Sailboat Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 for sale

The (affordable) option between the Mini 6.50 and the Class 40? The Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 OD

To understand the Sun Fast 30 OD, you first need to understand sailing in France. This is because there, the sport – particularly regatta sailing and professional sailing – is a major and integral part of popular culture. Far more so than in other European countries. Following major races, such as the Vendée Globe or the Solitaire du Figaro, is a mass phenomenon there. Sailing is therefore also much more widespread than in Germany, for example. And this applies particularly to offshore sailing, as the Atlantic (and, in particular, the triangle of tension formed by the Bay of Biscay, the Irish Sea and the English Channel) provides an exciting, varied and highly challenging sailing ground.

The Sun Fast 30 OD was developed to provide an affordable, high-performance and, above all, accessible and straightforward entry point into the offshore racing scene within the 10-metre class. The boat is also intended to bridge the gap between the Mini 6.50 racers, which are designed exclusively for downwind transatlantic races, and the already quite impressive large Class 40 racing yachts.

The 30-foot racing class is also ideally suited both for use as a single-handed class (i.e. alone, solo) and as a double-handed racing yacht with two crew members. With the designers from VPLP-Design on board, the project boasts true racing experts; parts of the yacht are built by industry leader Multiplast (carbon rig), which is also France’s leading supplier of high-quality composite parts.

What is One Design racing?

If you’re aiming for a career in European or international sailing, you simply can’t ignore the French sailing scene. Unlike in Germany, for example, where careers tend to start through sailing clubs, France and other countries offer this opportunity through open racing series sanctioned under UNCL and Class 30 rules. These include races organised by the RORC and those on the World Sailing calendar. All you have to do is register – and you’re off to the start line.

The prerequisite, of course, is that your own boat complies with the so-called ‘Box Rule’ for the respective class. This governs every aspect of the boat. The ‘OD’ boats (of which there are several other manufacturers – more on that later) are, first and foremost, built in such a way that all boats are absolutely identical. The idea behind a one-design class is that there should no longer be any differences between the boats (and, by extension, their equipment and fittings), because it is the crew’s tactics and skill that should determine victory or defeat. So competitors take to the start line with largely identical equipment; it is the people who should win, not the equipment. And this provides particular protection for participants on a tighter budget: for example, on the Sun Fast 30 OD, the sails may only be replaced every three years.

These regulations ensure that the fields of competitors are very homogeneous, that the regattas offer an extremely high level of excitement, and that results are therefore much more comparable from one sailor to another. This also explains why making the leap from a one-design class into top-level professional sailing seems much easier: because talent scouts are more likely to spot the sailor due to the standardisation of the equipment.

Even those who aren’t looking to break into professional sailing, but simply want the thrill of a proper regatta, will be in good hands with the OD classes. Many professional sailors (including IMOCA stars!) use these races to train against real opponents, as many of them take place in very tough and demanding conditions. And that’s what makes it so appealing: when else do you get the chance to compete against the big IMOCA offshore stars? And, in reality, to actually beat them?

The concept behind the Sun Fast 30 OD: Affordable, simple – fast

Jeanneau is a mass-production yacht manufacturer with a long tradition of building high-performance boats. The Sun Fast range was officially launched as a separate model range in 1995 – that’s over 30 years’ experience in building uncompromising racers. The Sun Fast had existed before that – as early as 1990 – but these were one-off builds. In particular, the Sun Fast 3200 designed by Andrieu, introduced in 2008, helped the class achieve its major breakthrough. This boat is still sold in significant numbers on the second-hand market today. High sales figures, numerous race victories, including the Spi-Ouest and the Fastnet.

In 2013, the larger Sun Fast 3600 was added to the range, and a modified version of this model is still being built today. Then, in 2019, the Sun Fast 3300 was launched – a very competitive IRC/ORC yacht that has racked up numerous victories (to this day): the Transat Jacques Vabre, double- and single-handed world championships, and numerous IRC/ORC victories, including, once again, the famous Fastnet. With the Sun Fast 30 OD, Jeanneau is thus continuing its commitment to the sport of sailing. But all of this is always guided by a single motto: affordability and mass appeal.

The sailing boats in the Sun Fast series are, of course, not cheap boats. They are manufactured to a very high standard and are well equipped. Unlike other performance and racing classes, however, the shipyard seeks to capitalise on its expertise in industrialisation, improving efficiency and, consequently, making the boats more accessible. A Sun Fast is certainly no bargain – but its price is well below the budgets of comparable all-out racers. This has repeatedly earned the boats the industry’s coveted awards, such as the ‘European Yacht of the Year’ awards. The fact that many Sun Fast 3300s and 3600s (as well as older boats) are still being traded on the second-hand market today shows that, even after many years of racing, these boats are still structurally sound and can be resold.

Buy a Sun Fast 30 OD – Hull, design, construction & sail plan

Innovative Elium resin and state-of-the-art construction methods

Mass-produced at an affordable price: at first glance, that sounds cheap. But it isn’t – certainly not in the case of the Sun Fast 30 OD. Because, alongside the large, luxurious Beneteau Oceanis Yacht 60, this little racer is the world’s first mass-produced yacht to be built entirely from recyclable materials!

The problem with standard GRP yachts is that, at the end of a sailing boat’s life, it is no longer possible to recover or recycle the materials: GRP is usually shredded and incinerated; a few companies are able to use the resin-fibreglass mixture in road construction, which is at least a form of ‘downcycling’. The Sun Fast 30 OD is different: the resin used here for the hull and deck is called ‘Elium’. A groundbreaking, pioneering invention that could revolutionise mass-produced boatbuilding. At the end of the Sun Fast 30 OD’s life, its hull can be ‘melted down’ using a special process. This is done in such a way that the glass fibres and the resin can be cleanly separated from one another. Voilà – no downcycling, no incineration, no more waste. The separated, single-type materials can be 100 per cent reused!

What’s more, when you buy a Sun Fast 30 OD, the hull already contains up to 20 per cent recycled resin. This boat is therefore highly innovative and significant for the industry: with such a relatively small number of units, it is possible to develop, test, refine and expand the implementation and application of a circular economy model for boatbuilding. Elium hulls cost around 15 to 20 per cent more than pure polyester hulls – but you’ll always have a clear conscience whilst sailing.

The boats are, of course, manufactured using the modern vacuum infusion process. Multiplast supplies the high-quality carbon rig. The fittings and equipment are of a high standard and suitable for racing, but not excessive. For a fully equipped Sun Fast 30 OD, you should budget for at least €150,000, or more likely €200,000. As mentioned, this means the boat is no bargain – but it is still significantly cheaper to buy than OD boats of a comparable size.

The ultimate in single-handed and double-handed racing?

According to the shipyard, the 40 to 50 units sold to date are a satisfactory figure. Nevertheless, the Sun Fast 30 OD is not really a boat for the mass market, particularly as the racing yacht market – and above all the customers in this segment – is very specific, even more so than buyers of cruising yachts. Racers usually have a very specific sailing programme in mind, and are generally limited to their home waters (and, above all, the types of boat that predominate in those waters). What’s the point of being the only Sun Fast 30 OD sailor on the lake? That is the problem with OD classes: these boats only really offer competitive fun once there are a certain number of them out on the water. So, if you’re keen to get actively involved in OD racing, you should find out before buying whether there are already a reasonable number of Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 ODs on your local waters, or whether the races you want to take part in feature a sufficient number of these boats.

Of course, the Sun Fast 30 OD is great fun even without taking part in officially sanctioned regattas! Open events, such as the famous Silverrudder in the Baltic Sea, and even the regular Wednesday regatta at your local sailing club or your own marina are, of course, great fun too. However, your sailing performance only really becomes meaningful when you measure yourself against opponents of a similar standard.

As there are many manufacturers vying for sailors’ favour in the 30-foot racing yacht sector, and of course every boat has its own unique character, strengths and trade-offs, the market has become somewhat watered down. Consequently, none of the individual boats has really managed to stand out. This is both a blessing and a curse: you have a great selection, but you’re also literally spoilt for choice.

Quite a lot of pressure in the rig: the Sun Fast 30 OD’s sail plan

The 8.99-metre-long hull (10.44 metres overall length including the bowsprit) is just 2.99 metres wide – and weighs in at an extremely light 2,650 kilograms. Of this, 1,000 kilograms is ballast, housed in a small lead block (L-shaped) located at the keel, which is exactly 2.00 metres deep. This results in a highly effective ballast ratio and also provides a long lever arm – you can look forward to impressive rigidity and upwind performance that you might not initially expect.

The carbon rig is designed as a 9/10 rig; the spreaders are set at an extreme angle towards the stern. The rig is set without a backstay, but can still be trimmed on downwind courses and, if necessary, using flying backstays.

Upwind, the boat carries a total of 59 square metres of sail area on the mast; downwind, it sails with an asymmetric spinnaker (gennaker) measuring 137 square metres. This makes the Sun Fast 30 OD the lightest and, in purely technical terms, also the highest-performing yacht among the current 10-metre racers.

It is steered via a tiller in the cockpit, which acts on two double rudders mounted aft via a simple external linkage. This makes the boat easy to maintain, easy to repair and even easier to steer. The steering is very precise, extremely direct and efficient. It is a pure sailing machine, built for speed!

When it comes to sails, various brands and sailmakers offer OD-compliant sail sets. A Sun Fast 30 OD sail set can be purchased for between €15,000 and €25,000, depending on quality, material and brand. However, the shipyard will supply you with the complete running rigging, including all blocks and sheaves, so that apart from that, you only need to invest in the sails.

Buy a Sun Fast 30 OD – a scow-bow design, sleek yet a true planing boat

A distinctive feature of the hull design is the rather voluminous and strikingly pronounced ‘duck-bill’ bow, known as the scow bow. On the Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 OD, however, this is not overly extreme, which complements the boat’s relatively narrow beam of just 2.99 m. Nevertheless, this bow shape creates a great deal of volume (and thus buoyancy) in the forward section of the boat. When sailing close-hauled, the yacht is less prone to nosediving (cutting into the wave) and sails very stiffly even when sailing close to the wind.

In calm conditions – aided by the scow bow – the Sun Fast 30 OD transitions relatively quickly from planing to gliding. The hull then glides over the water at boat speeds well into double figures, remaining stable thanks to the high leverage and the large proportion of ballast. Manoeuvrability remains excellent even at very high speeds: this is when the real fun begins!

This means that the Sun Fast 30 OD differs significantly from the Dehler 30 OD, which is designed even more for planing and is therefore better suited to half-wind and downwind courses (and is also wider).

Ready to go in no time: the Sun Fast 30 OD is fully trailerable.

Speaking of the boat’s 2.99-metre beam: this means the boat is exactly one centimetre below the European maximum width limit. The boat can easily be towed on a trailer by the owner. We recommend having a specialised, made-to-measure boat trailer custom-built for the Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 OD if you wish to retain the high level of mobility this boat offers. Thanks to the trailer, it is now no problem at all to transport the yacht to regattas across Europe. The boat is easy to rig and derig, but requires a boat and mast crane – launching by the water’s edge is no longer possible.

Here, too, the Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 OD has an edge over the other 10-metre racing yachts. The mobility of this yacht makes it ideal for ambitious, international racing calendars, for which other boats always require specialised and heavy-lift transport, which will drive up the overall budget enormously.

What sort of sailors and which regattas is the Sun Fast 30 OD suitable for?

This brings us to the target audience for the Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 OD. Essentially, you should be interested in regatta and racing sailing. Although this boat offers a minimum of comfort, neither its equipment nor the way it sails (namely fast, hard and wet) makes it a boat for ‘merely’ performance-oriented recreational sailors. It is built for proper racing and is meant to be sailed in such events. Although simple and safe to operate, the boat’s sailing performance requires a certain level of prior knowledge, experience and familiarity with racing equipment.

If your sailing area or racing calendar includes regattas in which a number of Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 ODs traditionally take part, this boat could be a real asset to the whole class and, by extension, to the one-design scene in your sailing area. If you are the only Sun Fast 30 OD competitor, races can quickly become boring because you aren’t sailing against real opponents: your own performance remains difficult to compare (even with handicap adjustments), or the comparison is only very abstract.

If you’re aiming for an international or European sailing career, you should focus on races in and around France. There are significantly more Sun Fast 30 OD boats on the starting line here; the competition is very fierce, but so too are the fun factor and, above all, the learning experience.

Apart from these serious scenarios, the Sun Fast 30 OD is quite simply a fast, thrilling and brilliant alternative if you just want to experience the ultimate fun of high-speed planing under sail. As I said: it’s all ‘strictly racing’; the level of comfort on board is minimal (more on that later).

The (fierce) competition in the racing yacht market. Second-hand options too!

There’s a lot going on in the 10-metre racing yacht market. For one thing, there are quite a few older Sun Fast models available on the second-hand market. Here you’ll also find Marc Lombard’s legendary Figaro and Figaro 2 boats. These are icons of one-design racing, highly competitive and still in high demand today.

Dehler has a very exciting boat on the market in the form of the Dehler 30 OD. Although it is slightly heavier (2,800 kg unladen), it offers a slightly different range of use. It is no longer trailerable, so it is intended for ‘stationary’ use. There are many Dehler 30 ODs on the water, particularly on the Baltic Sea. It has a very balanced sail profile and is particularly popular in IRC/ORC-sanctioned regattas. The sailing scene is quite active in the Baltic Sea, but less so outside Germany. It features a very wide stern, a T-keel with a slender bulb and more trim options than the Sun Fast 30 OD (for example, the angle of the rudder blades can be individually adjusted). The Hanse Group no longer actively markets the Dehler 30 OD, but rumour has it that new ones are still being built on request.

Furthermore, with the Figaro 3, the Beneteau shipyard offers an OD yacht in the 10-metre segment, designed primarily for more extreme offshore sailing. As the world’s first production yacht of its kind, it is fitted with stabilising foils (also from Multiplast), which complicates the issue of mooring in particular. This boat is significantly more expensive to purchase and is likely to appeal only to buyers who are very career-oriented.

The Farr X2 is entering the market for 30-foot one-design boats from Down Under. This design is rather rare in Europe, and importing it is a complex (and expensive) process. The boat is designed strictly for all-out racing, both in terms of its specifications and its performance profile, though this is more suited to sheltered offshore waters (bays) or inshore areas. A stylish, very sleek and high-performance yacht.

Last but not least, the L30: this yacht is particularly well-suited to inshore sailing, as it has less ballast and therefore less weight stability. It is extremely light and is therefore ideally equipped for light-wind conditions. Designed by the Ukrainian Olympic champion Rodion Luca, the yacht continues to be built in Lviv (on the Polish border) despite the war; there is also licensed production by Code in Hungary, as well as individual units built by Oceantec in Slovenia. If you’re looking to buy a high-performance boat for shallower inshore use, the L30 could be a very interesting option (also in terms of budget).

Apart from these pure racing boats, the Beneteau First 30 (built by Seascape) is also worth mentioning. Launched in 2025, this boat is a high-performance planing monohull, although strictly speaking it is not a one-design class. The boat is light, very fast and extremely versatile. The big advantage: the First 30 offers proper sleeping cabins, a full shower and toilet, and a fully equipped galley. For owners who want to combine the fun of sailing and racing with family cruising, this is the better choice.

Buy a Sun Fast 30 OD – comfort below deck

Below deck: Everything is practically designed for regattas

Below deck, it is very white (bare fibreglass) and very spartan. The racer’s light weight is no accident: nothing here is pretty, just practical. Two sleeping berths in the stern beneath the coamings provide space for one off-watch crew member each. In the salon, there are two benches on the left and right, with the one on the port side being slightly longer. A small chart table is used for route planning and navigation. In the bow area by the main bulkhead, a simple marine toilet is fitted; here at the front of the head, the skipper and crew can at least maintain basic hygiene, although this will be done at the small washbasin, which is unusually fitted aft on the starboard side. The entire forward section of the boat is empty – this is where the sails are stowed anyway.

The Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 OD is spartan but by no means unappealing. There is plenty of space for owners to put their own stamp on the boat. Regatta sailors usually personalise the interior themselves with custom stickers. Even though the Sun Fast 30 OD has two windows in its very flat cabin roof, you’ll be searching in vain for comfort here. It is, after all, a racing machine.

The (very short) list of options for the Sun Fast 30 OD

It’s nice that the complete list of options and prices for the Sun Fast 30 OD fits onto just one A4 page. The boat is available to buy ready to sail as standard (though without sails); the options relate to the on-board electronics and comfort.

When it comes to electronics, it’s always advisable to buy a high-performance autopilot (B&G H5000) as soon as you plan to sail solo. VHF radio and AIS are certainly useful for offshore use (especially given this boat’s potential speed). The comfort options are limited to the pump toilet and the small washbasin by the companionway.

Cruising in a racer?

So-called ‘micro-cruising’ is becoming increasingly popular in the sailing world: high speed potential, fast, long legs, and then a holiday at your destination. The Sun Fast 30 OD is well suited to the former, but in our opinion it isn’t really suitable as a holiday boat, especially not once there are more than two of you on board. The comfort, the space on deck and the facilities below deck are simply too limited. Nevertheless, a particularly hardy sailor could, for example, fit out the huge interior space in the forepeak with mattresses to create a large cabin. But you’d have to be either very young or made of stern stuff to do that.

In our view, Beneteau’s Seascape boats in the First range, from 24 to 30 feet, are better suited to such uses, as is the Dehler 30 OD, which offers considerably more comfort, albeit at a rather basic ‘camping’ level.

Summary and conclusion

Could the Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 OD be your next racing yacht?

Are you looking to buy an affordable, high-performance racing platform for single-handed and offshore races in the One Design class or under IRC/ORC rules? The Sun Fast 30 OD offers a very appealing range of performance capabilities at a comparatively attractive price. The Sun Fast 30 OD is designed to be sailed fast, and certainly offshore as well.

Buy a Sun Fast 30 OD – What we particularly like about it:

• Innovative design meets innovative, sustainable manufacturing.
• A relatively attractive starting budget.
• Can be towed on a trailer, making it highly mobile.

Buying a Sun Fast 30 OD – Here’s what you need to look out for:

• Strictly Racing: A boat really only for regatta sailors.
• Sails have to be bought separately (which is standard practice in this line of work, but should be taken into account in the budget).

Further reviews and test reports: