Sun Odyssey 40.3
Jeanneau · Daniel Andrieu · 2004
Updated
The Sun Odyssey 40.3 is a 11.71 m displacement racing yacht designed by Daniel Andrieu and built by Jeanneau, first launched in 2004. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 1% of the designs it races against.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 1% of the boats it races against.
158th of 159 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 14 starts across 2 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
11.71 m
38′ 5″
Beam
3.94 m
Draft
1.96 m
Displacement
7.9 t
Sail area
86 m²
On the podium
Where a Sun Odyssey 40.3 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
29%
of 14 starts by 1 boat
Wins
0%
Read from 14 starts by 1 boat between 2025 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Sun Odyssey 40.3 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
XXX Lliga Social CMPO2026- XXIX Lliga Social CMPO2025
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
23%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: no races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Sun Odyssey 40.3 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Sun Odyssey 40.3 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
5.33
39°
Beam reach
8.52
90°
Broad reach
9.25
135°
Downwind VMG
7.67
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.
It is an upwind boat first. Windward-leeward courses give it more of what it is good at than a coastal race does.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a reach when it blows, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short downwind in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is a displacement hull working to its designed speed.
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 Odyssey 40.3
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.26 | 4.56 | 5.17 | 5.33 |
| 52° | 5.05 | 6.76 | 7.40 | 7.60 |
| 60° | 5.38 | 7.02 | 7.61 | 7.84 |
| 75° | 5.61 | 7.20 | 7.81 | 8.21 |
| 90° | 5.54 | 7.31 | 7.97 | 8.52 |
| 110° | 5.57 | 7.48 | 8.26 | 9.11 |
| 120° | 5.41 | 7.38 | 8.24 | 9.37 |
| 135° | 4.83 | 6.98 | 7.97 | 9.25 |
| 150° | 4.05 | 6.19 | 7.47 | 8.54 |
| Run VMG | 3.52 | 5.36 | 6.54 | 7.67 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. Crew weight is declared around 410 kg.
Rigging
Sun Odyssey 40.3 rig and sail dimensions
A Sun Odyssey 40.3 carries 14.50 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.75 m boom, a forestay 15.70 m above the deck and a 5.00 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 9 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 76 to 104 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.