Jeanneau Sun Fast 32 & Sun Odyssey

Hunter Channel 31 | Beneteau First 31.7 | Legend 326 Beneteau Oceanis 323 | Hanse 320 | Elan 333 | X-332

- Rupert Holmes

By the early 2000s, cruising yacht design had moved on enormously compared to 15 years earlier. Low centre of gravity keels that offered both useful weight reduction along with improved stability were now the norm. Equally, designers had figured out how to make a fast hull shape with high internal volume without sacrificing sailing characteristics. As a result, many of the 31ft and 32ft cruisers of this era offer as much comfort and space as many 36-footers did in the 1980s.

At this time, Jeanneau tended to offer slightly more performance-oriented cruising designs than sister brand Beneteau's Oceanis range, but without as much compromise on interior space as the latter's First series of performance cruiser racers.

The Philippe Briand-designed Sun Odyssey 32 was effectively available in two versions, the second dubbed the Sun Fast 32, which benefitted from a deeper keel with 1.95m draught, plus a taller rig, giving almost 20% more sail area, as well as uprated deck gear. In many ways, this was the more desirable version for owners for whom the deeper draught is not a restriction. However, the market for new boats has always been very price sensitive, and the Sun Odyssey version has sold in much greater numbers.

An increased beam relative to earlier designs is carried well aft, which promotes speed, thanks in part to greater form stability, while increasing interior space. But these benefits come at the expense of a slightly more lively motion at sea.

Both Sun Fast and Sun Odyssey models offer the same spacious interior, including an unusually large U-shaped galley and an aft heads located near the companionway, where the motion of the boat is least. Forward of this is a conventional saloon with settees on each side of a folding central table. At the end of the starboard settee is a small aft-facing chart table.