Design and Construction
The Sun Odyssey 24.2 is built predominantly of fiberglass with wood trim, and Jeanneau constructed it in France built in France. The hull is solid fiberglass, as is the deck, with lead ballast and a fin keel carrying a weighted bulb. The underbody shows a nearly plumb stem and a reverse transom, and the rudder is an internally mounted spade type controlled by tiller. Three keel configurations left the factory: a fixed fin keel with weighted bulb drawing 3.61 feet, a full keel inboard version, and a full keel outboard version, plus an optional stub keel and centerboard that draws 4.59 feet with the board down and 2.13 feet retracted for shallow-water sailing or trailing. The boat displaces 4,200 pounds and carries a beam of 8.16 feet on a 21.67-foot waterline.
Rig and Handling
The 24.2 is a fractional sloop with a Bermuda rig, a small cruiser's sail plan totaling 265 square feet across a 135-square-foot main and a 130-square-foot jib. The fractional arrangement and simplified deck layout reflect the builder's stated aim that the boat was made for simplified sailing. With a hull speed of 6.24 knots and an easy-to-launch nature, the centerboard version in particular invites trailer sailing and gunkholing where deeper fin-keel boats cannot follow. The generous and well-protected cockpit, paired with free access to the stern swim platform, makes companionway movement and stern boarding straightforward for a boat this length.
Accommodations
Below, the 24.2 sleeps six by factory specification, arranged as a double V-berth in the bow cabin, two straight settees in the main cabin, and an aft cabin with a double berth on the port side. The manufacturer's own description confirms a genuine double berth aft and two forward berths, along with a practical U-shaped galley on the port side just forward of the companionway ladder, equipped with a two-burner stove and sink. A toilet-equipped washroom sits just aft of the companionway on the starboard side. Interior teak furnishings, a forward hatch that gives clear vision ahead and admits plenty of natural light, and a maximum rated capacity of four people for day sailing round out a compact but complete interior.
The Verdict
The Sun Odyssey 24.2 is a small, intelligently laid-out cruiser that punches above its length in livability. Fauroux gave it a real aft cabin, a protected cockpit, and a centerboard option that extends its range into thin water and onto a trailer, while the fractional rig keeps handling simple. Its modest size limits payload and offshore ambition, but as a lake, estuary, or coastal weekender it is a complete package.
Pros
- Genuine six-berth accommodation including an aft double and bow V-berth
- Centerboard version trails and explores shallow water
- Protected cockpit with direct swim-platform access
- Simplified fractional rig suited to short-handed sailing
Cons
- 4,200-pound displacement limits carrying capacity and sea-kindliness
- Outboard-dependent unless the rare inboard option was taken
