Recall of Sun Odyssey 410s, 440s, and 490s due to ‘risk of drowning’

For over a year Jeanneau has been working with its dealers to contact clients and recall Sun Odysseys. The recall’s been aimed at reinforcing the gluing of the Sleipner-Sidepower retractable bow thruster modules in the hulls of Sun Odyssey 410s, 440s and 490s which were produced in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The issue came to public light in the wake of the sinking of a Sun Odyssey 410 yacht off the coast of Germany in spring last year, but Jeanneau says it was already in the process of sorting the problem.

Now recently issued warnings, Safety Gate Alert statements by the European Commission, for each model have thrown a spotlight on Jeanneau’s operation. Each of the products have been found not to comply with the requirements of the Recreational Craft and Personal Watercraft Directive, specifically because of a gluing problem which means ‘the bow thruster flange may detach and generate a waterway’. All three warnings carry the words: The boat may sink, increasing the risk of drowning for users.

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey sinks in Baltic Sea

An investigation of the recovered hull of a 410 Sun Odyssey which sank in the Baltic showed that the extendable bow thruster had been installed incorrectly, says the owner’s lawyer A flange of the housing box on the Jeanneau had only been glued on from the outside with sealing compound and had not been laminated on, and the water pressure had caused a large leak.

The yacht (pictured above) which sank off Germany in early 2023 took about two minutes to go. The owners were rescued and the boat was subsequently recovered.

“It happened so quickly. How could this happen? Car keys, papers, everything gone,” Pete Sage (owner) told German media. “My wife went down into the boat to get something to drink. Suddenly a torrent of water hit her feet.” He says she turned on the bilge pump, but the water continued to rise rapidly. “I was horrified when I realised that the water ingress could no longer be stopped.”

The next moment, the entire on-board electrical system and then the engine failed. “Everything indicated that we would lose the ship,” says Sage. He managed to make an emergency call . “Then it was ‘Abandon Ship’ – a call I never expected to have to make. My wife and I managed to climb into the dinghy. With heavy hearts, we let go of our sailing ship and drifted away with the wind and the current.” The ship sank just a few minutes later.

Jeanneau’s recall operations nearly done

The length of time which has passed between Jeanneau’s own recall and the EU warnings, means the company is confidently saying it’s ‘almost finalised’.

At this stage, all concerned boats’ owners have been contacted and almost all operations have been conducted, says Jeanneau, responding to the EU Authorities warnings. The company’s previously pointed out that its recall initiative started prior to the Baltic incident.

A Jeanneau statement issued after Sage’s yacht sank says: ‘At this stage, no link has been established between this incident and the recall campaign initiated on March 1, 2023, to reinforce the bonding of retractable bow thruster modules in the hulls of Sun Odyssey 410, 440 and 490 equipped with this option and produced in 2021 and 2022.’ The company pointed out that it had been contacting dealers with a list of hull numbers. The onus was then on the dealers to contact their clients to organise remedial works.

“As you can see, the Jeanneau team has been extremely proactive on this matter,” says Yann Masselot, CSO boating division, Groupe Beneteau. “We want every owner to be able to rely on the Jeanneau team whenever needed. Jeanneau takes any issue very seriously and strives to address it in record time, with quality and safety at the core of our operations.”

Main image courtesy of Pete Sage.