Sailing Magazine

PERRY ON DESIGN
By Robert H. Perry

View The Perry Library »

Current Issue

LOA 38’10”; LWL 35’1”; Beam 12’8”; Draft 6’6” (Standard), 4’11” (Shoal); Displacement 16,094 lbs.; Ballast 5,027 lbs.; Sail area 666 sq. ft.; SA/D 16.71; D/L 166; L/B 3.07, Auxiliary 40-hp diesel; Fuel 34 gals.; Water 94 gals.
Jeanneau America, 105 Eastern Avenue, Suite 202, Annapolis, MD 21403, (410) 280-9400, www.jeanneauamerica.com.

May 2006

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 39i
Coastal cruiser

This design from Marc Lombard makes an interesting comparison to the Bavaria 39. Both boats appear aimed at similar markets and both boats have all the earmarks of modern European cruising boats. In fact, from a distance they could be hard to tell apart.

The hull forms are similar but the Jeanneau is less beamy with an L/B of 3.07 compared to the Bavaria’s 3.01. That’s not enough of a difference to mean anything though. The D/L of the Jeanneau is 166 compared to the Bavaria’s 187. Again, too close to quibble about. The Jeanneau does show a hair more depth to the forefoot and a harder forefoot knuckle. In plan view the Jeanneau shows more beam at the transom, and in fact, too much for my old conservative eyes.

The most interesting part of this hull design to me is the keel. The keel has a long root footprint, elongated trailing and leading edge fillets and a 23-degree sweep to the leading edge. The bulb extends a long way past the trailing edge. To my eye the keel appears to be mounted too far forward if you consider the fin planform, but obviously the LCG of the bulb is dictating this position. On boats with extremely wide sterns I like to see the keel well aft to help with any helm issues that may arise. I’m sure the long footprint is there to make mounting the shoal-draft keel easier as both keels probably share the same root footprint. You can choose from either a 6-foot, 6-inch draft or a 4-foot, 11-inch draft.

The Jeanneau is 12 inches shorter in LOA and 4 inches narrower than the Bavaria. It’s interesting to see how both designers dealt with the volume in designing the interior layouts. The Jeanneau has one head and one aft stateroom. This takes all the pressure off the saloon and allows room for opposing settees. Note that the port settee extends under the chart table. The galley is not necessarily bigger than that of the Bavaria but I like the wraparound layout better. My guess is that the Jeanneau has a bigger refrigerator. The single head on the Jeanneau has a separate shower stall. There is tankage for 34 gallons of diesel fuel and 94 gallons of water.

This is a good-looking boat, if you like this style of boat. I like the sheer of this design compared to that of the Bavaria. Notice how compared to the Bavaria the Jeanneau has more freeboard at the bow relative to the freeboard at the transom. The rig is the typical fractional rig with swept spreaders. In this case the chainplates are bolted to the hull outboard. This is a strong and inexpensive way to do chainplates. It’s not particularly good looking as it does break the sheer but it is strong and less prone to leaking than the normal, through-the-deck chainplate detail. Of course, with the chainplates outboard you cannot sheet a genoa in tight enough to squeeze the boat up on the wind. You will have to restrict yourself to minimal overlap headsails for tight sheeting angles. There is an inboard, aft lower shroud. There is a set up on the bow that will take a retracting bowsprit to help you with your asymmetrical chute. The mainsheet traveler on this boat is amazingly short. It appears to be about 32 inches wide from end to end. The SA/D is 16.71. This is a short rig by today’s standards and should be appreciated in areas where it blows.

The deck design features a cockpit with twin wheels. This has the advantage of opening up the cockpit to the swim platform and allowing someone to walk by without having to crawl around a large-diameter wheel. The downside to this arrangement is that sometimes the wheel diameters are restricted and this can result in more helm pressure than you would like for a nice feel. This deck is not as artfully contoured as that of the Bavaria but it’s simple, clean and well proportioned.

The world keeps looking for the ultimate cruising boat in less than 40 feet. Interiors have expanded today to the point where lazarettes and stowage spaces have disappeared. The Jeanneau retains a large port lazarette. I think this model would make a sensible family cruising boat.

800.895.2596

View the Archives »