Here we are folks, I have written a review on the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 419 & 449 for your reading pleasure. For those of you that do not know me, my name is Jamie, the Jeanneau Sailboat representative at Network Yacht Brokers Swansea. I have been very impressed with these models since their launch, so I thought I would run through some of the fine details that you may not know about them.
LETS START WITH THE HULL…
On the Jeanneau Sun odyssey 419 and 449 has made a very innovative hull design with a hard chine designed by Philippe Briand. One of the external features that you will notice when you opt for the bow thruster is that it has been installed as low as possible. ..
One of the problems with a very modern hull design is that there is a very shallow forward section; allowing for greater performance with a very narrow entry through the water. This however makes it very inefficient to have a bow thruster because as they are placed closer to the waterline, they dramatically increase the amount of cavitation and become inefficient. What Jeanneau have done is place the bowthruster lower by having the mold of the boat with the bowthruster in place together with an add on section (as seen in the photo opposite). This places the bowthruster 10cm lower in the hull than would normally be possible with a traditional fit-out and also there are safety aspects, no re-lamination of the tube is required together with a better hydrodynamic profile. The result is a bowthruster that can transfer the power directly to the water more efficiently and hinders the sailing profile of the yacht less.
As with my previous review on the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 389, both the 419 and 449 have the hard chine hull design beginning at the mid-ship and continuing to the stern.
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WHY WOULD I WANT A HARD CHINE HULL?
There are a variety of reasons for this; first of all it is a performance aspect of the boat. As the boat heals over there is extra buoyancy created by the angle in the hull; this point creates a hard point for the hull to sit on, so the boat has a tendency to sit over at that level of heel and sits on the chine.
When you are sitting on the chine, you have two effects:
It increases the waterline length of the hull which of course means the boat is faster through the water.
”It contributes to the lateral stability of the boat; making the boat track at a particular angle through the water better”
You will see this hard chine on the modern racing yachts as they also require speed and lateral stabilbilty through the water, but on our Jeanneau yachts they are brought into everyday use.
The final advantage to the hard chine hull is that it increases the boats internal volumes in the stern by over 12cm.
The Keel…
Again designed by Philippe Briand, it has a very vertical front leading edge, thin fin with a heavy bulb. The advantage with this type of design is that it provides the weight as far forward and as far down as possible. You see this type of design in today’s modern race keels which are called ‘T’ keels, as the bulb extends forward in front of the keel; they are not very well adapted to cruising though as they have the capability to pick up lines, foreign bodies and more damaged is caused if ground contact is made. With this in mind, this keel has the aspects of the race design ‘T’ Keel with safety and security in mind.
‘The boat is balanced yet reactive’
As the modern hull on these boats has a keel that is very far forward for performance and stability, with this type of design you require a rudder with a large lateral area i.e the distance from the leading edge of the rudder to its trailing edge.
This means that the boat has a very powerful rudder due to the boat pivoting forward of its center point; resulting in an incredible reactive helm together with stability from the large rudder. As you know, you always want reaction from the helm without a helm that you have to wrestle with all day which you always get from this incredible hull/keel/rudder configuration.
SAIL PLANS FOR THE MODERN WORLD…
The sail plan of these boats are also very innovative. The high aspect rig providing a much taller sail plan than Jeanneau has done in the past; allows the boat to carry a narrower but taller headsail which is always more efficient. The standard headsail for the boat is a 106% Genoa allowing the boat to have the overlap that generates a great deal of power in the sail plan but without having all the hassle of managing the 135% or 140% Genoa.
So the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 419/449 is a very easy boat to sail and tack through the wind; releasing a small amount of line on the release of the tack and just bringing in a small amount of line in on the other side and so it means managing the sail is very easy. The advantage of the 106% is that you are able to put the tracks on the coachroof allowing the boat to have completely clear side-decks and very easy circulation. The tracks on the coarchroof also allows for better tacking angle and VMG when sailing boats of this style; so the boat is optimised for this 106% Genoa.
In addition to this, there is an option for the 140% Genoa for use in lighter winds or when a demand for larger headsail is required; this Genoa is placed on separate tracks on the side decks but still retaining the tracks on the coachroof. Finally there is an option for a self tacking Genoa available on these new boats due again to the high aspect rig allowing the sail area required to use the self tacking gib.
THE ENGINE AND SAIL DRIVE
The engine access is very simple on gas shocks, showing the New Generation Yanamar engines with completely 360 access panels. Both boats have the integrated new design sail drives by Yanmar being very heavily profiled reducing the drag in comparison to the shaft versions with a skeg. Another advantage of this design is that the water intake for the engine is on the leg, eliminating a through hull fitting in the boat. These boats also run the version of the sail drives where the servicing can be done on the internals of the boat; being a key point to look out for; as with many of the Volvo engines for instance the boat has to be lifted out of the water for the service, but not the case with these boats!
The through hull saildrive has a double seal with an alarm between the two seals to alert you to any disturbance in the saildrive, which I believe is the best currently on the market.
I think that sums up most of the major points on the yachts, but if you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Jamie Tibbott
Director/Yacht Broker