Beastie boy!
Dehler’s return to its glory days of high-performance racers could not be more appropriately celebrated than with this dramatic new 30-footer from the design boards of Judel-Vrolijk
It’s been a fair old while since Dehler Yachts launched its last racer-cruiser, as opposed to the cruiser-racers that have come to define the marque. Now they’re at it again with a water- ballasted, carbon-rigged 30ft (9m) offshore one-design that is already in production and due to launch soon after this issue of Seahorse hits the newsstands.
Readers with long memories will remember just how good Dehler used to be at this sort of thing. Their Sprinta Sport was a top IOR quarter- tonner back in the day and hot on its heels came a pair of impressively fast, well-engineered three-quarter tonners, the DB1 and the DB2, which won a world championship with Karl Dehler and Torsten Conradi – now managing director of Judel/Vrolijk – on board. The cruising version of the DB boats, the original Dehler 34, was an extremely successful model with 1,200 built over 10 years and is now regarded as a modern classic. Thirty-eight years on, the concept for new Dehler 30 One Design was conceived in conversations between Hanse Yachts’ boss, Dr Jens Gerhardt and Karl Dehler, who subsequently headed up the project team for the new boat. Conradi’s team at Judel/Vrolijk were the obvious choice
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to bring on board as naval architects, including Matthias Bröker, who has drawn some very fast TP52s, and raceboat interior specialist Ann Cathrein Jacobsen. Further expertise was drafted in from Rostock-based Speedsailing, including the ORMA 60 and Volvo veteran Felix Hauss. The new boat is optimised for solo and shorthanded, medium-range offshore racing – hence the water ballast – and is aimed squarely at Baltic regattas such as the Vegvisir and Silver Rudder.
At first glance, the Dehler 30 One Design looks more like a no-compromise racer than a racer- cruiser. The hull has chamfered shoulders, hard-chined aft quarters and a very shallow canoe body, a 2.2m T-keel, dagger-like rudder blades and prodigious beam carried all the way aft. The moderate scow bow is designed to generate dynamic buoyancy while surfing, but also to cut through steep head seas. Structural stiffness and strength are assured by the Dehler Carbon Cage, which is bonded and laminated into the hull. The keel fin is a hollow, lightweight aluminium extrusion with a 900kg lead bulb bolted beneath. There’s a long bowsprit up front and a very tall carbon rig with a
Above: it’s the raciest Dehler since the world
championship winning DB2 three-quarter tonner, launched almost 40 years ago – and it’s
Dehler’s first one-design, aimed
squarely at major Baltic regattas for shorthanded and solo racers such as the Silver Rudder and Kiel Week. But most importantly, the Dehler 30 One Design looks like it’s going to be an enormous amount of fun to sail
fathead mainsail and a Class Mini- style reefable jib on piston hanks instead of a furler. The 13.18m mast height is the absolute maximum allowed by RCD Category A, which, combined with a displacement of 2.8 tonnes, should deliver very lively performance indeed. Judel/Vrolijk’s polars predict exceptional performance for a pocket offshore racer, particularly in light airs: 6.5 knots on a reach and 5.5kts when hard on the wind in just 6 knots true. Offwind in a decent breeze with a gennaker set, speeds of 11 to 14 kts are expected.
All of that said, this is a dual- purpose boat. The deck plan is designed for easy handling, with safety at sea a prime consideration. The interior is practical and comfortable, with everything you might need for a week-long family cruise. The cabins should stay dry on passage as the mast is deck-stepped and there’s no through-hull aperture for the bowsprit, which can be removed when required (for berthing or cruising use) in a few minutes by unscrewing four bolts. Stowage is well thought-out, in the cockpit and down below.
As with all Dehlers, what distinguishes the 30 OD from
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