© Cruising World, June 2001, by Tim Murphy

A Rollicking Good Ride Aboard the Dehler 39, an IMS hull and a cozy interior spell fun sailing and comfy nights. Some 40 years ago, Willy Dehler did for European sailors what the Pearson cousins did for Americans: He built a sailboat that introduced the middle class to cruising. His 21-foot Varianta was priced right, and over the years he built 4,000 of them. In the intervening decades, the German yard that bears his name has been through its ups and downs and reoganizations. But now, under Dutch management, Dehler International has found its stride and is back in the business of turning out impressive boats. The Dehler 41DS won Cruising World's Overall Boat of the Year award for 1998. Now comes the racy Dehler 39. Designed to the IMS rule by Judel/Vrolijk (a firm known for its Admiral's Cup successes), the 39 occupies the performance end of the cruiser/racer continuum. But her cherry interior and separate shower stall won't let you forget that she's built for comfort. Like all Dehlers, the 39 is hand-laid-up fiberglass with polyester resin. Substantial ring frames take the loads from the rig. The hull/deck joint is laminated, and only a few of today's production boats are built in this fashion. The two parts, still in the mold, come together after the bulkheads have been tabbed to the hull; builders inside the boat tape and laminate the joint, which is then covered along the exterior with an aluminum rubstrake. All tankage and machinery goes into the boat through the hatch, a boon to the owner down the line. The hull above the waterline and the deck are cored with balsa. Fasteners for the stainless steel hardware are tapped directly into aluminum strips laminated into the deck--a fine solution as long as saltwater doesn't find its way in. Dehler offers a choice of three keels, ranging from a shoal-draft 5-foot-6-inch fin to a racing option of 7 feet 8 inches. The rudder is a semi-balanced spade with an aluminum structure. The interior is traditional, with double berths forward and aft, each with its own head, and an L-shaped galley to port. The 39 draws your attention abovedecks, though. The cockpit's dominant feature is a 62-inch wheel. The mainsheet traveler sits just forward of the helm--within easy grasp, provided you're perched outboard; otherwise, its a tricky reach over the big helm. All lines are led neatly aft for the rest of the crew. Of the nonskid, CW Boat of the Year judge Ralph Naranjo said, "It had the best and the worst" of the 26 boats we tested. The material, a French product called TBS, is a soft but grippy polymer set into the side decks and cabin top. It holds you well, and it's comfortable on bare feet. Howver, it's not set into the cockpit coaming or the turn of the cabin top: the BOTY judges deemed the slick gelcoat in these areas a safety hazard. Under way, the Dehler gave us a rollicking good time. Said BOTY judge Skip Moyer, "She pwers like a sports car." Ralph Naranjo summed up her performance: "Nice rig, slippery blocks, ergonomically-designed deck: The Dehler's a good sailing boat."