For this review, I should save the surprise for the end, but why make you wait? About a month ago, around midnight, depending on the version of the story, I rolled out of bed and fractured my back. What followed has been not much fun, and involved 28 staples reconnecting the pieces of my backbone back together. It was a very traumatic time for my wife Jill and it wasn’t much fun for me either. But with the infinite patience of my helper Bruce, and my editor Greta, a decision was made to plow ahead with the reviews for this month as usual. I  did not get a vote. Extra thanks to Jill and Bruce (who much prefers to be incognito, but provides many snarky comments while helping me).

The amazing thing is, the new Sun Odyssey 350 shares a lot of design features in common with the new Swan 51—the large topside windows, the slight rake on the stem, the beam carried all the way aft, and the flat sheer. Obviously two different designs, but they both seem to share the same target goals: volume, performance and comfort. The biggest difference I can see is that the Jeanneau design team has produced a 35-foot boat with three very different keel options: a deep retractable fin keel drawing 8 feet, 4 inches, a standard fixed keel drawing 6 feet, 5 inches, or a fixed shoal-draft keel drawing 4 feet 9 inches.

 

The D/L ratio is 192.41 and L/B ration is 2.78. In technical terms, that’s a chubby boat. As with the Swan, there are different sailplans available to suit the desired purpose. The SA/D is 17.67 for the standard sailplan listed in the specification, or 18.71 for the performance sailplan. 

The Jeanneau design team, which includes Marc Lombard, Philippe Briand and Jean-Marc Piaton, has produced two interior options for the new Sun Odyssey 350. You can have a double berth forward and a double berth aft to starboard, with storage aft to port, or you can have an interior with a second double berth aft to port. Both layouts appear to give the option of a navigation table at the aft end of the port settee in the main saloon. Both layouts include a single shared head with shower. I keep trying to convince Bruce I see a fifth interior option, but that might be a result of my recent adventures with Big Pharma.

I think that’s about all I have to say for this month. Given the obvious similarities between the Sun Odyssey 350 and the Swan 51, I’d choose the Swan.

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LOA 35’8’’; LOD 34’1’’; LWL 30’9’’; Beam 11’9’’; Displ. 12,542 lb.; Draft standard 6’5”, shoal 4’9’’, lifting 4’2’’- 8’4’’; Sail area standard 594 sq. ft., performance 629 sq. ft.; Auxiliary 29 hp; Fuel 34 gal. Water 54 gal.; D/L 192.41; L/B 2.78; SA/D 17.67. www.jeanneau.com

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