I have not seen the Jeanneau SO 37 in real life so it is a little difficult to comment on them very specifically. I have never been a fan of Jeanneau''s build quality or design quality. I understand that since they have been bought by Beneteau, that the quality control, engineering, and designs have been improved some over the earlier boats.
The S.O. 37 looks like it has been optimized for comfort down below and lounging on the
anchor, rather than for performance and seaworthiness. The full sections would tend towards a more rolly motion and harsher impact with waves than a boat with finer bow sections a more moderate waterline amidships and aft. On the shoal draft model I would be concerned that the rudder depth seems to be equal to or deeper than the keel depth.
The
rig looks very dated and seems to be designed around freeing up the cockpit rather than ease of sail handling or dealing with shifts in windspeed. This would be an unnecessarily difficult
rig to deal with in a building wind.
The S.O. 37''s appear to be aimed at the opposite end of the design spectrum from the J-109 or Beneteau First 36.7 which are more biased towards performance cruising and ease of handling.
Jeff