Comfortina 38 Buyer's Guide
Shopping for a Comfortina 38 on the brokerage market means chasing a small cohort: fewer than 200 were built by Comfortbåtar AB from the mid eighties, and Thomas Bern's 38-foot cruiser-racer now turns up mostly in northern European waters. She is a solid-laminate fiberglass yacht with a lead fin keel and a fractional sloop rig, and the used examples carry a fairly consistent equipment picture that tells you a lot about how owners have treated them.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every Comfortina 38 shares the same Bern hull: 38 feet overall, 11.5-foot beam, 6.4-foot draft, and a Volvo Penta diesel turning a saildrive. The solid fiberglass deck and hull mean no cored-deck delamination worries of the kind that plague sandwich constructions, and the lead keel is bolted to a fin rather than a lifting arrangement. Because production was limited and the design stable, you are not choosing between sub-models or layout generations — the variable is condition and fitted gear, not footprint.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Most boats you will see carry a comprehensive cruising outfit. Heating, hot water, and a cockpit shower are commonly fitted, speaking to year-round Scandinavian use. For sail handling and downwind speed, gennakers, spinnakers, and asymmetric spinnakers appear as standard cruising kit, paired with a bimini and dodger for cockpit shelter. On the systems side, radar, AIS, autopilot, and chartplotter are commonly fitted, and a life raft is a usual safety inclusion. Teak decks and a swim platform round out the comfort-and-access picture. The takeaway for a buyer is that a well-kept example will already be expedition-ready; the gaps to fill are personal rather than structural.
What to Inspect
The known documentation on the Comfortina 38 centers on her construction facts rather than defect reports, but two items deserve a buyer's attention. The saildrive transmission places the gear underwater at the hull, so inspect the diaphragm and shaft seal for age and service history. The 6.4-foot draft dependent on load means the immersed hull and keel junction should be checked for grounding scars, since the boat can only enter major marinas and is unforgiving of shallow approaches. Beyond those, the solid fiberglass hull and deck are straightforward to survey.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The typical markets for the Comfortina 38 are Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany. For a shopper, the checklist is short: confirm saildrive service records, survey the keel-hull interface for impact damage, verify the commonly fitted heating and navigation suite is operational, and accept that draft limits your marina choices. A limited-production Bern cruiser-racer in these waters is a find worth a careful look.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Comfortina 38. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 7 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25 | 1 | $87,279 | — |
| Aug 25 | 1 | $86,231 | -1.2% |
| Sep 25 | 1 | $104,292 | +20.9% |
| Oct 25 | 1 | $81,453 | -21.9% |
| Apr 26 | 3 | $62,206 | -23.6% |
| May 26 | 1 | $57,681 | -7.3% |
| Aug 26 | 2 | $91,721 | +59.0% |
Where they're listed
Comfortina 38 listings appear across 4 countries. Denmark has the most listings with 3 (33.3%), followed by Netherlands and Germany.
Country view
9 listings · 4 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | $62,206 | 3 | 0 | 33.3% |
| Netherlands | $86,231 | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
| Germany | $80,987 | 2 | 1 | 22.2% |
| Sweden | $78,684 | 1 | 1 | 11.1% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
6 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dehler 38 | 38.71' | $ 244,635 | 50 | 16 |
| Sabre 38 | 37.83' | $ 49,999 | 49 | 17 |
| Ohlson 38 | 37.06' | $ 53,132 | 16 | 5 |
| X-Yachts Xc XC 38 | 37.99' | $ 329,191 | 14 | 5 |
| Seaquest Yachts 38 | 38.06' | $ 81,496 | 12 | 5 |
| Comfortina 38You are here | — | $ 78,684 | 9 | 3 |