Design and Construction
Both the hull and deck are fiberglass, and Jeanneau offered the Sun Kiss 45 with different keel alternatives to suit cruising priorities. One option is a fin keel with bulb, while another is a stub/centreboard keel — the latter drawing just 1.52 to 1.62 meters dependent on load and letting the boat enter most marinas, against the fin-bulb's 2.08 to 2.18 meters which restricts her to major harbours anchor. The keel itself is lead. Her wetted surface runs about 55 square meters, and the immersion rate is approximately 334 kg per centimeter, or 1,873 pounds per inch, a figure that tells you how stubbornly she sits in the water as stores and crew are added. The capsize screening value is 1.97, and the Motion Comfort Ratio is 28.0 — numbers that place her in the stable, moderate-displacement cruiser camp rather than the twitchy lightweight racer end of the spectrum.
Rig and Handling
The Sun Kiss 45 is built with a masthead rig and carries 75.5 square meters (812.5 square feet) of sail area on the mainsail and jib combination. With the ISO 8666 reference sail the sail-area-to-displacement ratio is 15.1, rising to 18.1 with a 135 percent genoa — a meaningful jump that shows how much the standard rig leans on overlapping headsails for performance. The displacement-length ratio is 219, which categorizes her among moderate racers rather than heavy full-keel cruisers. Her theoretical hull speed is 8.2 knots. The standing and running rigging dimensions are generous for the size: mainsail, jib/genoa, and spinnaker halyards all run 37.6 meters with 14 mm diameter, while sheets are 16 mm, the mainsheet stretching 34.4 meters and the jib sheet 13.7 meters. A kicking strap and clew outhaul of 9.1 meters and a 4.5 meter cunningham round out the control lines.
Accommodations and Tankage
The Sun Kiss 45 is equipped with 522 liters (137 US gallons) of fresh water capacity, a generous allowance for a cruising couple or family on extended stays. The owner three-cabin and alternative layouts were offered, and the beamy hull form supports that volume without the compromised narrow ends seen on older slender designs. While the sources do not itemize berth counts or joinery details, the 138-gallon water tankage paired with 47 gallons of diesel suggests a boat sized for passages rather than marina hopping alone.
The Verdict
The Sun Kiss 45 is a Briand-designed Jeanneau cruiser that trades on volume, stability, and flexible keel options. The centreboard version in particular broadens her cruising range into shallow harbours that the fin-bulb model cannot reach, and the rig's reliance on a genoa for spirited performance is honest rather than disguised. She is a moderate-displacement boat with comfort-oriented numbers, not a featherweight.
Pros
- Lead ballast keel with selectable fin-bulb or stub/centreboard drafts
- Beam-on 14.4-foot hull with 522 liters of water capacity for passage cruising
- Comfort and capsize ratios consistent with a stable offshore-capable cruiser
Cons
- Fin-bulb draft of 2.08–2.18 meters limits marina access without the centreboard option
- Sail-area-to-displacement of 15.1 on the reference sail shows dependence on a large genoa for pace
