The first project J&J worked on with Sunbeam, founded by the Schöchl family (the Austrian largest boatbuilder), was a first in many ways. Their office supplied the concept, design, naval architecture, tooling and first boat build.

Sunbeam originally wanted a new 30-plus footer, but J&J’s preliminary studies showed that there was market available for a much larger yacht using the company’s excellent brand reputation. And there were clientele at hand ready to move up in an important way. There was some initial resistance to the idea, however, especially since it meant that the yard would have to enlarge the exit door by an significant margin...

 The mandate for the new boat was that she should be beautiful, functional, innovative and fast. But, most importantly, the classic Northern-European-style central cockpit needed to be adapted for comfortable warm weather cruising. The result was Sunbeam 44. The first boat was built in a small Fortuna yard in the Alps (appropriately named Fortuna Princess) and launched in Portorož on the Slovenian coast in June 1992. 

The development of the Sunbeam 44 was somewhat disrupted by the war in Slovenia after the country’s secession from Yugoslavia in June 1991—but not so much that the Schöchl brothers ever skipped their regular weekly visits to Slovenia.

The Sunbeam 44 sailed and sold well. She pushed the yard through the post-Gulf War crisis of 1991-95 without a scratch. And she won races, to the joy of the avid sail racer Manfred, the Schöchl junior. Well over one hundred  were sold and represented the backbone of the yard business for many years. Owners appreciated the Sunbeam 44’s elegant looks, the convenient and handy use during longer cruises, the rich and beautiful woodwork, and the overall attention to detail and build quality.

 When the yacht was shown at the Hamburg boat show in October 1992, she caused an unusual series of events, but that is already another story...