The new One Design from Jeanneau will cost 142,500 euros, which is 169,575 euros gross including 19 per cent VAT, but still without the sails, which is usual for performance boats. The price is somewhat surprising, as the project was initially announced with a base price of well under 100,000 euros. The general price explosion in the industry does not seem to have stopped at this project either.
The Sun Fast 30 One Design is built on the production line at Groupe Beneteau in Cheviré near Nantes. The hull, deck and bulkheads are manufactured as GRP sandwich constructions using the vacuum infusion process. From September 2023, the French company plans to build and deliver a new Sun Fast 30 boat every week. To date, 43 orders have already been placed for a Sun Fast 30 One Design. These figures are more than promising for a pure regatta boat and for the development of a new standardised class.
Sport and sustainability combined
As standard, Jeanneau's new unit racer is fitted with a carbon fibre mast from French manufacturer Sparcraft. The rig is only equipped with a pair of heavily swept spreaders, but without a backstay - a rather unusual configuration for this size of boat, which also requires a very strong and stiff mast profile. Additional top backstays, so-called runners, nevertheless ensure good trimability. And: a powerful mainsail with square top and a relatively wide overlapping genoa can be set. Shrouds made of Dyform with little stretch ensure effective turnover of the rig tension.
For the use of a gennaker, an extendable bowsprit is integrated in an open channel in the foredeck. This solution is as simple as it is functional, as it prevents water from entering the boat and the trunk still remains flexible. Jeanneau installs a 10 hp built-in diesel with saildrive in the boat as standard. Jeanneau also wants to offer an electric drive as an alternative. For the construction of a standardised class, it is important that the weights remain the same.
In addition to purely sporting interests, an ecologically sustainable construction method is also at the forefront of the project. All composite parts of the new Sun Fast 30 are to be laminated using eco-resin (Arkema Elium®). This resin consists largely of materials that have already been recycled and enables all composite parts (including the hull and deck) to be dismantled and recycled at a later date by strictly separating fibres and resin.
Sun Fast 30 One Design: an exciting joint project
The project is based on the initiative of the UNCL, the national association of ocean sailors in France, in co-operation with the RORC (Royal Ocean Racing Club) in England and the Storm Trysail Club in America. All three organisations have joined forces with the aim of creating a new regatta unit class with a hull length of 30 feet. The design competition organised for this purpose was ultimately won by the VPLP office in France. What's more, the high-volume manufacturer Jeanneau has been awarded the contract for series production of the racer and can integrate the model into its sporty Sun Fast programme under its own brand name. The Multiplast shipyard, which was originally supposed to build the boat, will retain the construction supervision and contribute its extensive experience in the design and development of sophisticated projects for ocean racing.
The regatta department of the Yacht Club de France (YCF), together with Multiplast, has now finalised the rules for the new class association. The regatta programme for 2024 will be announced shortly. Several Sun Fast 30s have already signed up for the second edition of the Cap Martinique Transatlantic Race, which will start on 14 April 2024 from La Trinité sur Mer. The first boats in the new class are also expected to take part in high-calibre events in Europe next year, such as the RORC Season's Points Championship in England and the Spi Ouest in France. In addition, a new edition of the popular stage classic "Tour de France à la Voile" is being planned with the Sun Fast 30 One Design. The series, which used to be so successful, could take place again next year. On the initiative of a private investor, who has ordered around 20 Sun Fast 30 One Design boats, collective fleets will be available for charter in Portsmouth in England and in Lorient and Marseille in France.
Technical data Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 OD
- Designer: VPLP Design
- CE design category: A4/B5/C6
- Hull length: 8.99 m
- Overall length with bowsprit: 10.40 m
- Waterline length: 8.40 m
- Width: 2.99 m
- Weight: 2.7 tonnes
- Draught: 2.00 m
- Ballast/proportion: 1.0 t/37 %
- Sail area downwind: 59.0 m²
- Sail area downwind: 137.0 m²
- Motorisation: 10 hp built-in diesel (Nanni) / Saildrive
- Fuel tank capacity: 40 litres
