# Jeanneau SO 45.2



## vadimzh (Sep 18, 2009)

Thinking on purchasing a Jeanneau 45.2 (deep draft) 2002-2001 model (ex charter). Would be interested in your opinions on the boat. 

If you own or chartered one, what are problem areas on a boat? 
What should I be looking for when I am checking it out? I have seen it with 56HP, 63HP and 75HP diesels. What kind of difference diesel makes on the boat (aside from eating more fuel)?

Anyone has a pdf version of the manual?


Best regards,

Vadim


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## Gene T (May 23, 2006)

I like the 45.2 a lot. But it is not known as a fast boat. Jeanneau build very solid boats. The 45.2 is the older design which used a grid and stringer system, the newer boats use a pan liner. I prefer the older building methods but the new boats are plenty strong. 

I have not sailed one but they have a very nice layout, with the exception of the galley design, if you are OK with that fine, it has enough other good things going for it. 

56hp sounds too small for that boat.

You really need to understand what buying an ex charter boat means. It has probably been well maintained but it has been used, used, used, and should really be thought of as a much older boat. If it has been used in the tropics it will have a lot of sun damage. It will also have less desireable configuration. Probably engine driven refer, furling main sail, extra cabins and heads, no holding tank and the posibility of an odd electrical system. On the positive side it may come with lots of gear.

A charter boat might have multiple coats of bottom paint that will need to be removed.

What to look for. Check all stringers and ribs for delamination or cracks caused by a hard grounding. Inspect the rudder closely. Check the keel/hull joint. Moisture check the deck.

I have known several people who have bought ex carter boats, they each spent much more that they figured on to make the boat what they wanted.

You can probably get a user manual on the Jeanneau web site, but it will likely be in French.


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

The main Jeanneau website has an OM for a 45.1, but did not have one for a 45.2. There is a sales brochure for a 45.2! As I recall a 45.1 is about the same, a few slight changes tho.

You might also look at www.jeanneau-owners.com for Jeanneau info, along with the forum portion of the site too.

Good luck.
Marty


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## vadimzh (Sep 18, 2009)

*Thank you*

Thank you for your answers. They are very helpful. Yes, the boat will most probably come from Caribbean charter fleet. I have heard people referencing sun damage and "washed out decks", but I have never seen one to undertsand. When you say, lot's of sun damage, how would it look like? I understand sails will probably be UV damaged, I have seen that, but what does sun do to a deck and boat itself? What kind of repairs it entails?

I have also heard people saying watch for headliner problems. I am not even sure this boat has headliners or what to look for?

Cabins are fine, as I actually need 4 cabins. I primarely do coastal sailing around the San Francisco coast, so it actually a benfit to me. Especially, the ability to quickly convert forward cabin to one big or two smaller ones. It is bad for most cruisers, but it is good for me for the next 5-7 years, until kids grow to be independent.
Kitchen design, while I do not like flat style whole side kitchen, as long as I can add some handles, so I can feel somewhat secure while coocking under way, I can live with it (I guess, untill I really try  ). On the same subject, I wonder if people have expirience adding handles to main cabin ceiling on 43/45 Jeanneau boats as the it seems way to big to walk while sailing in any decent seas.

I do hate roller furling main. As it brings three problems: possibility to get stuck or unfurl in strong winds (actually had it once happen to me. Very, very unpleasant), no buttens, problems with quickly adding storm sail. Are there ways to change it to just drop down configuration without completely replacing mast? How pricey such modifications get?

When you said it is not "known as a fast boat", what do you mean? I understand, it is not SC52 or J120 and it will not go planing on the downwind, but I was thinking it should be able to do 8kts with iron sail and 7-9kts in 20-25kts. Am I off? Could you elaborate?

Blt2ski, thank you. Downloading it now.

Vadim


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

vadim,

I recently was aboard a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 45.2. Not sailing, but at anchor. The owners gave me a tour of the boat, so I had the opportunity to give it a good lookover.

This boat was the 3-cabin/2-head version. I liked the layout. Similar to a Catalina 42 tri-cabin, but with more of everything. One feature I especially liked was the full-sized navigation station, a feature which is absent in the Catalina 42 tri-cabin as well as the 3-cabin/3-head layout and the 4 cabin versions of the 45.2. 

I also liked the cockpit layout. The twin helm configuration really opened up the ingress/egress through the open transom. I also liked how the swim ladder recesses under a hatch instead of folding up and blocking the walk-through.

There were vast amounts of cockpit locker storage, plus a huge "garage" locker on the foredeck just aft of the fairly large anchor locker (accessed via a large deck hatch with stairs). 

The owners had purchased this boat new from Jeanneau, and had spec-ed the larger turbo engine as well as many optional features. They reported speeds under power and sail ranging from 7-9 knots, I seem to recall. The larger engine will apparently push the boat quite well.

Overall, I was pretty impressed by the features and finish. Plus, these owners had taken meticulous care of the boat (it is for sale -- the one in Rockhall, MD on Yachtworld). 

Personally, I would prefer their 3-cabin/2-head layout to the other versions you are considering, but your circumstances may be different. Also, I would try to find one that was not coming out of charter -- less wear and tear, better maintenance.


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## vadimzh (Sep 18, 2009)

*Out of my range :-(*

John, thank you for your feedback. That boat is indeed lovely. However, it does not fit my needs. The first issue is the price. It's asking price is $150,000more than ex-charter boats I am apraising. So, it is out of my range. I do a lot of coastal cruising with my friends and I need 4 cabins plus main cabin to sleep them all. Until I am done putting kids through college, I have my main work that I can not drop. This makes my trips 2-3-4 days, plus vacations, plus some sails down to Mexico, plus beercan races weekly. My own family is four, my friends have kids, you throw in a couple of bachelors and suddenly 45 feet 4 cabin boat seems very small 

Vadim.


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

Now that I am reading your needs and so forth a bit better. You speeds you want will/should be very atainable with the boat you are looking at. Most of us with Jeanneaus will tell you they sail well. better than a catalina, hunter etc. 

You may want to try and get ahold of a poster on here, Zanshin, he had a 43ds that he got out of charter, now has a 49ds IIRC. I do not remember if it came out of charter or not. 

The as I remember from a thread on the Jeanneau owners forum, the 45.1 vs 45.2 vs 45.3 are no different than some maufactures having mk 1 vs mkII vs Mk III versions. Enough upgrades that they feel they need to call them something slightly different, yet not enough to say they are a different boat altogether. 

I do not know how true this is. but local sales rep for Jeanneau has said the boats out of charter do not seem to have the amenities that a non charter boat has. Not sure if this is Sunsail etal not ordering them in with the stuff, or Jeanneau selling boats heading to charter with out as much stuff on board or some combo there of. This is just a I've heard, do not know "HOW" true it is, but it would not surprise me that a charter might not be as fully optioned out per say.

Marty


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## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

I got my 43DS out of charter (from Sunsail) in the Caribbean and feel that I got a good deal - while there were obvious use-related issues overall the price more than reflected that. With a lot of elbow grease careful maintenance I got the boat back into shape. The newer boat, the 49DS was almost new when I bought it - having only been sailed on the ARC after commissioning and then put up for sale.

The different charter companies have different maintenance regimes; the big ones will be "average" in terms of maintenance and most likely a bit above average in use (mainly engine hours, your sails might still be pristine). The smaller operations have a chance of being "above average" to "excellent" but you won't know until looking at the boat or having a surveyor do so.

I don't know how different the hull forms are between my old 43DS and the 45.x models, but I remain quite happy with the sailing performance of Jeanneaus.


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## vadimzh (Sep 18, 2009)

Zanshin, thank you. That encourages. My boat will most probably come from former SunSail fleet. Could you share with me a list of maintenance problems that you have seen on your boat? It will give me an idea on what to expect. Also, what upgrades have you done to a boat after you picked it up?

Huge thanks to all your replies,

Vadim.


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## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

Vadim,

I had one major issue on my 43DS (the rudder fell off) but that was a problem that the surveyor and I didn't see and caused by a combination of a grounding or reversing into something early on in the charter life and subsequent corrosion and electrolytic corrosion at the hull/rudder join where it was hidden.
Typically the sails on a Caribbean Sunsail charter boat will have less hours on them than the engine - I'm not kidding! The sacrifical parts of the genoa and mainsail (if it is roller-furling like mine) will be nearing their end-of-life and the bimini Sunbrella material might have another 2 years or so in it. The engine should be checked carefully by the surveyor as it will have seen a lot of use and perhaps some pretty rough treatment. The same applies to the transmission. Generally, unless grounded, the hull won't have seen undue stresses. Jeanneaus have a deck-stepped mast but often have the compression post sink in at the keel (that's what both my surveyors mentioned) and the keel bolts should be checked, even if they are epoxied in. This is because the bilge is so small that any standing water will submerge the keel bolts.
A lot depends upon how the vessel has been phased out of service. If the owners are savvy, they will have a professional survey done on phaseout and will ensure that Sunsail fixes issues that otherwise might be put down to "normal wear and tear" and not addressed.
After getting the 43DS I spent a long time cleaning the boat. By "cleaning" I mean not only removing dirt but taking things apart. This has the advantage of removing years worth of grime in very hard to get at places, but you will find things that are worn out and about to fail before they actually fail. In addition, you get to know all your systems intimately so that when thez do fail you will know where to start on fixing them.
I already a generator and AC on board the boat so I ended up not buying new gear, just upgrading existing stuff. The running rigging was replaced in toto, as were the docklines. I took apart and cleaned the winches and pretty much anything that needs grease, ball bearings or had moving parts. This took many, many hours but didn't cost much in terms of parts.
In my case I was the in the BVI, so sailing to St. Maarten for spares and supplies wasn't too difficult - where are you looking at purchasing your boat?
One issue I did have with Sunsail was that it took over a year to get my ownership papers - but that was partly because the boat had been transferred to Sunsail and their internal channels are quite long. Luckily, the "letter of running" in lieu of new papers accepted everywhere I went.

The new boat is a different story - it was not intended for charter use and has all the "mod cons" installed already.

You can PM me for more information and I can show you my correspondance with the seller regarding our differences of opinion on the definition of "fair wear and tear" when it came to fixing things up on boat before I would accept it; nothing major but probably best not put out in public.


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

blt2ski said:


> ...I do not know how true this is. but local sales rep for Jeanneau has said the boats out of charter do not seem to have the amenities that a non charter boat has. Not sure if this is Sunsail etal not ordering them in with the stuff, or Jeanneau selling boats heading to charter with out as much stuff on board or some combo there of. This is just a I've heard, do not know "HOW" true it is, but it would not surprise me that a charter might not be as fully optioned out per say.
> 
> Marty


Marty,

What you've heard is consistent with what I saw on the 45.2 I was aboard. This boat had LOADS of optional and custom features which the owners had ordered from the factory, since it would be their very own coastal cruising boat, not a charter boat. Many of them were very clever and all were well executed.


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## vadimzh (Sep 18, 2009)

Zanshin,

I am not sure where I will endup buying my ever so slightly used dream boat as they have about 5 of them. Guadalupe, St. Vincent, BVI(or was it USVI?)... The one that has the cheapest price and the least amount of troubles. I plan on sail it to USVI and keeping boat there for a year. Visit it a couple of times to enjoy vacation, get to know boat and then will sail it to US. Once in Florida (or wherever I endup), it will be loaded on a truck and brought to California, where it will sail San Francisco Bay and down south with my family and friends.

Now that I have got myself out of daydreaming, I will need to find a good Caribbean inspector (references are welcome), arrange for a good, secure, but not too pricey slip in St. Thomas, worry about one season of hurricanes and then do some blue water sailing without really taking to know the boat... but I guess that discussion should be in a different thread.


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

John,

It would not surprise me at all that a person that ordered a boat would have "MORE" items on it as options, than even a stock "sales" boat for a dealer! If your friends ordered the boat thru a local dealer, I would expect it to be nicer yet per say! I know if I could order a new boat today, it would probably have a few more things on it than what the dealer would order it in with. 

To the OP, 

Make sure you really check out the boat well. I know of one Sun Fast 37 that sunk, was refloated, and being sold with a bunch of other SF37's last spring IIRC, and the one that sunk was not listed as having sunk and refloated etc. I doubt too many of the charter fleet boats have had this issue, but something to make sure you look for issues like this. As far as the SF37 that was sunk, it was in the entry to a horrible harbor to get into, right in the middle, and the mast was a major obstacle to get in and out, so I am positive that boat was under for very long. 

Marty


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## vadimzh (Sep 18, 2009)

Oh, Marty, now you just gave me nightmares... I promise to fly and check boat together with the best recommended boat surveyor on the forum. Too bad that boats do not have "carfax" agency.

Vadim.


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

Vadim,

I really doubt you have to worry about the boats having sunk, even if for a short time as the SF37 was. But do look over the charter boats carefully and find one that is in good shape. I luv my 25 yr old Arcadia, and wish I had teh funds for an SF35 or 37. Or better yet, the new SF3200! I race my boat, so I want the race/performance pkg style boats.

make sure you list you name etc on the jeanneau owners site too!!

If you see zanshin down there, figure out how he gets his 2 crew to be so pretty! anyway, another story and so forth!

marty


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## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

An inspector will be able to determine, in short order, whether a boat has been a submarine  I can make specific recommendations for a good surveyor in the BVI - if you buy out of there. It might be a bit far to fly someone in from the BVI if you are purchasing down island, though.

Whether or not an ex-charter boat is a worthwhile purchase is a hotly debated subject here; it is almost as emotionally laden as the gun-ownership, mono vs. cat, religious and political threads, only barely being relegated to the back rows. If we aren't careful, this one might turn into such a thread.
p.s.
Marty - I haven't put up any pictures from my last trip, with the new boat and (occasional) new visitors on board. I have a slow day at work today, so I might just upload some more pictures later on...
*p.p.s. Marty - I added the pictures!*


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

Zanshin,

Glad to know you're still on top......hmm right words?!?!?!............ of things!

You are already at work?!?! you must be in europe, bout 6:15am here on the left coast of US. Just getting up, heading out the door in a few for work. 

vadim,

I would not worry too much about buying a former charter boat. I know of three with them, including Zanshin, and all have had what I would call no major issues. Other than higher usage wear and tear, ie varnish worn off, more hrs than normal for motor useage etc. You are still getting one of the better basic built, shall I say Chevy/ford style boats. It is not a Mercedes or equal by any means, but a good bang for the buck boat that will sail well! Especially if you get the deeper keel models, and not a shoal draft, even then, most are not complaining, unless they race it upon occasion. 

Marty


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## cebretko (Dec 22, 2008)

Vadim: I purchased my S.O. 45.2 new and have been extreemely pleased with the performance under sail and power. My boat has the turbo 75 HP engine. Although I have the short rig to accomodate the inland waterway bridges I have no problem passing Catalinas, Hunters, or Bennetaus of equal length or larger while under sail. I did install a Doyle vertical battened main which works well. I've never heard the boat refered to as slow unless your comparing it to a J or Santa Cruz. FYI


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## vadimzh (Sep 18, 2009)

Thank you for your reply. I am now down to three "target" boats:
Jeanneau 45.2, Jeanneau 43DS and Dufour 43. 

I know it sounds silly, but based on where I plan to keep the boat I am looking at a lot of weekend trips, where I start and end last leg of about 25 miles under engine and in the most inconvinient hours. When you cruise under engine, what is your speed with 75HP?


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## cebretko (Dec 22, 2008)

With no current, the 45.2 will cruise at 8 knots @ 2800 rpm all day.


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## wysailor (Sep 28, 2009)

vadimzh,
I have a 2001 Jeanneau SO 45.2. I was a charter boat at one time then a doctor from Seattle boat and fixed up with new electronics and other goodies. I have had it on charter for two years in the Bellingham, WA area. It has been a good boat. My major expense was a new transmission. I have the 75 hp engine and can get up to 10 kts if I need it but 7-8 is the norm at 2500 rpm. I have the very rare 3 stateroom, 3 head version. What I give up is the larger chart table but many couples and families with teenagers ask for my boat so that no one has to share the potty. It is an easy boat to sail and can handle almost anything thrown at it. It is my first boat but feel I was very lucky to get such a boat on the first try. I will eventually sell it to purchase my final cruising boat but that is another story and has nothing to do with this boat. There is plenty of storage and my only complaint is that there is not enough consistent wind in the PNW in the summer time. It is all in the winter but how much fun is that?


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