Class CHeavy displacementCruiser/Racer

Sun Odyssey 42.2

Jeanneau · Dumas · 1997

Updated 30 September 2026

The Sun Odyssey 42.2 is a 12.28 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Dumas and built by Jeanneau, first launched in 1997. It races in Class C.

Length

12.28 m

40′ 3″

Beam

3.98 m

Draft

1.88 m

Displacement

8.4 t

Sail area

80 m²

This design does not carry a Race Edge. The speeds below still come from measured boats.

Compare with another design

On the podium

Where a Sun Odyssey 42.2 finishes when she goes racing.

On the podium

of 17 starts by 2 boats

Wins

Wins0%0

Seconds0%0

Thirds0%0

Off the podium100%17

Read from 17 starts by 2 boats between 2024 and 2025, counting races with six boats or more.

Recent regattas

The latest events where a Sun Odyssey 42.2 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.

FR252025
"Καλαμακεια & Παραδοσιακα Καλαμακεια 2025"2025
Apostole Paul2024
Friendship Regatta2024

Raced one we are missing?

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Round 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

—

Not enough data yet: 7 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.

Offshore & coastal

of these races end on the podium

10 races over 10 NM

Who she races against

The designs a Sun Odyssey 42.2 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.

This design aheadRival ahead

Bavaria 374%ahead in 1 of 25 meetings, 16 racesalmost always behind

First 44.70%ahead in 0 of 16 meetings, 16 racesalmost always behind

Comet 410%ahead in 0 of 16 meetings, 16 racesalmost always behind

Sun Odyssey 41050%ahead in 8 of 16 meetings, 16 racestoo close to call

First 34525%ahead in 4 of 16 meetings, 16 races

Bavaria 40 Cruiser94%ahead in 15 of 16 meetings, 16 racesalmost always ahead

Archambault 400%ahead in 0 of 13 meetings, 13 races

Evento 420%ahead in 0 of 13 meetings, 13 races

First 40.742%ahead in 11 of 26 meetings, 13 races

Elan 400%ahead in 0 of 13 meetings, 13 races

Oceanis 47315%ahead in 2 of 13 meetings, 13 races

Bavaria Cruiser 4654%ahead in 7 of 13 meetings, 13 races

Bavaria Match 350%ahead in 0 of 10 meetings, 10 races

Fiumanka 330%ahead in 0 of 9 meetings, 9 races

Platu 250%ahead in 0 of 9 meetings, 3 races

Also met, too few times for a figure:

First 27 (Mauric) (7 meetings), Elan 434 Impression (7 meetings), Bavaria Cruiser 38 (7 meetings), Sun Odyssey 37.1 (7 meetings), Grand Soleil 45 (Judel/Vrolijk) (6 meetings), X-372 (6 meetings), Sun Odyssey 45 (6 meetings), Sun Light 30 (6 meetings), JPK 11.80 (6 meetings), Olympic Sea 42 (3 meetings), Melges 24 (3 meetings), Dufour 365 (1 meeting), Sun Odyssey 36.2 (1 meeting)

Some of the boats it races against

How the Sun Odyssey 42.2 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.

Sun Odyssey 42.2 vs First 40.7ahead 42% of 26 head-to-heads

Sun Odyssey 42.2 vs Bavaria 37ahead 4% of 25 head-to-heads

Sun Odyssey 42.2 vs First 44.7ahead 0% of 16 head-to-heads

Sun Odyssey 42.2 vs Comet 41ahead 0% of 16 head-to-heads

Sun Odyssey 42.2 vs Sun Odyssey 410ahead 50% of 16 head-to-heads

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

5.08

41°

Beam reach

8.22

90°

Broad reach

8.92

135°

Downwind VMG

7.36

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 does most things without giving much away. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.

Where it gains

Its best ground is across the wind in a working breeze, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.

Where it pays

It falls short to windward in the light stuff, giving away time it never gets back.

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.

True wind

Upwind-0.21 kn

Beam reach+0.39 kn

Broad reach+0.31 kn

Downwind+0.06 kn

Full width is 0.6 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 42.2

Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.

Angle	6 kn	10 kn	14 kn	20 kn
Beat VMG	2.83	4.13	4.87	5.08
52°	4.49	6.30	7.13	7.42
60°	4.84	6.63	7.36	7.67
75°	5.08	6.87	7.56	8.02
90°	5.17	7.14	7.83	8.22
110°	5.35	7.34	8.11	8.93
120°	5.18	7.23	8.06	9.12
135°	4.58	6.79	7.81	8.92
150°	3.86	5.96	7.29	8.23
Run VMG	3.34	5.17	6.32	7.36

How they are set up

The range each sail spans across the fleet.

Mainsail30 m² – 31 m²

Headsail46 m² – 51 m²

Gennaker110 m² – 123 m²

Most run a fixed propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 840 kg.

Rigging

Sun Odyssey 42.2 rig and sail dimensions

A Sun Odyssey 42.2 carries 14.17 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.87 m boom, a forestay 15.90 m above the deck and a 4.88 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 2 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.

Rig

Mainsail hoistP14.17 m14.17 – 14.17

Boom lengthE4.87 m4.87 – 4.87

Forestay heightIG15.90 m15.90 – 15.90

Fore triangle baseJ4.68 m4.68 – 4.68

Spinnaker hoistISP15.90 m15.90 – 15.90

BowspritTPS4.88 m4.88 – 4.88

Boom above deckBAS1.69 m1.69 – 1.69

Sails

Mainsail30.7 m²30.0 – 31.4

Headsail48.8 m²46.3 – 51.3

Gennaker116.3 m²109.5 – 123.1

The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 110 to 123 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.