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Boat Information

• Brand new engines fitted in 2007
• Recently Re-upholstered

General Info

OCEAN 30 (An extract from an article on this popular river cruiser)

For an indicator of the way motorboating has developed over the past three decades, look no further than the history of the Ocean 30.
In the late 1960s these cruisers were seen, if not quite as superyachts, then at least as very substantial vessels. At the 1967 London Boat Show, where the Ocean was
first exhibited to the public, it was, in terms of length, in the top 20% of craft on display.

R M 'Rip' Martins designed the Ocean 30 for GRPmoulders Aquafibre,
who in turn produced the hull and superstructure for completion by other builders, most
of them based nearby in Norfolk.

Principal among these yards were Herbert Woods and R A Nunn, who sold the boat under
its original name,

The heavily-built, round-bilge displacement hull is the same as that of the Broom 30 but the superstructure and accommodation layout differ radically While the
Broom is totally enclosed inboard of its wide side decks, the Ocean, in its Mkl guise at least, are much more open boats.
Rather than the Broom's aft cabin, they have a large aft cockpit, usually with a hardtop over the forward end, although they still have plenty of accommodation.
Later variants of the Ocean 30 did blur the distinction; the Mkll has the unusual arrangement of a single aft cabin, offset to starboard, whilst the Mklll has a full double-berth aft cabin and a minute centre cockpit.  It was the Mkl, built through to the end of the production run in 1980, that proved by far the most popular version for private use.
The combination of an attractive sheerline and a low, well-proportioned superstructure, not as angular as on some of their contemporaries, has served the Ocean 30s well. They do not look as dated as they otherwise might.
In the Woods and Nunn Oceans , layout was broadly similar. All  offered the option of a totally open cockpit or one with a sizable hardtop which, especially
with its side canopies rolled down, provided a good wheelshelter. Most buyers opted for
the hardtop.
R A Nunn managed to reduce the air draught of their boats by lowering the cockpit sole
(except for the area under the helm and pilot seats), which enabled them to fit a lower hardtop, 
A main feature of the cockpit are the raised sides, running all the way back to the aft .
This Is a good safety facet, enhanced by the all-round guardrail with a gate at each quarter
that was usually fitted; it also gives some shelter from cross-winds.
Down below, there are four or five berths, depending on which of several minor variations in the layout you come across. All versions have a toilet/shower compartment to port, Just inside the companionway, and a galley opposite. The latter is commonly fitted with a full
cooker, a fridge and a large sink/drainer, still with plenty of worktop and adequate storage.
Further forward, to port, most boats have a conventional four-seater dinette which converts into a double berth. This area is raised so you can sit with a good view out of the large side windows, and it has a neat arrangement whereby you can have the table taking up the full width of the space between the seats or just half of it; the la tter set-up is handy when you are not actually sitting down to dinner for four.
Forward again there is a half-height wardrobe and shelf, while to starboard is a settee-cumsingle berth, with a capacious drinks locker concealed behind the backrest.
Some Oceans have a larger, U-shaped dinette, with the wardrobe relocated on the other
side. In this layout the toilet compartment is slightly smaller, and the single settee is too short for an adult to sleep on. On some of their boats, however, Nunn managed to build -in what they called a wrap-round dinette, without having to move the wardrobe across.
The standard arrangement in the forward cabin is two single vee-berths, although some
owners have arranged things so they can be converted into a double.
For their day, the Woods and Nunn Oceans were well fitted-out, with
plenty of solid and veneer woodwork, commonly in sapele (a mahogany-like hardwood), and
with high-quality fittings. .
Altogether, a total of 268 boats were fitted out from Aquafibre's Ocean 30 hulls and superstructures.

R A Nunn fitted out Ocean 30s from 1974 to the very end of production in 1980, building 32