Review of Oceanis 320
Basic specs.
Looking for a new boat? Find an Oceanis 320 or similar boat for sale
Both the hull and the deck is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.
The boat is equipped with 2 cabins, 6 berths, a galley, 150.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.
The Oceanis 320 is equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.
The Oceanis 320 has been built with different keel alternatives.
Wing keel
But be aware that even though a Wing Keel keel is very good for speed racing, a fishing nets and the like in the water can easily make you into a troublesome situation.
The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated. As the surface of a fin type keel is just a fraction of the total wet surface, the difference between an iron keel and a lead keel can in reality be ignored for cruising yachts.
The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.15 - 1.25 meter (3.77 - 4.07 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
Fin keel
One option is a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.
This keel is also made of iron.
Oceanis 320 can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.40 - 1.50 meter (4.59 - 4.89 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
The Oceanis 320 has been equipped with different engine alternatives.
Alternative 1:
The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta 2003 diesel engine at 28 hp (20 kW). Calculated max speed is about 7.0 knots
The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.
Alternative 2:
The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta 2002 diesel engine at 18 hp (13 kW). Calculated max speed is about 5.6 knots
The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.
The fuel tank, which is made of stainless steel, has a capacity of 50.0 liters (13 US gallons, 10 imperial gallons).
Sailing characteristics
This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for Oceanis 320 is 2.07, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.
Oceanis 320 holds a CE certification:
The boat is by European Union certified as Class B. OFFSHORE:What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?
The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.1 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Oceanis 320 is about 184 kg/cm, alternatively 1032 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 184 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1032 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.
Sailing statistics
This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.
What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Oceanis 320 is 20.2.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Oceanis 320 is 2.84.
The ballast ratio for Oceanis 320 is 30%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Oceanis 320 is 185 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.
SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)
Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind:
- Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15
- Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20
- Racers have ratios above 20
- High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24
Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 20.38
Maintenance
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 28m2 (301 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.
Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.
If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Jib sheet | 9.2 m | (30.3 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 9.2 m | (30.3 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 23.1 m | (75.9 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 20.4 m | (66.8 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.
Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.
We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Oceanis 320 it would be a great help.
If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.