Can you really see out of the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 43 DS windows when seated?

[Alethia]

Looking to get a deck saloon for northern europe / baltic where you can see out nicely when at anchor and am thinking about a Sun Odyssey 43 DS. While the windows appear great, looking at pictures on line it's not clear to me that your eyeline wouldn't be a bit low to see the views when you're seated in the saloon? Love to hear from any owners as to whether sightlines are ok - ie can you easily see the horizon when seated at the table? Many thanks

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Looking to get a deck saloon for northern europe / baltic where you can see out nicely when at anchor and am thinking about a Sun Odyssey 43 DS. While the windows appear great, looking at pictures on line it's not clear to me that your eyeline wouldn't be a bit low to see the views when you're seated in the saloon? Love to hear from any owners as to whether sightlines are ok - ie can you easily see the horizon when seated at the table? Many thanks

No, not really, the two seated at the back in this pic are around 6ft and their sightline was right at the bottom of the rear window when sat bolt upright. Boat was a Sun Odyssey 43 DS.

 

[Bobc]

What you want, is a Sirius. Designed for exactly that.

 

[jwilson]

At 5' 6" tall I found the saloon windows a bit high up to comfortably see out of when sitting. Funnily enough the smaller 40DS seemed better: I quite liked that boat.

 

[Concerto]

Slightly older and scarcer, but a Moody Eclipse 43 has windows you can see out of. My parents bought one new and I sailed on it regularly, plus I am on 5ft 6". There is no standing headroom over the seating area as this is raised.

 

[Alethia]

No, not really, the two seated at the back in this pic are around 6ft and their sightline was right at the bottom of the rear window when sat bolt upright. Boat was a Sun Odyssey 43 DS.

View attachment 204150
View attachment 204151

Thanks, that's a really helpful picture! And did you finish the bottles that evening?!

I did charter one out of Oban (maybe it's the one you show) years ago but of course couldn't remember the heights of the windows. Very nice and light though, and good vis at the galley which is so much better than some of the deeper galleys with one small portlight...

 

[Rappey]

What you want, is a Sirius. Designed for exactly that.

Whilst a very nice boat the problem then becomes one of not being able to see over the cabin when seated in the cockpit. I think thats a lot worse than not being able to see out of deck saloon windows when seated ?

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Thanks, that's a really helpful picture! And did you finish the bottles that evening?!

I did charter one out of Oban (maybe it's the one you show) years ago but of course couldn't remember the heights of the windows. Very nice and light though, and good vis at the galley which is so much better than some of the deeper galleys with one small portlight...

I can't remember if we finished them .... which means we probably did.

Wasn't this boat was it? ....

Eloise - Alba Sailing .... Alba Sailing out of Dunstaffnage Marina? ... 'cos that's the boat in the pictures - it was 2019.

Typical Scottish summer .... from this ...



... to this, in about 3 days.

 

[Bobc]

Or a Moody DS

 

[lustyd]

Whilst a very nice boat the problem then becomes one of not being able to see over the cabin when seated in the cockpit. I think thats a lot worse than not being able to see out of deck saloon windows when seated ?

I don’t think that’s a big problem. On passage just stand up every 15 minutes. While sailing locally just stand up.

We looked at a 43ds in Howth, really nice boats and good layout.

 

[ashtead]

Another more expensive choice as a DS is a Gunfleet 43 -not many built but one was on market secondhand but clearly price reflects heritage. There is a well equipped 42Jeaneau for sale at Haslar marina should you be looking for one with a bit of kit fitted.

 

[Tranona]

Looking to get a deck saloon for northern europe / baltic where you can see out nicely when at anchor and am thinking about a Sun Odyssey 43 DS. While the windows appear great, looking at pictures on line it's not clear to me that your eyeline wouldn't be a bit low to see the views when you're seated in the saloon? Love to hear from any owners as to whether sightlines are ok - ie can you easily see the horizon when seated at the table? Many thanks

Just a marketing gimmick - a way of differentiating the boat from all the other 12/13m AWBs for very little cost and a big price preium. There are other features of the boat which are different as well, such as the large aft cabin. Bavaria did similar with the Vision range at the same time. For "proper deck saloons you have to look mostly to Scandinavia for Nauticat, Regina or small volume builders such as Sirius, Degarro, Nordship, or real upmarket boats such as Oyster and the latest Moody DS range. Some UK build such as Trident, Victor, Countess Vancouver and Victoria did small runs of "pilot house" boats which were "normal" boars with sheds stuck on top. Cromarty 36 is close to the Scandi model. The Moody Eclipse range is the closest any UK builder has got to a deck saloon in volume production although the 38 and 43 sold in small numbers To make deck saloons work under 14m or so you need deep hulls to fit the engine under the saloon and seating above. without the boat looking top heavy. You can't do that with shallow hulls like the Jeanneau as it would make the CofG too high

 

[lustyd]

Another more expensive choice as a DS is a Gunfleet 43 -not many built but one was on market secondhand but clearly price reflects heritage. There is a well equipped 42Jeaneau for sale at Haslar marina should you be looking for one with a bit of kit fitted.

That one at Haslar is under offer. We looked in the summer and it was flawless and well equipped just a bit over our budget. I couldn’t even bring myself to make an offer, it was in excellent condition.

 

[Ray Purchase]

I'm not generally sea sick, luckily, but a mate of ours had one, and lunch down below made me turn green....

 

[Alethia]

I can't remember if we finished them .... which means we probably did.

Wasn't this boat was it? ....

Eloise - Alba Sailing .... Alba Sailing out of Dunstaffnage Marina? ... 'cos that's the boat in the pictures - it was 2019.

Typical Scottish summer .... from this ...

View attachment 204164

... to this, in about 3 days.

View attachment 204163

That's the one! - I thought it was a well built boat and at least the deck saloon meant everything was light which is what you want in the north where you're not sitting on deck all the time

 

[Alethia]

Slightly older and scarcer, but a Moody Eclipse 43 has windows you can see out of. My parents bought one new and I sailed on it regularly, plus I am on 5ft 6". There is no standing headroom over the seating area as this is raised.

Thanks v much - I'll take a look

 

[GEM43]

https://www.apolloduck.co.uk/boat/nauticat-42-for-sale/806657

I had a Nauticat 39 for sixteen years, excellent boats.

 

[CJTurner]

There's a Moody Eclipse 38 for sale in the South East with a very good spec. Moody only made 24 I believe, but there's reasonable turnover, possibly due to owner's age. Expect to pay somewhere north of £90k.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

@Tranona mentioned the Bavaria Vision range, lovely boats, I've got a 44 ... but absolutely no way of looking out of the saloon main windows while seated. I can't open the saloon hatches without standing on a stool - but I'm not that tall. Beautiful interior, loads of space, the hull windows are nice and at eye level, but not exactly panoramic.

 

[lustyd]

There's a Moody Eclipse 38 for sale in the South East with a very good spec. Moody only made 24 I believe, but there's reasonable turnover, possibly due to owner's age. Expect to pay somewhere north of £90k.

A 38 footer for £90k seems expensive for a boat that only sold 24 and regularly change hands. That’s the worst sales pitch I’ve ever heard!