Jeanneau

[Sailfree]

OK like many I am tempted with the idea of a new toy after the boat show.
At the risk of turning a searchlight on Jeanneau I would appreciate others comments on buying one.
Good service? Aftersales service? Reliability? Better/Worse product than other AWB's
Any experience in particular of the sailing qualities of the 43DS would be appreciated.
PM me if your contribution might bring you in contact with the legal profession.
I am aware of the Yachting World article and am getting a copy but I would prefer forumites personal experiences.

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[billmacfarlane]

I had a look at Jeanneau a couple of years ago when I was in the market for a new boat. I made an appointment to see the Sun-something-or-other 37. I arrived at their office in Lymington where my wife and I were kept waiting for 30 minutes in a very hot room without the offer of a drink. I was then shown a 37 being commissioned followed by some very hard double glazing type hard sell. It didn't last very long as I left before the salesman could get into his full stride. I'm unaware of the article in Yachting World but someone in my club has bought a 43DS and he's very happy with it both in terms of sailing performance and quality.

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[webcraft]

My only Jeanneau experience is with a Jeanneau Sunshine 38, which I probably skippered for nearly 1000 miles over a few years, in a variety of sea and weather conditions.

While not the boat I would pick for serious offshore work, I have to say that she was the most tremendous fun to sail, just like a big dinghy - but never giving cause for concern to either crew or skipper when it blew up a bit.

She's an older boat, and I've no idea if modern Jeanneaus follow the same recipe - but personally I'd definitely look at a Jeanneau first if looking at AWBs

- Nick

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[webcraft]

My only Jeanneau experience is with a Jeanneau Sunshine 38, which I probably skippered for nearly 1000 miles over a few years, in a variety of sea and weather conditions.

While not the boat I would pick for serious offshore work, I have to say that she was the most tremendous fun to sail, just like a big dinghy - but never giving cause for concern to either crew or skipper when it blew up a bit.

She's an older boat, and I've no idea if modern Jeanneaus follow the same recipe - but personally I'd definitely look at a Jeanneau first if looking at AWBs - they seem to have a little more Gallic flair than the others

- Nick

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[Novice]

I found the dealer on the South Coast to be very unhelpful during a couple of telephone enquiries, and decided to stay well clear of them, but the complete reverse is true of the dealer in the South West. We currently have a Sun Odyssey 32 on order with them, and have been very well treated so far. I have also contacted other SO32 owners via the Jeanneau owners network, and those who have used the Sout West dealer have also had excellent service from them and are very happy with their boats. If you look on the Jeanneau Owners Network site, there are some links to owners sites, including a super one featuring a 43DS.
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.alouette.dk/>http://www.alouette.dk/</A>

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[starboard]

friend of mine took delivery of new Jeanneau 35 during May 2003. From day during heavy rain!!! large amounts of water were found in boat. This has been traced to badly sealed toe rail hull deck bond. Local supplier has made half harted attempts to rectify but after 8 months problem has still not been rectified...M y friend now at end of tether!!!I am afraid if it had been my boat the story would have been out long before now. I guess you get what you pay for but £80,000 is not to be sneezed at. I know where I would put my money...it certainlly would not be in that direction

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[Mr Cassandra]

Hi
i have ownd a sadler29, Hunter channel32 ,Sigma38. Jeanneau SunCharm39 and SunMagic 44 And in my opinion the Jeanneau is the best boat, they seem to be able to put the whole package together better, although was a little disapointed with the new S/o 49.good looking boat but a little flimsey.cheers bob t

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[nicho]

A friend has a 40DS, with which he is very pleased. He's had some problems with the interior roof trim falling down, because (I guess like many other modern boats) it is held up with velcro. The dealer tried using "industrial" velcro, but it still sags a bit. However, he is generally very pleased with the boat and it's performance etc.

I can, from first hand experience, tell you that the Jeanneau 452 I sailed on recently from Gib to Casablance (see the article I wrote on page 74 of the latest YM) took a real battering in nasty conditions, with no damage to hull integrity, though the forward cabin bed joinery split and pulled away from the hull, due to the severe beating/slamming it took from the 8 metre waves. All in all, for an AWB, it coped with the conditions pretty well, better indeed than most of the crew!!

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[sailorman]

i was impressed with the Hansa 41, (for the dosh) it was well finished in its class

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[MrG]

We have a Jeanneau Sun Odessey 40, which is chartered out. Bought from Sea Ventures in Lymington, who have continued to give good aftersales service.
Two main items have required their attention, cockpit floor required renewal after it started to lift, and we have a minor leak from the bow that ends up in the first compartment.
Also there was a recall to retrofit jubilee clips around the steering wheel shaft - one of our wheels only had a grub screw holding the wheel in place - the key way had dropped out...
Having 2 wheels is a real boon - even though I poo poo' d the idea as a fad - you can pick your side to stay in the lee of the spray hood when sailing, handy when coming alongside, albeit the engine controls are on the starboard side.
If we were to change anything we'd probably have standard slab reefing main instead of furling - mainly for performance reasons, it takes 12-13 knots of wind to get her to move nicely...
We also had some instrument problems - auto pilot would suddenly go offline, but Raymarine sorted that after a while..

Buy the same again? definately if it was for sale.
Its been modified since with a slidy nav table on the 3 cabin version which we're not so keen on...

After 2 and a half years chartering it still looks good, its chartered all year round except most of Feb when we lift out for antifouling and check replace cutlass bearing...


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[Twister_Ken]

Two bad experiences with Sunsail Jenneaux have put me off them.

In an SO36.2 we were caught in a sudden meltemi, which required a hard, well-reefed beat to windward. The slamming was vicious, and the boat was continually covered in spray. Also the track on the underside of the boom opened up, allowing the eye that the third reef was tied into to move forward, resulting in a very full sail shape. So we used the engine to help us along. The cooling water intake was so high that it spent a lot of time on stbd tack sucking air not water, which resulted in the overheat alarm going off and telling us when it was time to tack.

On an SO42 we had a 5 mile sail to windward in about a F5 with typical Med short seas. The boat was slamming badly despite trying to steer around the worst crests, and when we got to the cove we were aiming for, anchored and went below, we found the light fittings in the deckhead hanging from their wires - the slamming had been so bad it had smacked them out of their holders. Similarly, the heads' door, which was mounted on rising butt hinges, had come adrift and wedged itself in the doorway to the fwd cabin.

IMHO there was something wrong with that design generation of Jennies (mid/late 90s) when it came to upwind comfort. (Also both boats required very active helming upwind to keep them on track). Things may have improved with later designs, and certainly some of the evidence from here is that earlier designs were not nearly so bad.

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[Chris_Robb]

Ken - surely this experience would be normal for high internal volume cruising yachts, so its hardly fair to single out Jenneau for critism. Even the reef gear pulling out - the masts and booms pretty well all come from one manufacturer.

If you want to be able to cope with those conditions, don't buy an high volume charter type boat. By a double decker!

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[Twister_Ken]

>Ken - surely this experience would be normal for high internal volume cruising yachts, so its hardly fair to single out Jenneau for critism.<

Maybe, but if that's true all High Volume Cruising Yachts will be lousy sailors going to windward in half a blow. Are they?

> Even the reef gear pulling out - the masts and booms pretty well all come from one manufacturer.<

So designing down to a price takes precedence over 'fitness for purpose'?


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[Chris_Robb]

>Maybe, but if that's true all High Volume Cruising Yachts will be lousy sailors going to windward in half a blow. Are they?<

When the sea gets up - yes - especially in the square waves you get in the med IMHO of course!

>So designing down to a price takes precedence over 'fitness for purpose'?<

What probably happens in reallity is that the specs are continually cut, until they have a problem, then they beef up that bit.

When I have sold the double decker, then madame wants a high volume job in Turkey - or somewhere hot. So this is a point which seriously concerns me, because you do have to do trips like you describe, and good living space/rough sea performance are in many cases incompatible - unless you spend serious money.

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[Sailfree]

Your comments are a concern and this dicussion could go the way of Stingo's. It appears that manufacturers find it cost effective to produce flat fast beamy hulls that slam and have an AVS of circa120 degrees or you pay twice the price for the HR's or long keel boats. We occassionally sail on a friend Rusler36 and I know what I would prefer to be on in a storm but we also charter our boat so a AWB is a necessity.
I cannot identify a boat that is cost effective to put out to charter and does not slam! Any recommendations?

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[Chris_Robb]

I think you have summarised the dilema very well.

>It appears that manufacturers find it cost effective to produce flat fast beamy hulls that slam and have an AVS of circa120 degrees <

I'm not sure which came first - the public wanting a hull with high volume for living comfort, or the manufacturers pushing this method as a way of acheiving the accomodation that the public wanted in a 36 footer. There is now such a discrepancy in price between the AWB's and the more weatherly boats that it is a very uncomfortable decision to make.

I have the same dilema - we want to (or rather SWMBO wants) to have a boat in the med perhaps shared - that is comfortable - lots of room and affordable. Much of the time this kind of boat is perfect for what you want to do - fairweather sailing, However we all know - and as Ken described - its not all fairweather sailing. I am just selling a heavy weight - so perhaps I am even more prejudiced in my thoughts!


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[Mr Cassandra]

Hello
I think there is a large element of Emperor clothes in the disusions regarding types of boats I have an older Jeanneau Sun Magic 44 We sail in company with friends on a Sun Legend 41 and also friends who own the Najad 42 Neree, that is the boat mentioned in January Y/M east med rally feature . I have mentioned this before in other posts when we are in a marina the Najad appears to rock about more than the Jeans and when sailing together the Najad seems to be heeled over at a steeper angle than either of the other two boats I don`t know if this is because the jeanneaus have deep keels mine is 2.5mts and I think the S/L41 2.1mts but we most certaily don`t suffer from the slaming thats always talked about on this forum and I know that Volkman von Alten is a little pissed off that both Jeanneaus are faster on all points of sail.
cheers bob t

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[AlanPound]

"the Najad seems to be heeled over at a steeper angle than either of the other two boats "

... this may well be (at least partly) a result of higher form stability in the flatter boats - using ballast for stability rather than form usually results in a boat that is (initally at least) a bit more tender, but equally, having a softer, more comforatble motion.

On the face of it, the draught of the Najad is slightly less, at 1.9m, but it does also depend upon the ballast ratio (not vastly high on the Najad, at about 37%), and what the ballast is (Lead or Iron), and how it is distributed vertically in the keel.

Best would be lead ballast, right at the bottom of the keel - I don't have comparative information to hand on these three boats, but obviously, Lead is the more costly.

"both Jeanneaus are faster on all points of sail."

... the older Najads are not reknowned for their speed - it is not what they are about, although the more recent Judel/Vrolijk designed boats are certainly reputed to be pretty fast. I would be very happy to have either one... (I'm not sure how the Emperor's clothes are involved though...)

Alan

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[Mr Cassandra]

Hi
I think where the emperor`s clothes bit is, because everyone says that H/R Najads are very good boats we all belive this to be true or ,the reverse that Jen/ bens/bavs are poor boats ,Does anyone think that the designers at jenbenbav could not improve their yachts if they thought that slaming was a problem
And it would appear that the new H/R 37 is going toward the French design rather than the opposite. cheers bob t

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[AlanPound]

"Does anyone think that the designers at jenbenbav could not improve their yachts if they thought that slaming was a problem "

... well of course they could - but they have a formula that is successful for them and that a significant number of people are happy (or at least prepared) to pay good money for (whether it suits everyone is another thing tho')

"it would appear that the new H/R 37 is going toward the French design"

...hmmm. I'm not sure about that - it is still very solidly an HR.

You could point to a trend though, from the earlier Enderline designs to the current Frers, that the keel *is* now less long, and the hull slightly flatter, they are a bit beamier and carry the beam a bit further back. The same is true wrt the earlier Najad designs to the current Judel/Vrolijk. I guess they perceive a need to refine the design and improve the performance somewhat - and I would guess that they aim to do that without compromising their traditional values. Whether they 100% succeed, I don't know.

But I do in fact believe that HR and Najad make very good boats, and this is from having a good hard look at them whenever I can,a dn I like them.

Equally I wouldn't say that Jen/Ben/Bav are poor exactly, but this is a Lada -vs- Merc question - they both do the job of moving you around, it is just that there are differences in how they do it. You may like one more than the other.

Rgrds
Alan

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