Dehler 31 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The solid fiberglass hull was hand laid, while the deck uses sandwich construction. The floor assembly is molded GRP, and a cast-iron keel carries the ballast.

Dehler fully bonded the deck and hull using the yard’s monocoque method, laminating the two shells together inside the mold. This produced a strong but light structure, which Yachting Monthly credited with helping the boat remain a credible performance cruiser despite the weight savings.

The shallow bilges were bone dry during the survey, and the top-quality resins used in construction have kept the hull free of osmosis. Later Dehler 31s received a tapered keel and a deep elliptical rudder. These changes keep the ballast low and improve grip when the boat is heeled, in keeping with its stiff, manageable behavior under sail.

Rig and Handling

The Dehler 31 displaces roughly 3,200 kg and has a ballast ratio near 44 percent. It is stiff enough to be pushed for an extra knot without becoming unmanageable, although its light weight makes it a physical boat to sail in rough conditions.

The tiller version sails excellently. The coamings provide comfortable space, and all the necessary control lines are within easy reach. The cockpit is narrow enough for the crew to brace against the opposite side when heeled, while the closed transom makes it feel secure. Dehler fitted good-quality deck gear from new, and the boat still presents as a quality item.

A wheel could be specified instead of the tiller. Dehler offered a Whitlock column as an option, and some owners later retrofitted one. However, the cockpit was never built to accept a wheel: it is too narrow behind the traveler and not rigid enough. On wheel-equipped boats, the pillar wobbles, the helmsman is cramped, and the mainsheet is awkward to reach.

Accommodations

White surfaces dominate below deck, with mahogany veneers giving the saloon a cosy, aisle-like character. Even so, the boat’s external dimensions are less generous than a Bavaria’s, and the accommodation is cramped.

Saloon headroom is 1.83 metres and decreases toward the bow; the wet room has 1.71 metres. Yachting Monthly likewise found plenty of headroom in the saloon but noted that it tapers quickly in the forecabin. Folding-back cushions make the saloon berths easy to use, but there isn’t enough room to sit upright and dress on either the fore or aft bunks.

The foredeck berth extends right into the bow, making its stated 2.30-metre length unusable. A sliding door closes off the WC compartment and overlaps the chart table at the aft end of the starboard saloon berth. The heads include a generous wet locker aft of the toilet.

The water tank is forward and the fuel tank aft, leaving the storage beneath the bunks unobstructed. Deep-drawn ABS floor and ceiling components help keep weight down, while wooden floorboards are usually concealed beneath a Dehler-fitted carpet.

Known Issues

The aft ceiling paneling is covered in a velvet-substitute material that collects dirt and becomes unsightly with age. Yellowed plastic trim is another known shortcoming. However, the molded plastic headlining itself showed no sagging or stains in the review.

Wheel steering is the most consequential flaw, not because of a material defect but because the cockpit simply wasn’t designed for it. Buyers and owners should regard the tiller as the Dehler 31’s intended helm.

The Verdict

The Dehler 31 is a light van de Stadt cruiser that rewards a tiller helmsman with excellent handling and a stiff, quick motion. Its light but strong bonded construction has also remained free of osmosis.

The main compromises are below deck: cramped accommodation, an unusable foreberth length, and rapidly diminishing headroom toward the bow. As a used boat, the Dehler 31 makes most sense as a performance-oriented family cruiser rather than a spacious coastal cruiser.

Pros