Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 45 DS

Into the blue

It stands to reason that with 19 Sydney to Hobarts and all but one Hamilton Island Race Week - which started in 1984 - under his sailing belt, that yachting's racing ace, Ron Jacobs, wants to head offshore. So I oblige. Just the two of us, on Jeanneau's dashing new Sun Odyssey 45 Deck Saloon (DS) on a day when the ocean calls and we are willing.

There's a run-out tide in Broken Bay and 15 to 18 knots of northeaster creating a bar-like effect. White horses paint the post-deluge khaki-coloured water with streaks of foam, as though an artist has daubed a canvas. But not one to back off, we head out into the fray flying a full head of sail - just the two of us. Wind in the hair, spray across the decks and a wonderfully smooth motion - no pounding - as we launch off the crests, power through the troughs, then lift up over the next wave.

"At least I am in good hands", I pondered looking back at Lion Island, and not just referring to Jacob's well-worn mitts. If nothing else, the new 45 DS is a reassuring yacht, built for the wide blue yonder, for seriously comfortable coastal cruising.

Forget the race, take your time; see Hobart at leisure, as at least one Jeanneau owner has done. And head north for winter beyond Hamilton Island with, say, a cruise in company like the Louisiades Rally 2008, a new 500nm friendly regatta from Cairns to PNG. Those kinds of things are perfect for the 45 DS.

"The difference with our buyers is that they do serious time away," Jacobs explains as we prepared to tack.

"We have owners who routinely head north to the tropics each year and at least one owner has cruised the West Coast of Tasmania. People spend more time on our boats, that's the difference," he asserts as we go about. A big gybe is next and, once the lines are sorted, we surf the breakers back home.

If not on the water, then one look through the specifications will confirm Jeanneau's new 45 DS is every bit the long-passage making yacht. While owners of the best-selling sistership, the 42 DS, aspire to cruise to far-away places, buyers of this model will promptly realise that dream.

Quite by design, the 45 DS is closer allied with the French yachtmaker's five-star 49 DS and 54 DS. A lot of thought has gone into creating a serious liveaboard yacht for discerning cruising types who are finally ready to really go places. To this end, there's scope to fit all the mod cons and then some.

It's for this reason that the 45 DS pushes my wayfaring buttons. I'm talking about buttons for things like a generator, air-con, dishwasher and washer-dryer, all of which are options that can - and are being fitted - by savvy cruising sailors to today's serious cruising yachts. Buttons for electric (Jabsco Quiet-Flush) heads instead of those manual crank numbers that lack dignity. And buttons for an electric halyard winch, with which you can furl the mainsail should you prefer it, to the optional battened main on our demo boat.

CRUISING CREDENTIALS
Jacobs says his buyers don't want to get too bogged down in the technical aspects of Jeanneau's construction because, well, they don't need to. All they want to know is that the yacht is strong.

Like most Jeanneaus, the 45 DC has a solid GRP hull with a glassed-in grid stringer system and liner, plus balsa-cored decks.

Jeanneaus are built to Bureau Veritas, which means they can go into charter, and the yard claims to be the only large-scale production yachtmaker with ISO 9001 accreditation. This means it builds its yachts to specification, which makes it easier to go into survey for charter while also providing peace of mind. And don't forget that Jeanneau celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. So it has stood the test of time.

As for the Deck Saloon; it's more than just an aesthetic appendage. The big windows direct more light, and create more volume and headroom down below. And it's not by chance that, after sailing around the world alone in a flush-decked Cavalier 37 yacht, Kay Cottee arrived home and promptly designed a Deck Saloon (albeit a 56-footer) for similar reasons - more living space.

The 45 DS has the exact same Philippe Briand-designed hull as the company's flush-decked Sun Odyssey 45 cruiser/racer. The beam is carried well aft and the weight has been kept out of the ends as best they could. The moulding for the Deck Saloon adds 500kg to the flush-deck Sun Odyssey 45 model, but both yachts carry the same 2954kg of ballast in their cast-iron fin keel.

Overall displacement of the 45 DS is 10,400kg which, despite relatively low-tech build and the addition of a Deck Saloon, isn't at all heavy compared with some of its production peers. For example, the smaller Hanse 430e in epoxy displaces 10,900kg (maybe a bit less if you refer to the build certificate instead of the printed specs) and its ballast is 3200kg, so its the hull and deck that weigh more. Suffice to say, the French appear to have production variances in check, which gets back to that ISO 9001 accreditation.

But there's something else that strikes a chord with my crusty crew and me. What we see on a lot of yachts are folks heading below decks because: (a) the cockpit isn't big enough to comfortably kick back; (b) there's not a decent bimini and dodger under which to escape the sun; and, (c) below decks is where you do spend a lot of time aboard.

In respect of point (a), the 45 DS has a nice big cockpit with optional factory supplied Sunbrella cushions (or add your own beanbags). As for (b); while there are optional factory supplied dodger and bimini, Jacobs prefers to use local trimmers to cut and fit his canopies here, adding an inspection window for viewing the main above.

Then there is point (c), the main point and a real selling point of the deck saloon. In adverse weather or the blistering tropics, the best place to be aboard a boat is often below decks. But unlike conventional yachts where you feel like you're living in a tunnel or cocoon, the Deck Saloon's big windows offer views with the outside world.

I know this open-plan layout and sense of connectivity would endear this yacht to my crew. Down below on the 45 DS you feel you are part of the action. And the beamy saloon and wonderful joinery add to the ambience.

CRUISING ESSENTIALS
Twin wheels (and binnacles) are standard on all Jeanneaus above 36ft and, with that, you are assured improved vision even with the big 140 per cent furling genoa that comes standard with this yacht. As do easy-to-get-around decks with handrails; below-seat storage lockers; and a lazarette big enough to stow things like a roll-up tender with air floor, small top-loading outboard, fishing gear, crab traps, speargun, and so on.

There is the usual teak-laid swim platform and optional teak cockpit, a deep-reach ladder, hot/cold deck shower - always the best shower aboard - aft lifelines and so on. But what comes as a welcome surprise is provision for mounting a generator, flush and under the transom, where it won't trouble owners in the saloon and, moreover, their stateroom in the bow - full marks for thoughtfulness. There's also provision for stowing the liferaft out of the way.

Given the big cockpit and abundant shade courtesy of the bimini, it makes sense to tick the box for cockpit table. That there was, but rather than the fibreglass model, the boat had an upgraded teak table for doing big social lunches in style. This, I will add, was something I saw many Jeanneau owners do in during the recent summer holidays.

Options included cockpit as well as standard bow-mounted foot controls for the windlass, spinnaker deck fittings just in case, and an extra battery and charger, plus outdoor speakers for the sound system. Mooring lines, fenders, and so on are all standard. The integrated fairleads in the teak toerails are a nice detail, too.

Although the 45 DS comes standard with 54hp engine, the yacht sailed here (the first 45 DS in the country) had an upgraded 75hp Yanmar. All Jeanneau yachts have traditional shaft drives and this one spun a fixed three-blade prop. The upside, compared with a folding number, is better bite in reverse. Folding prop is optional and a decent spread of electronics still needed to be added.

All lines across the Deck Saloon are encapsulated, with halyards leading back to suitable two-speed winches (upgraded to electric) on the cabin top behind the dodger. Primary winches are within reach of the wheel and secondaries are forward for your crewmate, who has the run of the cockpit. The traveller is on the cabin top, out of the cockpit, and with a short boom (the standard furling main has a longer boom to compensate for the sails lack of roach) there's nothing to clutter the decks when you have guests aboard. Just seats, fresh air and views.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Jeanneau has updated its interiors but there's still an air of timelessness derived from teak joinery. It's not solid teak (except for the edging), which costs and is the absolute bomb these days, but a new laminate made up of lots of 1/8in strips glued together. It's called Fine Teak and it looks great with the white headliners and cream lounges with square lines in keeping with modern trends.

One thing you might also notice, as did I when going forward to retrieve my handheld GPS unit while sailing to windward, are the luxury leather-wrapped handrails. These lead down the companionway, along the chart table, with timber rails flanking the Deck Saloon windows, until you reach the compression post for the deck-stepped mast. Ranging headroom starts at 1.95m but is mainly 2.01m - yet another highpoint.

Among the points to note about the galley, which is set down a half step from the saloon floor are: the solid counters, massive 253lt fridge with dual access and 180lt freezer with external piping for greater efficiency; gimballed two-burner stove with oven (upgraded stove with griller an option); abundant storage for pantry items; and twin underfloor storage tubs for a vat of plonk, I mean victuals, that remind you, yet again, that this is a serious cruising yacht.

Besides an electric loo, the communal head opposite the galley has a surprisingly big shower for a 45-footer. The 40lt hot-water service and heavy-duty water pump should stand you in good stead. The yacht had upgraded fore and aft holding tanks, too.

Saloon seating extends from a two-person lounge to port across to an upgraded luxury timber dinette and U-shaped lounge for four. The seat at the nav. station faces forward, which is better than some yachts where you're sitting side-saddle, and the chart table extends into a cabinet with grog locker that Jeanneau built especially to harbour washer/dryer, dishwasher or icemaker - your pick.

There's room to mount repeater electronics alongside the control panel beside the nav. station where you will find the water gauge and laptop connection. Plot your next passage on the plane while winging it back to your boat in some northern port.

Accommodation options include two cabins fore and aft, each with an island double berth or, as per the test yacht, three cabins and two heads. We favour the latter as the yacht has the volume to carry three cabins and you get a seaberth back aft regardless of your tack. Trust me, the wife off watch and dinner duties will love you for that.

The aft cabins each have double berths, crossflow ventilation and a good amount of storage and hanging space. The stateroom forward features a comfy mattress on battens for back support. Its en suite has another upmarket electric loo and chic Euro fittings.

I thought the joinery and workmanship was first class, which brings us back to the sail. Jeanneau is definitely refining and fine tuning.

CRUISING BEAUTY
Of course, in keeping with the modern cruising ethos, there was an optional but must-have electric halyard winch fitted to this 45 DS. And, while I have espoused the virtues of self-tacking headsails between these pages, Jacobs arrived to demonstrate something else...

Despite this traditional sail plan comprising 140 per cent genoa and optional fully battened main, both flying from a 9/10 Selden aluminium stick with double spreaders, the seasoned sailor had left the marina alone. He set the mainsail in Pittwater alone - with the aid of the electric winch - and unfurled and trimmed the overlapping genoa before heading out into the wilds of Broken Bay - you guessed it, alone - sans autopilot.

In so doing, I was shown that the 45 DS is a user-friendly yacht. But I think that has a lot to do with its righting moment, and its reassuringly steady and smooth motion through the water. No hobby horsing, pounding or tenderness and, in the big puffs, no undue rounding up. Find the right angle of heel and keep it there. And thanks to deck chocks you will stay upright behind the wheel, too.

This won't come as any surprise to those who know something about Jeanneau, the most popular badge in charter fleets from Turkey to Thailand and The Whitsundays to Tahiti. That said, the Sun Odyssey 45 DS is pitched at the mature yacht buyer who might have chartered before but is more likely to have owned various other brands or Jeanneaus in the past.

Here's a yacht for the sailor with itchy feet, time to cruise or close to it, who wants a serious home-away-from-home with seriously big capacities - an impressive 615lt of water, truly huge fridge and freezer - and a spread of accoutrements to realise their long-held dreams now or in the next few years, but not, never.

Here's a yacht for doing it in style and comfort. Push buttons? You betcha. As Jacobs says as we beam-reach home, you'll get 8kts motor or sail. No slouch, that's going places.

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