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Review of Sun Charm 39


Sun Charm 39
Sun Charm 39.

Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Sun Charm 39 is a large sailboat designed by the maritime architect Jacques Fauroux. The Sun Charm 39 is built by the French yard Jeanneau.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Sun Charm 39 or similar boat for sale

Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.


Interior
Floor plan
Floor plan of Sun Charm 39.
Interior
Interior of Sun Charm 39.

The interior is like many other boats made of mahogany. Mahogany belongs to the hardwood species, known for being water-repellent and resistant to decay. It has an attractive wood grain and holds wood polish and varnish well.
The boat is equipped with 4 cabins, 8 berths, a galley, 400.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

Galley
Galley of Sun Charm 39.
Bathroom
Bathroom of Sun Charm 39.

Cockpit
Cockpit
Cockpit of Sun Charm 39.
Rig

The Sun Charm 39 is equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.


Keel

Fin keel

The Sun Charm 39 is equipped with a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.

The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated. As the surface of a fin type keel is just a fraction of the total wet surface, the difference between an iron keel and a lead keel can in reality be ignored for cruising yachts.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.95 - 2.05 meter (6.40 - 6.70 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

Sun Charm 39 may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar diesel engine at 44 hp (32 kW). Max speed is 8.0 knots.

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 100.0 liters (26 US gallons, 21 imperial gallons).


Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Sun Charm 39 is 2.10, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.


Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.6 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.


Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Sun Charm 39 is about 257 kg/cm, alternatively 1440 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 257 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1440 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.


Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Sun Charm 39 is 21.4.

Low High 15% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 15% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly below average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Sun Charm 39 is 3.11.

Slim Wide 69% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 69% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Sun Charm 39 is 36%.

Low High 31% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 31% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just below average.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Sun Charm 39 is 188 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

Heavy Light 76% 0 50 100
76% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Sun Charm 39 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 18.6, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 22.2.

Low High 62% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 62% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 90% 0 50 100
The Sun Charm 39 has more rig than 90% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged.


Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 43m2 (462 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.


Rig

Dimensions of sail for masthead rig.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale



If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.



Guiding dimensions of running rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 35.3 m(115.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard35.3 m(115.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker halyard35.3 m(115.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Jib sheet 12.1 m(39.6 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet12.1 m(39.6 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet 30.2 m(99.1 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet26.6 m(87.2 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Cunningham4.2 m(13.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Kickingstrap8.4 m(27.6 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Clew-outhaul8.4 m(27.6 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.



Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Sun Charm 39 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.



References