Advice on buying an older Ocean

Ocean might be what you are looking for.

I have a 1983 55' Ocean I am doing a complete restoration on now. I love Oceans, great floor plan, I like the 8v92's 735 hp.

I managed, maintained a 63' Ocean. The boat was a 1987, the same owner owned it from 1988 to 2009. I took care of it for most all of that time. It was a pretty good boat all of the way around for what it was. We never had any structural issues on it. Getting to the impellor on the generator was so bad, we had a hatch cut in the bulkhead behind it. The boat ran pretty good and had a good layout. For what you're doing it would be a pretty good boat. The only problem is I'm pretty sure they all came with 12v92's, and the 55's all came with 8v92s......but I'm not totally sure.......if you go newer.....such as mid to late 90's, many came with cats or mans as well. The origional 12v92's went 5500hrs, towing a 35' Marlago around most of the time. After they were majored, they were never as good and never problem free.....

I bought a 63’ Ocean a few years back in Florida, and we brought it to CA last year. The amenities are good, the boat is solid. If you are going to be using the boat for cruising and some fishing, Oceans are a lot for the money. If you are going to be doing a lot of ‘hard’ offshore fishing or looking for a battlewagon that you can take in any kind of bad weather, Ocean may not be the boat for you.

We have not had any issues with our boat, but reality is that I will lay up an extra day before I go out in any severe weather. I saved big bucks buying our Ocean over the battlewagon type boat, and for my use…. It was the right choice… not to mention my family really enjoys that amenities too. Hope this helps.

I've sold hull # 1 of the 66's twice now. Her original owner previously owned a 63 and worked with Ocean on his new 66 to "fix" some of what he thought was wrong with his 63. This particular 66 was cruised only and never fished. She was in above average condition and a remarkable bargain at her last sale in July 2012. Power was a pair of 12cyl MAN's which had proper care and scheduled maintenance to the letter of the MAN protocol. They ran great.

Hin

I have a 1982 55' Ocean. I'm trying to locate the plaque with the Hull Identification Number on my boat. Other than that do you have any plan from your boat ?
Many thanks !

It should be on the transom on the STBD side.

Thank you for your prompt answer CaptJ. However I'm currently away from home, could you please be more precise about the transom. Even translated still not easy for froggies to understand the location.
Cheers !

Outside stern of the boat (transom), right side (starboard), probably within about 5 inches below the rub rail. Not a "plaque" but rather a stamping, perhaps slightly filled with paint and/or wax...

-Chris

Well, first off, 3412's should turn 2300RPM's WOT, if that's all they're turning you have some very very serious issues with them. Yeah as the oceans get old they get a little heavier. By 2009 we had cut 3" of pitch off of the props on the 1987 63' I managed.....BUT, she didn't lose but a knot of speed.....

Battlewagon

Greetings , Although I have been a member for years this is my first post so bear with me if I don't go about it the correct way.
I just read a post where someone said "Ocean Yachts are not battlewagons"n I sincerely have to disagree about oceans not being good "Battlewagons" I personaly have owned a 1985 46' with DD671tib 485hp since 2003 and made several trips from home port in Barnegat bay NJ straight to Martha's Vineyard in all kinds of seas with the Wife and kids on board ( until they went off to college). There were times we were off shore in 8-12 ft seas running a b-line to South Jersey in South East winds and she proved her self over and over with out any major problems. she took many waves up and over her bridge and brought us home. I gained most of my sea experience on this boat. Made my mistakes and learned from them. These DD671tibs are the toughest engines I know of in this class of boats.
I'd take an ocean out against any battle wagon of the same size any day. I personally have met and know many of the guys who built my Ocean right down to the man who ran the crew that laid the hull,( they are still around doing repairs and refits on older Oceans on the east coast ). Yes I had to reinforce the keel, replace the tanks and @ 3000hrs I finaly gave her out-of-boat major overhauls. To this day I never broke down, she always brings me home.
I can't believe someone would actualy say Ocean Yachts are not Battle Wagons. They are true battle wagons, belive me I have put mine through the test.

Regards , Dom

Guages or gun? Cats run hotter than Detroits. It might be time to service the heat exchangers and it looks like you accounted for that in the price - it's good to know what you're buying.

You might want to think twice about painting the hull dark blue. I don't think the Ocean 66 molds have the quality for it. The ones I've seen have a lot of wavy-ness and woven roving imprint that doesn't show in light colors - and that's before we get into maintaining it.

Also, I've heard that down south the dark blue exterior can really change the heat index for the areas below decks? dunno. Nice boat , good luck with her.

If the boat runs well otherwise, you may want to put some hours on it before you do anything with injectors.
I've seen boats that have been sitting with bad turbos, fixed the turbos, and the idle smoke and fuel sheen goes away once the boat is run up at cruise speed again on a regular basis.

I agree.....sometimes the piston rings don't completely seal after sitting a while...sometimes it's just the fuel quality.......I too would recommend running it a while before doing anything with injectors........