Review of Sun Odyssey 34.2
Basic specs.
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The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Sun Odyssey 34.2 is 21.5.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Sun Odyssey 34.2 is 3.13.
The ballast ratio for Sun Odyssey 34.2 is 29%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Sun Odyssey 34.2 is 177 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.
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.
Maintenance
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.
Dimensions of sail for masthead rig.
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.
| Masthead rig | ||||
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Mainsail halyard | 28.3 m | (92.8 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 28.3 m | (92.8 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 28.3 m | (92.8 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 10.3 m | (33.8 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 10.3 m | (33.8 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 25.8 m | (84.5 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 22.7 m | (74.3 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Cunningham | 4.2 m | (13.8 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 8.4 m | (27.6 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 8.4 m | (27.6 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Masthead rig | ||||
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Jib sheet | 10.3 m | (33.8 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 10.3 m | (33.8 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 25.8 m | (84.5 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 22.7 m | (74.3 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
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