Class BDisplacementCruiser/Racer

Sun Odyssey 50

Jeanneau · Philippe Briand · 2008

Updated

The Sun Odyssey 50 is a 14.73 m displacement racing yacht designed by Philippe Briand and built by Jeanneau, first launched in 2008. It races in Class B.

Sun Odyssey 50 - Philippe Briand - JeanneauP 15.71 mLOA 14.73 m

Length

14.73 m

48′ 4″

Beam

4.49 m

Draft

2.13 m

Displacement

13.4 t

Sail area

105 m²

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

On the podium

Where a Sun Odyssey 50 finishes when she goes racing.

Not enough data yet to show how this design finishes. It has not been found in the race results we have collected so far.

Recent regattas

The latest events where a Sun Odyssey 50 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.

No regattas found yet.

Raced one we are missing?

Report a regatta

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

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Not enough data yet: no races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.

Offshore & coastal

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Not enough data yet: no races over 10 NM carry a published distance.

Who she races against

The designs a Sun Odyssey 50 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.

Not enough data yet to say who this design races against. No result we have collected puts it on the water beside another design we track.

Speed at every angle

The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.

36930°60°90°120°150°WIND9.9

Upwind VMG

5.57

41°

Beam reach

9.07

90°

Broad reach

9.62

135°

Downwind VMG

8.21

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.

This is a boat that wants breeze. On a windy coastal course it is in its element; on a light-air windward-leeward it has to be sailed well to hold on.

Where it gains

Its best ground is on the beam once the breeze fills, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having.

Where it pays

It falls short upwind when the breeze is soft, 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-0.24 kn
Beam reach+0.42 kn
Broad reach+0.21 kn
Downwind+0.01 kn

Full width is 0.8 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 50

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

Angle6 kn10 kn14 kn20 kn
Beat VMG3.074.475.285.57
52°4.886.877.798.15
60°5.317.238.058.43
75°5.617.498.298.81
90°5.617.748.579.07
110°5.677.918.809.79
120°5.527.788.749.91
135°4.917.258.459.62
150°4.126.367.888.98
Run VMG3.565.506.888.21

How they are set up

The range each sail spans across the fleet.

Mainsail43 m² – 48 m²
Headsail59 m² – 61 m²
Gennaker134 m² – 141 m²

Most run a fixed propeller. Crew weight is declared around 870 kg.

Rigging

Sun Odyssey 50 rig and sail dimensions

A Sun Odyssey 50 carries 15.71 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.60 m boom, a forestay 16.47 m above the deck and a 6.06 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 4 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.

Rig

Mainsail hoistP15.71 m15.66 – 15.75
Boom lengthE5.60 m5.60 – 5.60
Forestay heightIG16.47 m16.25 – 16.70
Fore triangle baseJ5.67 m5.65 – 5.68
Spinnaker hoistISP16.87 m16.84 – 16.90
BowspritTPS6.06 m5.80 – 6.32
Boom above deckBAS2.01 m2.00 – 2.03

Sails

Mainsail45.4 m²42.6 – 48.3
Headsail59.9 m²59.1 – 60.8
Gennaker137.3 m²133.7 – 140.8