Jeanneau 41 Sun Legend

[JohnGov]

Any opinions on this boat? We''ve had several boats over the years, both power and sail up to 34 feet.
I''m looking for that semi-retirement sailboat, coastal cruising off the New England Coast, and possibly a trip south to the warmer climates.
Thanks for any input. John Gov.

[JohnGov]

What, no opinions on this boat? Jeff H. are you away for the holidays?
I can''t find much on this model but there is a real pretty one for sale in Massachusetts. John Gov.

[Jeff_H]

Jeaneaus have always struck me as one step below Beneteau on build quality and several steps down on design quality. The Sun Legend 41 is a recycled IOR typeform hull and rig cut down to make a cruising boat of sorts. They represent the kind of thinking that made the IOR rule so notorious, under ballasted, tender and prone to being over powered and wiping out but with poor light air performance.

While these boats have a certain cult following they have never appealled to me. Perhaps some of my distain for these boats comes from watching an acquaintance try to put one back together after being in the charter trade.

To me they are underwhelming and over priced. But hey that is just my opinion.

Respectfully,
Jeff

[JohnGov]

Guess i was expecting that kind of review on this boat> what i"m really looking for is a boat that is built like a bristol< sailes like a sabre and has a cabin like the jeanneau or beneteau for about a hundred thousand dollars>
got some real computer problems going on here>>>>>>>>>>>maybe the keyboard< maybe it"s microsoft xp

[JHodor]

John, read my posting on "jeanneau quality is fine" under a new thread. Yes, some of the order Jeanneau''s got weird. Some manufactures including Jeanneau gambled that IOR would stay around longer just like some hot rod cars kept the big engines when rice burners got popular. Many hate IOR designs. I''d say stay away from anything IOR like, Jeanneau''s or not Jeanneau''s as all manufacturers made IOR''s. for around $160K I can get you a new Jeanneau, well equipt. & 145K for a 37. (you mentioned 100K range) Then you would have a fresh boat new warrenty. The 37 has won awards for design, the 40 is going to be all new next year. I sell them part time and have proformas. in the very least I can help you because I don''t have a true bias towards anything yet. I just like to help people get the right boat.

Jeff

[JHodor]

I apologize for the prices. I went overboard. I know this isn''t the place for that. I know when I am wrong. no need to respond. no one hang me.

[JeffC_]

warranty

[JHodor]

5 year hull osmosis warrenty plus more (can get details) and 2 years on most all components. One point of contact for warranty claims, as in no dealership runaround on getting things fixed. You get your own man that is Jeanneau factory checked out to sub-contract or do repairs the right way.

The hull is coated with a vinylester resin. This is as close to a full barrier coat as you can get other than straight epoxy, which raises costs for you. Epoxy is best so far, unless their is something even more expensive out there. Vinylester resin was the big thing in the late 80''s and still the most commmon today and practical yet proven effective. I will give you an example of it''s barrier effectiveness as far as fighting against blistering.
I just sold my 1987 Frers 36 which had a vinylester resin barrier, I feel the boat was only "average" taken care of thoughout it''s owners and it never had a blister till I sold it. A vinylester coat will take care of you for as long as you own the boat, so no need pay for anything more expensive. You still have to upkeep the hull regulary, as with any boat (cruisers about every 16 months, pending location and paint quality and worth the money for good speed) I hope that answers your question about warranty. Also many manufacturers will take care of you a year or so after warranties expire.

How does a new boat help you...Think of all the little things you have to buy for a used boat, then think of all the sweat equity you have to put into installing them. Then think of all the time you catch heck for tinkering with your boat down at the marina for those long hours. Now think of a boat where you do some preventative maintenence, wash it and go home early each night after sailing. These are the things I went through and finally after owning two large used keel boats I am going "new" I just enjoy my sailing too much to be tinkering for long hours. I like to tinker but not till 1am some nights. Any boat new or used will always give you some tinkering opportunities each day. Let me know if you want to hear more, I was dead against new boats for a long time.

[Jeff_H]

A couple quick points here:
Vinylester when used as the interior and exterior most lamination of the hull (rather than as a barrier coat) is as good as it gets these days. Vinylester has gotten inexpensive enough that a lot of the better boat builders are using it for all laminations and even high production companies like Hunter and Beneteau are using it for the outer most laminations.

I have to disagree withg you about which takes more work, commissioning a new boat or taking over ownership of a well maintained used boat. When you step a board a well maintained used boat, there are literally hundreds of little things that the previous owner had to do to the boat to set it up. I was always amazed at the week in and week out tasks that I had to do to new boats to get them set into useable shape. It was often little things like cleaning construction debris out of lockers, tanks and concealed places, installing hooks in the head or installing misc electronic components or it might be installing a ''Y'' valve to make winterizing the engine easier. Hundreds of liitle tasks that have generally been worked through by the prior owner. It is not unusual to spen 10% to 20% of the purhase price of the boat adding these small things like boat hooks and hook holders, netting on the bow, throwable PFD''s, spare hardware parts, lubricant''s, head and galley gear,and so on that are generally present on a well found used boat.

Then there are the warranty issues. Talk about a time eater. Even a well constructed new boat that was built locally can eat up a lot of time, but when you talk about a boat being brought in from overseas, disassmebled for shipping, commissioning, looking for lost and damaged parts, and dealling with the normal run of warranty work can be a real time killer.

To me if you really enjoy sailing too much to want to spend hours tinkering with the boat then I really think that a new boat makes very little sense and used makes more sense. Let me know next summer after you have actually commissioned your new boat whether you still think that a new boat is easier. On the other hand there is no one right answer to any of these questions.

Jeff

[WHOOSH]

Jeff(s) & the group:

"Think of all the little things you have to buy for a used boat, then think of all the sweat equity you have to put into installing them. Then think of all the time you catch heck for tinkering with your boat down at the marina for those long hours..."

Yes, indeed. And then realize that all of this lies ahead of a new boat buyer, and lies behind a well-kept, used boat buyer. If I ever saw a rationale that so impeaches the author''s view...

New boats are great. So are new cars, new homes, new wives and new kids. That hardly makes any of them cheaper or less time consuming; quite the contrary. The biggest downside to a used - but well-maintained - boat is that it was set up to meet the needs (probably only a few) and the preferences (in bountiful number) of the last owner. What s/he chose to do with the boat, how s/he did it, and what you think about it are likely to be the critical issues.

Given the almost automated construction techniques used by the high-volume builders these days (and that surely includes Jeanneau), I''d say there''s a similar issue facing most new boat buyers: do you want to accept the limitations and cost savings that are reflected in a new boat, its gear, the boat''s in-built limitations, and which will be imposed on you. This is the corollary to the dilemma faced by the used boat buyer. One isn''t inherently less desireable than the other...but then, ''new'' isn''t automatically better than ''used'', either.

Like so many of these threads, we seem to have wandered away from a key issue: what does a given boat buyer want? Some like to build up their systems from a manufacturer''s baseline. Some want to retreat to their ''summer cottage'' and relax, doing as little work as possible. Some want to rebuild and refurbish and take pride from making more of less. And some want to do serious work on the boat because, at the end of the day, a boat is intended to be sailed...and sailed away.

Buyers - and owners - look for different things. Best we all be clear about what WE are looking for first, then sort thru the lesser order issues second.

Jack