Design and Construction
The Sun Odyssey 34 is built predominantly of fiberglass with wood trim, carrying a raked stem and a reverse transom. She displaces 10,362 lb and carries 3,351 lb of ballast. With a beam of 11.48 ft and a waterline length of 26.38 ft, she is a beamy mid-30s hull with a standard keel draught of 1.90 m and an optional shoal-draft keel drawing 4.92 ft. The keel is a fixed fin with a weighted bulb, and the rudder is a spade type mounted internally.
Rig and Handling
Andrieu's rig is a fractional sloop with a Bermuda configuration, the sailplan totaling 471.57 sq ft across a 234.60 sq ft mainsail and a 236.96 sq ft jib/genoa. The manufacturer described her as easy on the water for a fast boat, and the same source noted she is easy to steer. The fractional rig makes her very steep to the canvas, a trait the builder highlighted, and the spade rudder and moderate displacement combine to give a hull speed of 6.88 kn. She feels responsive rather than sluggish, a quality the original specifications emphasized as part of her character.
Accommodations
Below, the Sun Odyssey 34 sleeps six across two cabins. The bow cabin holds a double V-berth, while the aft cabin on the starboard side has a double berth. The main cabin pairs a U-shaped settee with a straight settee. The galley sits on the port side just aft of the companionway ladder, laid out as an L-shape with a two-burner stove, ice box, and double sink; the navigation station is forward of it on the port side. Two heads serve the layout — one just aft of the bow cabin on the starboard side, the other on the starboard side just forward of the aft cabin. On deck, the builder pointed to an ingenious integration of maneuvering equipment that opens large relaxation spaces and facilitates movement about the boat.
The Verdict
The Sun Odyssey 34 is an Andrieu cruiser that punches above her length with a responsive fractional rig and a beamy, six-berth interior. She is an approachable fast cruiser with a well-separated two-cabin layout and a practical port-side galley-navigation cluster, though her three-year build window means fewer examples exist than longer-run sisters.
Pros
- Easy to steer and forgiving under way for a quick hull
- Beam-forward interior with two cabins and two heads for six
- Fractional sloop rig that stands steep to the canvas
Cons
- Built only from 1991 to 1993, limiting available supply
- Optional shoal keel trades the standard 6.25 ft draft for less bite
