Why Did Jeanneau Discontinue 41DS and 44DS

[sailingabe41ds]

I think the 41DS and 44DS are wonderful airy boat with a great open feeling inside. I wonder why they discontinued it and do they have a replacement for the DS.

Abe

[NZL50505]

For some reason Jeanneau decided to stop the Deck Saloon range. Which is a huge shame because in my view it was one of the key reasons / differentiators making Jeanneau more attractive than the competition. We loved our 42DS and now have a 50DS. We chose to buy a late model used DS than a brand new SO and I would never want a non-DS version for the reason you give. Which is why I guess I’ll never buy a new Jeanneau (unless they reverse their DS decision)!

[sailingabe41ds]

That's a shame....I am a little claustrophobic so the DS was good for me.  Looks like this is going to be my last boat unless we need to move up to a  used 44DS.

Abe

[alenka]

Like the forerunners 40 DSand 43DS they also had a very short run of maybe 5 years. Rumour has it they were just too expensive to produce and Jeanneau set the price too low.

[MalcolmP]

Both were oy produced at the Marion SC plant, not in Europe. I suspect the decision to close the Marion plant may have also been a factor. Like others I believe it would be good if a new design of DS emerges.

[MartyB]

Jun 3, 2021 7:21:41 GMT MalcolmP said:

Both were oy produced at the Marion SC plant, not in Europe. I suspect the decision to close the Marion plant may have also been a factor. Like others I believe it would be good if a new design of DS emerges.

I would not be surprised if a new model does not emerge sometime after the covid issue goes away. As multiple things could have been key here.
One that version started to decline in sales, or the newer number models had enough DS design to it, o satisfy the DS crowd.
two, power boats at least here in the US, are appearing to outsell sail version 4 or 5 or more to one. At least this seems to be the case here in Wa St in US.
Three, could also be that the marion NC plant closed due to the declining SB sales here in NA too.

ALl thoughts are swags on my part. I'm sure some is correct, to not correct depending upon ones perspective.

Marty

[garrymac]

I have a 44DS and asked the local Jeanneau agent the same question.

He said it was because the new SO models have higher cabins and are about the same as what was the DS range?

Just quoting him.

[jg]

Our 2000 40DS (Hull 59) was built in 1999, prior to Jeanneau combining with Beneteau.



We took possession May, 2000 and have been sailing her ever since, with no regrets. After years of renting (and mucking out) other people's boats and climbing up and down ladders looking for something that would continue our family's sailing education and make my wife feel less claustrophobic we happened across the 40DS at the Norwalk Boat Show. I was at first put off by the forward placed helm and narrow traveller and didn't think much about it. But a few weeks later my wife mentioned it and the rest is history. The open feeling and light in the cabin were transformative, and I am sure that is why we are still sailing, still married, and our children and their children all sail. The helm quickly became a non-problem and offered protection beneath the dodger from those messy days. The inmast furling has been problematic at times but has made more sense as we have aged. She still sails beautifully. We limit our sailing to Long Island Sound out to Martha's Vineyard but have read of others sailing the 40DS without modification across oceans. And the thing of it is, when we go to the Newport or Norwalk Boat shows and tour the newer models we emerge even happier with what we have.

[zaphod]

Certainly the older, more traditional DS models with their power boat style wrap around windows are quite different from the later model DS with their bulging cabin and cateye side windows.

I honestly don't understand all of the "claustrophobic" comments. It makes me wonder if some people have even set foot on a standard Sun Odyssey. Our 39i is extremely bright an airy feeling with plenty of natural light and headroom. It is far from "claustrophobic"!

I have also noticed that Beneteau has adopted the same style windows as the DS on a lot of their models. Maybe they decided to consolidate that style under the Beneteau banner rather than trying to design multiple different decks for each Jeanneau hull.

[NZL50505]

I had a couple step aboard our 50DS last weekend after they had been viewing other 45-50ft boats inc the usual suspects. They said the same thing ie that the DS feels so much brighter and spacious compared to other options. Specifically, they referred to the fact that you can easily see out of the large saloon windows whereas on other designs they are often above eye level.

Obviously the non-DS designs are totally great and usable too and you rapidly get used to whatever you have. But if you are literally doing a side by side comparison then there is no denying that the DS feels more light & spacious if you step aboard after viewing a non-DS. That’s hardly a surprise given that’s how it was designed, after all!

[zaphod]

Jun 8, 2021 21:19:07 GMT NZL50505 said:

I had a couple step aboard our 50DS last weekend after they had been viewing other 45-50ft boats inc the usual suspects. They said the same thing ie that the DS feels so much brighter and spacious compared to other options. Specifically, they referred to the fact that you can easily see out of the large saloon windows whereas on other designs they are often above eye level.

Obviously the non-DS designs are totally great and usable too and you rapidly get used to whatever you have. But if you are literally doing a side by side comparison then there is no denying that the DS feels more light & spacious if you step aboard after viewing a non-DS. That’s hardly a surprise given that’s how it was designed, after all!

Brighter perhaps, but SOs are hardly claustrophobic! Maybe it is because my boat is smaller but the cabin windows are at eye level when standing, and the hull windows are at eye level when seated. Regardless, I get the appeal of the bigger windows, although the A/C tech in me sees a lot more solar load making the boat hot inside!

If the DS models were truly so popular I can't imagine why they would discontinue them. I wonder what the percentages are in terms of SO version and DS version sold for a given model. It would be interesting to see the numbers.

[rodparker]

Not sure why Jeanneau would move away from the DS cabin trunk. The lines are sleek and stylish and very pleasing to the eye. What we do know is that when they ended the DS, they transitioned to a hard chine hull. These hulls are more geometric to the eye, and likely would not have worked with the curvaceous lines of the DS. Especially the eye.  I think that Jeanneau designers do their home work and may lean toward performance. Two months ago my wife and I purchased a 2016 50DS. Love the boat, except for the headroom leading into the cabins. Not sure if headroom has anything to do it, but it is a compromise I'm willing to live with for now.