Design and Construction
Marc Lombard's hull shows a hair more depth to the forefoot and a harder forefoot knuckle than some rivals, and in plan view the 39i carries more beam at the transom — enough that one reviewer judged it too much for conservative tastes. The keel is not a simple fin: it has a long root footprint with elongated trailing and leading edge fillets and a 23-degree sweep to the leading edge, while the bulb extends a long way past the trailing edge. That geometry, paired with a 6-foot-6-inch standard draft (or a 4-foot-11-inch shoal option), gives the boat a defined underwater profile rather than a generic cruising fin. Above the waterline, the deck is a cockpit with twin wheels, and the chainplates are bolted to the hull outboard — a structural decision that places load paths through the hull shell rather than the deck edge.
Rig and Handling
The 39i carries the typical fractional rig with swept spreaders and an inboard, aft lower shroud, while a bow setup will take a retracting bowsprit to help with an asymmetrical chute. Sail handling is centralized: halyards, reefing and furling lines, and the mainsheet are led aft to winches on either side of the companionway, with primary winches on the coamings just forward of the twin wheels. The manufacturer's own note that twin steering positions with winches placed near the helms provide easy sail handling aligns with test sailors finding the helm light and the boat obedient to a flick of the fingers on the wheel. The mainsheet traveler is strikingly short at about 32 inches end to end, which limits mainsheet purchase travel but keeps the cockpit uncluttered. With an SA/D of 16.71 and a sail area of 667 square feet, the rig is moderate rather than overpowered.
Accommodations
Inside, the 39i makes a case for restrained cabin count over crammed berths. Jeanneau did not try to incorporate a second head into the boat, and the result is a saloon described by testers as large, airy, and comfortable. The two-cabin arrangement has one head and one aft stateroom to starboard, with a spacious head to port featuring a separate shower with a seat; the three-cabin version trades that for twin aft cabins but a considerably smaller head without a separate shower. In the saloon, a wraparound dinette to starboard sits just forward of an L-shaped galley with seating for five or six, while a settee berth opposite is just forward of the nav station. The port settee extends under the chart table, and opposing settees take the pressure off the accommodation plan. A roomy forward cabin with a large V-berth and ample storage in hanging lockers and shelves anchors the bow, and all staterooms use fore-and-aft double berths. A large port lazarette and a centerline cockpit table for six round out the livable volume, which testers attributed to a generous beam carried well aft.
Known Issues
The published records document no structural defects, water ingress paths, or systemic failures for the 39i. What is recorded are choices with trade-offs: the three-cabin layout sacrifices the separate shower stall, and the short mainsheet traveler limits trim range. The shoal 4-foot-11-inch draft trades weatherliness for accessibility. No drainage, flooding, or construction-defect items appear in the source material, so a buyer's survey should follow normal practice rather than chase a known weak point.
Refits and Ownership
Owners shopping a 39i will find a boat with a 40-horsepower Yanmar diesel on a documented specification, 34 gallons of fuel, and 94 gallons of water. The dedicated life raft locker integrated into the stern skirt is a built-in safety item, and a hot-and-cold-water transom shower handy to the broad swim platform supports the outdoor-cockpit ethos. The two-cabin or three-cabin decision is the principal ownership fork, with the former preserving the separate shower and the latter adding sleeping capacity.
The Verdict
The Sun Odyssey 39i is a considered coastal cruiser that uses moderate beam, a distinctive swept keel with a long bulb, and a centralized sail-handling plan to deliver light, obedient steering without chasing maximum berth count. Its restraint below — one head, well-judged settees, and honest stowage — reads as a design confident enough to leave space empty.
Pros
- Fractional rig with swept spreaders and bowsprit provision for asymmetric chutes
- Twin wheels with winches near the helms and lines led aft for short-handed sailing
- Two-cabin layout keeps a separate shower stall and a large aft stateroom
- Keel geometry with long root footprint and 23-degree leading-edge sweep
Cons
- Three-cabin layout loses the separate shower stall
- Mainsheet traveler only about 32 inches wide limits mainsail trim travel
- Shoal draft option trades 19 inches of draft for upwind capability
