Jeanneau Build Quality

[townquay]

I have found a Jeanneau 36' (1991) at what seems to be good condition and at a bargain price. I will of course have a full survey before making any final decision -BUT I wondered if anybody has any informed opinion regarding the overall quality of Jeanneaus. Obviously they're built in large numbers and seem to be aimed at the charter market but are they - and will they remain- seaworthy and capable of taking a blow.

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[FlyingSpud]

Where was it? I only ask because last summer I was looking for a new boat and saw what seemed a ‘too good to be true’ Jennneau 36. But a few clues lead me to ask the rather pertinent question of the broker ‘Has this boat sunk at some stage in its past?’ to which she replied ‘You must rely on your surveyor to advise’ I kept in asking to which she kept replying in the same was. I even said, ‘If I said this boat had sunk in the past would I be wrong?’ and again the answer ‘You must rely..etc etc’.

Needless to say I didn’t buy it, nor waste my money on a surveyor. Though I saw it in the ads for a while after it has recently disappeared from them. If you want to, PM me the name, I can’t recall it now, but think I would if I saw it.


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[townquay]

Thanks for that (Flying Spud) but the boat is cheap because of the financial difficulties of the present owner who is indirectly known to me via a 3rd- party mate.
It's the make I'm worried about not the individual vessel. Many thanks anyway !

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[gonad]

top decks tend to pop off in those days.check it out.bonne chance.

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[sailorgirl]

Hi

We have a 1992 built Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 47 - build quaility is excellent and the finish even inside the lockers is better than anything you'd get from the same builder today. Ours is an 'owners' version and some of the interior woodwork was upgraded by the original owner. She always draws admiring glances. The only issues we have had are minor niggles - such as the gel coat on the transom looking a bit tired - it has pitted with black specks - nothing chemical has shifted them - the only solution we think is to lightly sand and re-polish - a job for the professionals when we have some cash!

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[sailorgirl]

Hi

We have a 1992 build Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 47 - build quaility is excellent and the finish even inside the lockers is better than anything you'd get from the same builder today. Ours is an 'owners' version and some of the interior woodwork was upgraded by the original owner. She always draws admiring glances. The only issues we have had are minor niggles - such as the gel coat on the transom looking a bit tired - it has pitted with black specks - nothing has shifted them - the only solution we think is to lightly sand and re-polish - a job for the professionals when we have some cash!

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[Magic_Sailor]

I can understand why you'd think this a possibility Townquay - from all of the "negative press" modern yachts get. However, I think is either misinformed, wrong or downright mischievous.

We have a Jeanneau (and due to the aforemetioned press) looked at getting another "older" boat. What I can tell you is this.

1. The Jeanneau build quality is as good if not better than those others that we saw.
2. Her stowage capacity is better.
3. She has more "living space".
4. She is brighter and lighter down below.
5. When correctly trimmed, she sails in a good staight line.
6. She handles very well at close quarters in marinas etc.
7. You can go to the toilet without flaunting your bits to the rest of the crew!

Lastly, I could find no reason whatsoever to change.

She's probably not an "ocean crosser" but many people do so in only slightly larger Jeanneaus, Bavarias and Benetaus.

Could these be some of the reasons that these companies are doing so well, whilst others have fallen by the wayside? (/forums/images/icons/smile.gif)

Magic

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://hometown.aol.co.uk/geoffwestgarth/myhomepage/travelwriting.html>Click for website!</A>

 

[tcm]

i have no direct exoperience. But there's been no particular harumphing about jeanneau build quality on here, as far as I know. There are good search facilities (buttons above) that go back bout two years.

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[billmacfarlane]

I owned a Jeaneau 31 Sunlight built in 1989 for 12 years and she never gave me any problems. When I sold her in 2001 she had an excellent survey report with no major problems. A mate of mine owned a 1988 built 35' Jeanneau in which he did 2 Atlantic crossings before he sold her. The boat was in good nick when he sold it on. You'll obviously be getting her surveyed but I'd expect the boat to in good nick if she's been regularly maintained.

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[Twister_Ken]

TQ,

I've chartered Jeanneaux from that era, or a little later. There were one or two 'hardware' problems (see below), but most of the problems stemmed from fundamental design choices. So, things to look out for (IMHO)

Quality of deck hardware - are turning blocks, sail tracks, winches, etc up to the job?
Toe rail extrusion - I've seen very sharp edges on the ends of the toerail which make short work of any mooring warp that gets near to them. Ten minutes with a file can resolve this.
Spars - I've seen the reefing sliders on the underside of the boom open up the extrusion and pull out in a blow. Quite embarrassing.
Furniture - some of the ply in bunkbases and locker fronts looked on the light side and, generally, end grain was not well sealed.
Upholstery seemed non-robust, so might now be looking very tired. Also the velcro tabs that hold it place always seemed to be minimum rather than maximum size. Consequently cushions can become mobile when the boat starts crashing around.
Doors on rising butt hinges? I've seen these jump off in a seaway (to be fair, that was on a 'convertible' SO42 where doors were supposed to be easy to remove so that an extra cabin could be created)
Bilges are shallow, so if water does get below, it tends to slosh about a bit. See above re unsealed end grain.
The hull form tends towards a very plumb bow, sharp forefoot, flat underwater sections. This predisposes the hull to slam, upwind in a seaway.
Because they rely heavily on form stability rather than ballast they like to be sailed flat. If they are over pressed they can become a handful to steer (though not as bad as some Bavs in this respect). OTOH, they are very stable downwind in a blow, courtesy of the broad transom.
I've sailed an SO36 where the engine cooling water intake was too close to the waterline, so that the engine sucked air and overheated motorsailing to windward in a F8. We were trying to motorsail because the genoa couldn't be set as the furler/roller had 'exploded'.

Hope it helps - sorry to be negative - and on several of these matters a caring previous owner might have 'sorted' things.


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[mjpmjp]

There are over 970 Jeanneau Owners on the worldwide jeanneau owners network whose website is www.jeanneau-owners.com

or post your question to the Sailnet-Jeanneau forum at:

http://members.sailnet.com/email_lists/processing/index.cfm?list=jeanneau

Jeanneaus have been sailed in and to almost every maritime place on the globe.

Malcolm

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[Mr Cassandra]

Hi I own a Jeanneau Sun Charm 39 1991 and a SunMagic 44 1988 both good boats I think that the 1988 magic the better on build quality In fact I have compared her to other boats critically ,Moody Najad Hr ect , and cannot see the £50/100,thou difference, The Magic will keep up with most new boats of the same w/l length in most conditions The sun Charm is not so good to windward but has a shallow a wing keel . cheers bob t

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[woolwich]

Just be careful with some oolder boats. Jeanneau went bust in the early 90's and were bought by Beneteau. Towards the end some boats were poorly built.

On Jeanneau overall I've had a 34.2 from new since 1998 and can confirm that the quality is excellent and she will stand a blow with no problem. 99% of the fitting are high quality and she will sail to windward hands off even in a F5 moderate sea. We've been all over the Irish Sea in most conditions (except suicidal) and she sails fast and smooth.




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[Tigerboy]

Can the 52.2 Jeanneau safely sail her off shore

 

[capnsensible]

Can the 52.2 Jeanneau safely sail her off shore

Wow, zombie thread!

But to answer your question, yes. In my experiences.

 

[doug748]

Prob'ly all fell to bits in the intervening 17 years.


I have.

 

[pagoda]

What an ancient thread!

Had a 1988 Sunrise 35 for 8 years. Good solid boat, predictable behaviour and quick in light airs. Two Norway north sea crossings. A little on the dark side interior wood wise but well fitted out. The rig was masthead, Super-Spars. Most of the deck equipment was Harken including the furler. Yanmar 3GM engine. Good presentable boat sold quickly when we changed.
Now on second Jeanneau, 2007 42i performance. Very roomy, lighter interior. Selden Rig, Deck equipment almost all Harken with some Rutgerson parts . Yanmar 4JHAE engine. Quick boat well capable in 20-30Kts wind/seas. Sailed from Kiel home via Norway.

They are never going to be as "solid" as HR or Najads - or as heavy! Jeanneau and the other French brands offer good sailing performance for the money. If you want bespoke woodwork and heavy interiors these days look elsewhere! Even HR have gone light and airy for interiors.

 

[UK-WOOZY]

my 1988 sundream was neglected by previous owner but i brought her back to life, seems pretty solid still however. the main jobs were new headlining, windows and standing rigging which all were original from 1988 before i got her

 

[Beneteau381]

Wow, zombie thread!

But to answer your question, yes. In my experiences.

Thats what Ive been saying, an old thread appears for some reason, some one answers and off we go. When I dared to raise it I got a sarcastic answer off one of the community mods. There seems to be something going wrong here.