Sun Legende 41
Jeanneau · Doug Peterson · 1985
Updated
The Sun Legende 41 is a 12.22 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Doug Peterson and built by Jeanneau, first launched in 1985. It races in Class C.
Length
12.22 m
40′ 1″
Beam
3.91 m
Draft
2.00 m
Displacement
8.7 t
Sail area
88 m²
On the podium
Where a Sun Legende 41 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
41%
of 56 starts by 4 boats
Wins
7%
Read from 56 starts by 4 boats between 2018 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Sun Legende 41 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Kypello Voreiou Aigaiou2026- North Aegean Cup2025
Hollænderseilasen2025- Κύπελο Βορείου Αιγαίου & Πανελλήνιο Κύπελο Sportboat 2022024
- ORC Greek Championship2023
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
42%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
40%
of these races end on the podium
Level across both. Plenty of designs fall away once the course gets long — a light hull that thrives round the cans can struggle through a night at sea. This one does not.
Who she races against
The designs a Sun Legende 41 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Salona 37 (7 meetings), Solaris 50 (7 meetings), First 32 (7 meetings), Discovery 300 (7 meetings), Fiumanka 33 (7 meetings), Gib Sea 302 (7 meetings), First 27 (Mauric) (7 meetings), X-3 (7 meetings), Comet 41 (7 meetings), Archambault 40 (7 meetings), Elan 434 Impression (7 meetings), Oceanis 393 (7 meetings), Sun Odyssey 410 (7 meetings), Oceanis 473 (7 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Sun Legende 41 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
5.16
39°
Beam reach
8.11
90°
Broad reach
8.74
135°
Downwind VMG
7.80
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
There is no obvious weak spot here. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on the beat when it blows, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short off the wind in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is weight that has to be driven rather than released.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Sun Legende 41
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.30 | 4.59 | 5.05 | 5.16 |
| 52° | 5.10 | 6.73 | 7.20 | 7.33 |
| 60° | 5.41 | 6.94 | 7.40 | 7.54 |
| 75° | 5.61 | 7.10 | 7.61 | 7.85 |
| 90° | 5.49 | 7.18 | 7.70 | 8.11 |
| 110° | 5.44 | 7.25 | 7.87 | 8.46 |
| 120° | 5.27 | 7.17 | 7.89 | 8.79 |
| 135° | 4.74 | 6.81 | 7.73 | 8.74 |
| 150° | 4.03 | 6.14 | 7.40 | 8.33 |
| Run VMG | 3.49 | 5.34 | 6.65 | 7.80 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 630 kg.
Rigging
Sun Legende 41 rig and sail dimensions
A Sun Legende 41 carries 13.70 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.32 m boom, a forestay 15.45 m above the deck and a 4.92 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 3 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 94 to 108 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.