# Jeanneau 41 Sun Legend



## JohnGov (Dec 21, 2003)

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.


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## JohnGov (Dec 21, 2003)

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.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

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


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## JohnGov (Dec 21, 2003)

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


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

warranty


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

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


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## jack_patricia (May 20, 2001)

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


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## jack_patricia (May 20, 2001)

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


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## bubb2 (Nov 9, 2002)

. Hello Whoosh

I know just what you mean. I bought a new boat once, that''s when the old wife left. So I got a new wife to go with new boat.


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## JohnGov (Dec 21, 2003)

Ok, so let''s say for the sake of argument that the Jeanneau is not as well built as a Sabre or a Tartan but of acceptable quality for the intended use.
I''m interseted in hearing more about it''s sailing charecteristics compared to a similar size Tartan, Sabre, etc. 
In comparing specs to the Sabre 40 I don''t see a lot of difference in disp/ballast, waterline lengh, beam, mast height, etc. Sail area on this Jeanneua is 882 and 822 on the Sabre. Are these both tender boats or is the rig design on the Jeanneau such that she becomes "whippy"?


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## JohnGov (Dec 21, 2003)

JHoodor / Jeff H.............The boat I''m interested in is a 1987 Jeanneau Sun Legende 41''.Not interested in new at all, just comparing specs to Sabre, Tartan, etc. So, why would this boat be more tender or "whippy"


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

Just for clarity, J Hodor (Jeff Hodor) and I are two different folks with the same first name. I am Jeff Halpern. The Sun Legende was a hull that began life as a IOR era race boat. IOR boats by the very nature tended to be under-ballasted in order to beat the rule. To offset the reduced ballast they tended to develop a lot of form stability but only after an initial tenderness. This meant a boat with a tendancy to roll through pretty wide angles and then fetch up quickly for a pretty snappy motion. When converting IOR race boats to cruising boats, the amount of daft and ballast was further reduced and so was the rig size resulting boats that were even less stable and even more prone to quick motion without the higher moment of intertia and dampening of the deeper keel and taller rig.

More modern designs tend to have much deeper vertical centers of gravity and less form stability, especially in their topsides and finer bows with more powerful sterns meaning more stability, less impact, and a slower motion through a smaller angle. 

1987 was very close to the end of the period where the IOR rule influenced the majority of performance cruisers although the European boat builders and especially Jeaneau stuck with IOR forms much longer than most boat builders. 

Jeff


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## Dancin' Bare (Dec 30, 2015)

JohnGov said:


> Ok, so let''s say for the sake of argument that the Jeanneau is not as well built as a Sabre or a Tartan but of acceptable quality for the intended use.
> I''m interseted in hearing more about it''s sailing charecteristics compared to a similar size Tartan, Sabre, etc.
> In comparing specs to the Sabre 40 I don''t see a lot of difference in disp/ballast, waterline lengh, beam, mast height, etc. Sail area on this Jeanneua is 882 and 822 on the Sabre. Are these both tender boats or is the rig design on the Jeanneau such that she becomes "whippy"?


I bought a used Sun Legende 41, 6 years ago. My previous boat was a Tartan. I have sailed it from Washington State to Mexico and back through Alaska. I have put more than 15,000 miles on mine and over 1000 hours on the engine.I couldn't be happier with this boat. It tracks well going down wind, points to 35 degrees consistently and is good on all points of sail. If money is no object buy a Swan. But for an affordable boat that sails well, is comfortable to be on for months at a time and is safe, you won't be disappointed. The rig is very simple. I have roller furling and lazy jacks and can single hand it easily even with the chute out. She cruises comfortably at 7 knots. and stands up straight in a following sea with 25 knots of wind on her tail. I've been in full gales a few times with 15 foot seas with a short fetch and have always felt safe. This boat balances easily and tracks well. She sails easily in light winds too! Sure I wish it held 200 gallons of diesel and 500 gallons of fresh water, but I have never run out on either. I use an auto pilot and run Garmin equipment. If I HAD IT ALL OVER TO DO AGAIN, I WOULD BUY THIS BOAT AGAIN AND AGAIN!

My boat doesn't have a blister on her.


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

Dancin' Bare said:


> I bought a used Sun Legende 41, 6 years ago. My previous boat was a Tartan. I have sailed it from Washington State to Mexico and back through Alaska. I have put more than 15,000 miles on mine and over 1000 hours on the engine.I couldn't be happier with this boat. It tracks well going down wind, points to 35 degrees consistently and is good on all points of sail. If money is no object buy a Swan. But for an affordable boat that sails well, is comfortable to be on for months at a time and is safe, you won't be disappointed. The rig is very simple. I have roller furling and lazy jacks and can single hand it easily even with the chute out. She cruises comfortably at 7 knots. and stands up straight in a following sea with 25 knots of wind on her tail. I've been in full gales a few times with 15 foot seas with a short fetch and have always felt safe. This boat balances easily and tracks well. She sails easily in light winds too! Sure I wish it held 200 gallons of diesel and 500 gallons of fresh water, but I have never run out on either. I use an auto pilot and run Garmin equipment. If I HAD IT ALL OVER TO DO AGAIN, I WOULD BUY THIS BOAT AGAIN AND AGAIN!
> 
> My boat doesn't have a blister on her.


Well one would hope they made a decision one way or the other in 12 years, but if not you may have swayed them! :laugh


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