Bump's World

Last fall I convinced my good friend Tom Drechsler to buy a new DEHLER 38.

I had heard that a DEHLER 38 in Europe was doing very well on the race course. That boat "SPORTHOTEL” is owned and sailed by Karl Dehler, son of the founder of DEHLER Yachts, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. She was second in Kiel Race Week which is one of Europe’s biggest events (similar to our Key West Race Week).

In 2013 HANSE Yachts bought DEHLER and is now building these boats in their huge factory in Greifswald, Germany. Since we have been selling HANSE Yachts for 10 years now and have shown a steady increase in sales, HANSE offered us the dealership for their DEHLER line. HANSE is also in the process of coming out with other new DEHLER models designed by Judel/Vrolijk, the top design firm in the world.

The 38 is the first new DEHLER model built in the HANSE factory and designed by Judel/Vrolijk. The concept was to build a higher performance boat than the HANSE while offering a higher overall level of finish.

DEHLER has just introduced the second new model, the DEHLER 46, also designed by Judel/Vrolijk. She is truly a beautiful yacht that is really fast. The huge hull form also allows for a great cruising interior, transforming her into a fabulous cruiser/racer.

Tom wanted a boat that he can sail with just himself and his wife, Linda. A boat they could cruise comfortably for a week. A boat they can win races with. And all this at a reasonable price. That is a big wish list to fulfill.

Like the 46, the 38 is a very big hull form so there is lots of interior space. DEHLER did a great job of putting an interior in that is comfortable for extended time on board. With a non overlapping roller furling jib and great deck layout she is easy for just Tom and Linda to handle her alone. But, can she win races?

Our first race was overcast with 6 to 8 knots of breeze and a little lumpy. We did think that if the boat had a weak spot it would probably be light air. We got a little pinned at the start and we were over the line early. We took probably four minutes to figure out we were over early and then return to the line. Obviously this was not the beginning we hoped for, giving the rest of our class a big lead.

We focused on sailing fast and playing the shifts. One by one we picked off the other boats and managed a second place finish. The boat demonstrated she had the speed.

We have done 4 more races since then, winning all 4 of them. The DEHLER 38 exceeded all our expectations. In Marblehead the B class is by far the biggest class, with good competition. We thought the J 109s in particular would be tough, but the DEHLER walks away from them.

Just like C&C in the 1980’s, DEHLER Yachts has shown that you do not need a stripped out boat to win races. You can own a yacht that is comfortable to cruise and hang out on, but do well when you venture onto the race course. Her lines are beautiful: she looks good just sitting on her mooring.

We look forward to future races and enjoying our time on the water. The DEHLER Yachts are fantastic and I’m sure we will be seeing many more cruising and racing.

Please mail comments to me at Bump@newwaveyachts.com

Bump Wilcox