Build quality of a jeanneau 44DS vs a 509

[nuru05]

We are about to start seriously looking for a liveaboard boat to move onto a year from this spring. Our frontrunners seem to be the 44ds or the 509.

I'm noticing that the 509's seem to be considerably cheaper and I'm curious if there is a build quality difference between the models or if the deck salon's just hold their value that much better.

[Zzmeyer]

I've had a 42ds and have a 349 on order. For a number of years before they stopped making the DS they used the same hull for both a DS and a Sun Odessey model. For example, the 41ds is on the hull of the 409. The interior accommodations may explain the price difference, but I doubt (without any first hand knowledge), that the overall build quality would be wildly different. Interestingly they are quite different in other aspects. The 41ds is 2,000 pounds heavier with less sail area than the 409. I really liked the 42ds. We went with a Beneteau Sense 50 at the time we were looking at the 509 because of the much larger cockpit. The philosophy behind the DS and SO models is pretty big. I loved the large aft stateroom and overall room in the 42ds, but lots of steps to the cockpit and harder to get in and out of the cockpit was the trade off.

[nuru05]

Originally Posted by Zzmeyer

I've had a 42ds and have a 349 on order. For a number of years before they stopped making the DS they used the same hull for both a DS and a Sun Odessey model. For example, the 41ds is on the hull of the 409. The interior accommodations may explain the price difference, but I doubt (without any first hand knowledge), that the overall build quality would be wildly different. Interestingly they are quite different in other aspects. The 41ds is 2,000 pounds heavier with less sail area than the 409. I really liked the 42ds. We went with a Beneteau Sense 50 at the time we were looking at the 509 because of the much larger cockpit. The philosophy behind the DS and SO models is pretty big. I loved the large aft stateroom and overall room in the 42ds, but lots of steps to the cockpit and harder to get in and out of the cockpit was the trade off.

I looked at a couple dozen boats and they all seem to average a higher price, so if you're saying the build quality appears to be the same I'm wondering if the DS is just that much more desirable. Honestly I love the DS layout, especially with the aft state room. We will be sailing with our daughter so being out away from the saloon will be nice.


I looked at the sense 50 and absolutely love the design. Unfortunately it's a bit out of our budget unless we want to take out a loan (which means working more each year).

[Zzmeyer]

While I don't know whether the build quality is better, the cost differential may indeed be based on popularity (I'd be a bit suspicious of that as Jeanneau has discontinued making them which might imply they weren't selling so well). I think a major factor might be that they are more boat than their equivalent sized SO. I loved our 42DS and found the quality among the best of the ten boats we've owned. I agree they are more expensive as I did a similar search when looking for our latest boat and found the DS more expensive, foot for foot, than the SO

[j.g.evans]

If you are buying an old boat then look for one with a lead keel. An iron keel can be a lot of work and the boat is less stiff.
A lead keel with a draft of 5' or less will allow you to go many more places, i.e. Bahamas.
Keep the "air draft" or the mast height under 63'.
But, "go for it", the cruising life style is great.