Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 39DS Deck Saloon help

[davidjohn]

hi guys i am thinking of buying a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 39DS Deck Saloon and good or bard points to look out for any help will be welcome thanks

 

[DannyB]

I looked at buying one, and decided against it when my wife fell down the step into the forward cabin, we were accustomed to a flat cabin sole. I decided the improved view did not mitigate the risk of somebody hurting themselves in a fall. I bought the standard SO 39.

 

[Just_sayin']

Friend of mine looked at a 2006 42DS and was put off by:

"The bilge area under the saloon floor was subject to warranty work which was carried out in the Spring of 2012. This involved strengthening and re-epoxying the longitudinal beams"

He bought a similar sized Beneteau.

Just might be worth investigating why warranty work was needed at 6 years old.

 

[Mistroma]

Friend of mine looked at a 2006 42DS and was put off by:

"The bilge area under the saloon floor was subject to warranty work which was carried out in the Spring of 2012. This involved strengthening and re-epoxying the longitudinal beams"

He bought a similar sized Beneteau.

Just might be worth investigating why warranty work was needed at 6 years old.

I've heard that build quality went down after 2009 and think I've seen comments about fine cracks on later models. Earlier ones seem to be better but not without the odd problem, so 2007, 2008 might even be slightly better than 2009. Probably worth asking some questions on the Jeanneau owners forum (http://jeanneau.proboards.com).

I don't know about the 2006 model but it rings a faint bell that the dealer mentioned an earlier one which had hit something and caused damage to the frames under the floor. It would have been a few years older than mine so 2006 would be correct. I wonder if it hit something and surveyor found that the structure hadn't been bonded properly. Perhaps it might ring a bell on the Jeanneau owners forum.

I've always thought that the 39DS looks a little dumpy and the 42DS just about gets away with the shape. The models from 45DS upwards are large enough to look fine with the DS shape. Perennial problem though, a boat a bit bigger than the one you are looking at always seems a lot better but you have to draw the line somewhere.

 

[Mistroma]

I looked at buying one, and decided against it when my wife fell down the step into the forward cabin, we were accustomed to a flat cabin sole. I decided the improved view did not mitigate the risk of somebody hurting themselves in a fall. I bought the standard SO 39.

You soon get used to it but I can appreciate the point. I spend 6-7 months on my boat each year and use this step daily so never really think about this as a problem.

 

[lpdsn]

Friend of mine looked at a 2006 42DS and was put off by:

"The bilge area under the saloon floor was subject to warranty work which was carried out in the Spring of 2012. This involved strengthening and re-epoxying the longitudinal beams"

He bought a similar sized Beneteau.

Not a 40.7 I hope.

 

[slipknot]

Not a 40.7 I hope.

Why?

 

[Skylark]

I looked at the SO DS range in 2013 when I was in the market for a new boat. Different sole levels put me off. Didn't fancy it on a dark night and in a lumpy sea. I recently crewed on an HR with different level soles and this confirmed my dislike. I bought from the Beneteau Oceanis range.

 

[cmedsailor]

I looked at the SO DS range in 2013 when I was in the market for a new boat. Different sole levels put me off. Didn't fancy it on a dark night and in a lumpy sea. I recently crewed on an HR with different level soles and this confirmed my dislike. I bought from the Beneteau Oceanis range.

Have you ever been into an Elan Impression 45 (or previous model)? It's really "watch your step"!! OK you get used to it eventually (and I must say they are really fine boats) but this after falling down a few times....

 

[Yngmar]

I didn't like them, as they weren't a real Deck Saloon in my opinion - the defining criteria for me being the ability to look out a front window and see where you're going from below. The front windows are too sloped for that. Compare to a Wauquiez Pilot Saloon which got that bit right.

 

[Steve Clayton]

Prone to leaky saloon windows

 

[Steve Clayton]

Prone to leaky saloon windows

 

[debenbar]

The 39 is very comfortable. The difference in floor levels is annoying but we easily modified ours to eliminate the problem. Safe and adequate rather than spectacular performance under sail. The boat seems well built and has worn well, we like ours.

 

[maby]

As others have said, the age seems to be the key - they seem to have had some serious issues with build quality about seven or eight years ago. A friend of ours who is a marine engineer had the contract to do a lot of the pre-delivery snagging for them, but he dropped it because he reckoned the quality was so poor that he was not making a decent profit. We have other friends with a SO 40-something that is about 12 or 13 years old and the build quality is excellent - it still looks like new. I'm told that they have picked up again now and boats that are two or three years old should be fine.

 

[debenbar]

Our 39ds was built in 2007.

 

[rotrax]

I didn't like them, as they weren't a real Deck Saloon in my opinion - the defining criteria for me being the ability to look out a front window and see where you're going from below. The front windows are too sloped for that. Compare to a Wauquiez Pilot Saloon which got that bit right.

Agree with both of your points-the Jeaneau is NOT a deck saloon yacht in my opinion-you cant see much when inside. The Wauquiez is, as you say, a proper DS.

For us, sailing qualities were not a must have and we went for an Island Packet SP Cruiser. Totally different design concept to European boats but one that fits our requirements.