set up to take a drill chock in case of motor failure.
Since this yacht is a world traveler, it was time for a major upgrade in electronics. New systems may include AIS, Raymarine RD418HD radar and eSeries chart plotters, and satellite data and voice communications systems. Mechanically, our team will install new engine mounts, clean the heat exchangers, adjust the valves on the engine, and change the cutlass bearing, service the Maxi prop, and straightened the shaft.
First launched in 1999, the Oyster 53 is the second Rob Humphreys designed model to join the Oyster range following in the wake of the immensely successful Oyster 56 that was launched in 1998.
The stylish forward section that tapers evenly from the mast combined with a full aft section give the Oyster 53 a powerful fast hull shape that will delight the most enthusiastic of helmsmen.
Class leading interior cabin space giving up to four sleeping cabins and good sized cockpit make the Oyster 53 a desirable long distance cruising yacht.
