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Review of Sun Odyssey 34.2


Sun Odyssey 34.2
Sun Odyssey 34.2 anno 1998. HomePort in Germany

Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Sun Odyssey 34.2 is a sailboat designed by the maritime architect Jacques Fauroux. The Sun Odyssey 34.2 is built by the French yard Jeanneau.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Sun Odyssey 34.2 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

The interior is like most other boats made of teak. Teak has the advantage of being naturally very oily and therefore water-repellent, which is suitable on boats.
The boat is equipped with 2 cabins, 6 berths, a galley, 140.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.


Rig

The boat has more than one rig.

One option is 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

The Sun Odyssey 34.2 has been built with different keel alternatives.

Deep keel

One option is a deep keel. A deep keel provide a better healing moment than a shallow 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.

Sun Odyssey 34.2 can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.70 - 1.80 meter (5.58 - 5.88 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Shallow keel

Another option is a shallow keel. A shallow keel allow to sail both coastal and inland waters.

This keel is also made of iron.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.30 - 1.40 meter (4.27 - 4.57 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

The Sun Odyssey 34.2 has been equipped with different engine alternatives.

Alternative 1:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar diesel engine at 27 hp (20 kW). Calculated max speed is about 6.6 knots

Alternative 2:

Sun Odyssey 34.2 may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta diesel engine

The fuel tank has a capacity of 110.0 liters (29 US gallons, 24 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 Odyssey 34.2 is 1.99, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - 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 7.3 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 Odyssey 34.2 is about 198 kg/cm, alternatively 1110 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 198 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1110 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 Odyssey 34.2 is 21.5.

Low High 27% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 27% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just below average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Sun Odyssey 34.2 is 3.13.

Slim Wide 58% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 58% 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 Odyssey 34.2 is 29%.

Low High 7% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 7% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly below average.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Sun Odyssey 34.2 is 177 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

Heavy Light 82% 0 50 100
82% 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 Odyssey 34.2 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.0, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 18.8.

Low High 38% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 38% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 96% 0 50 100
The Sun Odyssey 34.2 has more rig than 96% 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 34m2 (365 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
Masthead rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 28.3 m(92.8 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard28.3 m(92.8 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker halyard28.3 m(92.8 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Jib sheet 10.3 m(33.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Genoa sheet10.3 m(33.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Mainsheet 25.8 m(84.5 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker sheet22.7 m(74.3 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Cunningham4.2 m(13.8 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Kickingstrap8.4 m(27.6 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Clew-outhaul8.4 m(27.6 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Masthead rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Jib sheet 10.3 m(33.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Genoa sheet10.3 m(33.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Mainsheet 25.8 m(84.5 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker sheet22.7 m(74.3 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 Odyssey 34.2 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