new owner of sun odyssey37/2001

[eileendsmyth]

Just purchased in annapolis and will be sailing it to ontario in April.Boat was bought on land so all is going to be a new experience. We have never sailed in a jeanneau. Are you guys happy with your boats. I read conflicting reports. Hope we are not in for too many surprises. Previous owner was very pleased and bought a 42'. Appreciate any info. Thanks

[so40gtb]

Eileen, our SO34.2 is the same year as the SO37 you just bought. We have no serious construction or build quality issues with her. We are completing our first season, very successful overall. Probably the most significant issues for us are an apparent tendency to sail faster on starboard tacks than port (this may be a masthead fly alignment issue) and sluggishness in the Amiot traveler due to friction between crossing lines (not as bad since we fully lubricated all rotating surfaces). She punches through choppy Lake Michigan waves well (we've been in seas to 1.5 meters average and nearly 2 meters peak and recently crossed, a distance of 125 km, in such conditions. No hull leaks of any kind, though one thru-hull was found to be cracked at launch last spring and was replaced by the yard. A Kiwi feathering prop and Raymarine SmartPilot were added this year. The hanging locker latches can sometimes be fussy but seem to be tamed by application of WD-40. The original Elvstrom sails will get the renewal treatment by SailCare this winter, but have served us well this year.

Like any boat, one must diligently inspect and maintain the vessel's systems periodically.

Annapolis to Lake Ontario will be quite an adventure!

-- Karl

[eileens]

Thanks Karl for taking the time to give me the info on your boat so maybe we will be lucky in that Jeanneau built a good product that year. There are only several in all of canada of the so37. The Jeanneau seems to have a good name. We will have a 6000+ autohelm insalled before the trip to barrie, Ont. Yes, it should be quite a trip but since the boat was purchased on land we have never sailed her and know so very little about her so THANKS for sharing what you have found with your boat.

Eileen

[gre2]

Hi

We just bought a SO37 out of the U.S. in the fall of 2005 and just completed our 2nd summer with her. They are a great boat for cruising but a little disappointed with her windward performance, we have the shallow draft bulb keel. We are interested in a folding prop and wonder if your boat has one. I hear that some of the props either folding or feathering have some cavitation. Any experienced with your boat.

[eileens]

we have a folding feathering prop but since it won't be in the water until next april when we will sail it to Ontario I won't be able to comment on it. I will be happy to when we get a little experience with it. Thanks for sharing your information with us.

Eileen

[eileens]

More info: we have a autoprop 3 bladed variable pitch folding prop. Supposed to reduce drag under sail up to 85% and increase engine performance.m This all sounds interesting but the chap we bought off is really into performance and he is the only owner. I hope that we will be pleased with this. It will be interesting. Keep intune.

Eileen SO37

[gre2]

Thanks for the speedy reply. We are also sailing in Ontario, in fact Georgina Bay out of Wiarton. There is another SO 37 in Lion's Head but I haven't met the owner yet. We incidently bought our boat out of Lake St. Clair and I was going to sail it back but decided to truck it. Was concerned with the cold water, customs, etc. Have fun with the new boat.

[sailby2]

Eileen,

We're on our third year with our SO37 and couldn't be happier with the boat. Basically major-problem free and exceptional performance for a cruiser. Here are some oddities we've encountered (as well as others who've documented the same issues here on the site) so far and haven't found an easy fix for: the raw water cooling system drains the water in the lines over time after you shut the engine off and sail in anything other than calm conditions. We have taken to closing the seacock upon engine shut-down thus retaining the water in the system and simply opening it prior to starting. It's not convenient and slightly annoying to have to do this but the alternative is burning up impellers at a rapid pace. I've read that mounting the strainer lower towards the seacock can fix this although it beats me where you'd put it. The engine bay doesn't have much room to move things around.

The other niggling issue is the propensity for the hot water tank to empty the entire contents of your water tanks into the bilge during extended motoring. Again, another post was made here on the site stating they'd experienced the same. I recall the discussion being that the pressure relief valve is the culprit, with the result being that if you do not pay attention, you end up with the bilges full and no water in the tanks. When motoring for anything over 2 hours, we now keep the bilge pump switched on and I regularly go below and check the tank levels to see if they are draining. Again, probably an easy fix but I've settled for the work around (we do more sailing than motoring anyway).

What do we like? speed (overall), comfort below, construction, looks, cockpit size, hardware, storage, fit, finish, Yanmar engine and access, rig, SA/D ratio.

What don't we like? The Jabsco head, small holding tank, pointing ability (not especially great), flimsy binnacle grab rail.

Changes we've made that produced the biggest bang/buck ratio? quality sails (150 RF genoa, full battened conv main, large cruising spin) resulted in a significant performance increase on all points of sail.

Certainly hope you enjoy your SO37 as much as we have ours!

Regards-
John

[runaway]

Hi Eileen

I'm John, the owner of Runaway a 37SO 2003.

It was me that had the problems with the hot water running out that you mentioned. I finally bought a new pressure and temperature relief valve from Cleghorn Waring & Co. To replace the Honeywell Valve that was installed.www.cleghorn.co.uk
It is not exactly the same but similar and fits. I still have the same problem but nowhere near as bad. I find that if I leave the water pressure switch of when I am not using it, it cures the whole problem. If you want to talk about it I'm on [e-mail]