The sun was hot. The sea was flat. It was difficult to conjure a better afternoon for sailing. So why was I scratching my head? It took a long moment to realize that I was suffering from the consequences of what might best be described as a spatial disconnect. Once under way, however, and steering from the windward wheel on the twin helm stations, I was struck by the low, clean, unobstructed view forward, a vantage that allowed a clear look not only at the series of genoa telltales aloft but also of the twin anchor rollers right down at the bow.
With each successive offering, the builder has borrowed from the past while forging fresh territory, refining the concept in small yet progressive steps. But with the 54 DS, Jeanneau commissioned Jacques Farroux, a performance-oriented designer, to create the hull, and the company has continued this practice with the subsequent models; Philippe Briand, another naval architect who first made his name with fast raceboats, took the baton from Farroux to refine the notion, and he was also responsible for the new 45 DS.
As I learned first-hand off Les Sables, coursing upwind at an effortless 7 knots in the moderate breeze, it sails wonderfully. The 54 DS was and is an unqualified success. Jeanneau America sold nine boats at the Miami Boat Show when it was introduced to the American market.
It had sold exactly two Sun Odyssey Today, the boat is still in production, with more than built. The lesson learned? Given a price point hundreds of thousands of dollars less than what the semicustom builders were and are offering, the market for a substantial, affordable footer was ready and waiting.
So, too, were sailors looking for deck saloons in smaller sizes. So what is it, exactly, about deck saloons that are so appealing? After all, in terms of light and space, a deck-saloon sailboat is the closest thing in a monohull but often at a fraction of the cost of a similar-sized multihull.
