Buying advice on Sun Legende 41 or other boat 40k Euro

[hugy]

Hi all,

I'm Hugo 25 years old, from the Netherlands and new here to the forum but not new to sailing. I have been sailing in the med (greece and spain) during holidays with the family on charter boats ranging from 36-50ft for the past 10 years. But my passion is to do a circumnavigation with my girlfriend while we are young. Last year I bought a small comet 801 to get a feeling for what it is like to own, sleep and sail on a small cabin boat. So far it is really great! This has really started the fire to start looking for a larger boat me and my girlfriend could live aboard for the coming ~5 years in the Netherlands while working our jobs. This would give us time and money to prepare the boat for our circumnavigation. We are aware it is going to be small, cold during the winter, moist etc. We are up for that and don't need much luxury and are used to living in a small student room.

Afterwards we would probably sail the med for the first 1-2 years because there is so much to see there. After that probably following the trade winds with the coconut milk run and really take our time to see all the beautiful places.

In my search for a boat that fits our budget I found and have looked at this Jeanneau sun legende 41 from 1986 that is for sale It has had a refit in 2016 with all new sails, electronics (navigation, radar, autopilot etc), interior was refurbished, webasto diesel heater installed, new sprayhood and a lot more. The boat was looking to be in great condition and well maintained and ticked a lot of boxes for me with the gear that was installed, size and space inside, large water and diesel tank. The previous owner was refitting it to do a circumnavigation but unfortunately passed away. It is currently for sale for 38k eur (42.5k USD).

My question is if this boat is priced right (it is cheaper than most on yachtfocus) and if it would fit our needs to do a circumnavigation with some work. It has a semi skegged rudder, would this be a no go? I have read a lot about spade rudders and a lot of people like to avoid those while others say they are fine but couldn't find to much about semi skegged rudders. I could find some people who have sailed the med with this type of boat and could find 1 person who has done a circumnavigation. I would off course get a survey on this boat if I am interested in buying before making a final offer.

If you know of any other boats that would be good for us in the ~40k euro range for sale close to the Netherlands please post them here. I attached some pictures I made during the visit. And one photo from the internet with a view of the semi skegged rudder arrangement on this model (not this boat).

Hope you guys can give me some suggestions and opinions.

[gmakhs]

Why not a Koopmans from the Netherlands ??
I am.not familiar with that janneu but if it has the tabbed liner grid to support the hull and the chain plates I believe is good enough for what you want it .

That being said I would search for a 34 to 36 feet probably Koopman design .
You need to think about the design and your budget very well.
1)you will have enough money to pay for haul outs ?(2000 to 3000)
2)you will cruise the milky run or more remote places ?
3)how remote would you like to be ?

When I started my circumnavigation 3 years ago I had similar perspective as you but that now have changed

My recommendation is to find a boat that :
Is small 34 to 36feet
Can get a good grounding
Can be haul out without the use of crane or travel lift (using trailer , the tide or other ways)
Has simple mast and easy to use design (string as well )
Has fiberglass bulkheads (I think the janneu you say has as my beneteau has as well )
Can be operated without the engine (you will be amazed how easy is to run out of diesel in remote locations of how an engine can broke down
Can carry at least 400 liters of water (the more the better )
Has low freeboard
Has a deep draft (closer to 2.metters the better ) do not choose a shallow draft boat .
If you plan to be near ice choose metal .
Beiing unsicable is a great plus as well (I think the janneu if it has the liner grid can be converted to unsinkable)

There are a lot more details you need to get through and all depends on where and for how long you going .

[hugy]

Thank you for your quick reply,

After looking at some boats we decided we wanted something in the 38-42ft range. Smaller than that it would become a bit crowded to our liking if we invite friends over and larger than that is just too much for us.

I looked at some Koopmans but they seem to fall outside of our budget and most of them would need quite a bit of work on them interior, exterior and electronics wise.

Budget wise the 40k eur is just for the purchase of the boat. We will be saving up another ~150k before we are leaving to spend on our circumnavigation and the boat.

We are probably taking the milky run yes and thinking of a total away time of about 5 years. But anything can change when we leave.

From what I can find the Jeanneau has fiberglass bulkheads.

[gmakhs]

Then is a nice boat for you (I would buy it as well if I didn't have more extreme sailing plans )
There is a similar model.made in Greece called
OLYMPIC SEA 42, but I believe the janneu quality to be better .

Check with janneu if this model can take legs to dry with the tide, this is very useful.


Make an extensive check in the keel area and reinforce the tabbing and add bigger keelbolt washers before you go .
Specially in the front keel bolt . It's a hard job to do but will save you from issues later ... Because you gonna groundnut for sure (everybody does ).
Check the tabbing on the wood it's not important but it creeks better to repair before you go .
Add a windvane or a hydraulic autopilot .
You gonna be happy with it people tend to believe they are light build but there are good boats .
Osmosis might be an issue, but is repairable and anyway you have too.much boat for the money you spent.

[MartinR]

In my opinion, of the big production boats, Jeanneau has the best quality and is probably the best choice.

[SV Sailfish]

Here is a link to Sailing East of the Sun on YouTube. They are a sailing couple based out of Amsterdam. They would be a very good contact for you close to home. They are wonderful people!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD-...2QV4rtqMUlBe2g

Cheers!

[spassovm]

Hello! I am selling Dehler 34 in Greece for 23000 Euro. Here is the link. The boat is perfect and ready to go round the world. Regards!
https://www.inautia.com/aviso/menuPrivadoGestionAvisos/

[spassovm]

https://www.inautia.com/used-boat-18...849534569.html

[wingssail]

I think this is an excellent choice. It is Doug Peterson design an well built by Jeaneau. It will sail excellently, any direction, any weather. You will love it's sailing ability. A lot depends on the survey. Make sure you get a thorough survey including rig, keel attachment, engine condition, rudder bearings, hull and deck condition. Same as any other boat. When you start sailing it be sure you can reduce sail. This boat will go with little sail area but it can get to be a hand full if you overpower it. You need a windvane.

[hugy]

Thank you for all the advice, unfortunately after I called the seller again the Sun legende was already under bid and will probably be sold next week

I have been looking at some other boats that interested me. I would greatly appreciate your comments again! They have been really helpful.

I'm looking at these boats:

Jeanneau Voyage 12.5
https://www.marktplaats.nl/a/watersp...eter-1990.html

Jeanneau Sunshine 38 from 1987
https://www.yachtfocus.com/gebruikte...nshine-38.html

Van de Stadt 37 Forna from 1997
https://www.yachtfocus.com/gebruikte...-37-forna.html


Sweden Yachts Comfort
https://www.botentekoop.nl/zeiljacht...6-f8e1c6a39760

[Tetepare]

I like the 12.5. Solid boat, good layout. There are two versions of the interior, one cheaper with straight and less nice cabinets.

[Pete7]

Shame, that looked like a great yacht. Jeanneau built some really good boats during this period and weren't afraid to use carbon fiber to extra add additional strength in the hulls of some models.

If you keep the length to just under 12m then you are in a lower bracket for many european moorings and the Greek tax brackets.

Pete

[gmakhs]

Sweden yachts comfort 34 is a good choice.
It has an old design and you lose some space inside but with a big locker , sail locker inside, clever propane storage , and good performance .
They are solid boats I have ground over 4 times at full speed with little damage, hit the dock , demast it 2 times and sail her to 45 knots of winds . She always outperforms janneu but has less space .
The one in your picture has a lot of modifications that you might want to check, the price is good and if the boat is ok I would buy it .
The best model forncrusiong is the Sweden yachts 340 (made after the c34 has more modern design )

[MartinR]

+1 for the Voyage 12.5, especially as this boat looks like new inside.