Design and Construction
The Dehler 32 has a raked bow and chopped-off stern with minimal overhang. Her high freeboard adds interior volume, while moderate hull proportions and a relatively deep canoe body were chosen to encourage good behaviour. With a length-to-beam ratio of 3.01 and beam carried aft to a very broad transom—78 percent of maximum beam at the stern—she is a beamy boat of moderate displacement. The standard model has a D/L of 168.
The hull is cored with end-grain balsa and laid up in unidirectional and multidirectional fabrics with hydrolysis-proof polyester resin. The biscuit-tin-style hull-to-deck joint is covered by an alloy rubbing strake. A full interior moulding incorporates landings for the joinery modules.
Around the seacocks, the balsa core ramps down to a single skin. The floor matrix surrounding the iron T-bulb keel looks suitably chunky. The boat was built to full CE Category A, Ocean certification.
Three cast-iron T-bulb keel options were offered: a standard fin, a shallow fin, and a racing fin. The standard fin reduces draught by nearly 10 inches compared with the racing fin, while the shallow fin trades performance for a draught of 4 feet 8 inches. Dehler used an aluminium rig and iron keel to control the price.
Rig, Deck, and Handling
The keel-stepped 9/10ths Seldén rig has Dyeform rigging and two sets of swept spreaders with 19-degree sweep. The standard jib has a 107-percent LP, and the headstay is set about eight inches aft of the stem. A 32:1 Dyneema backstay and below-decks furling drum keep the jib tack low.
Most of the deck hardware is from Harken. The mainsheet traveller spans the cockpit just forward of the primary winches. A moulded upstand toerail with folding D-rings replaces the usual alloy rail.
Following requests from the British dealer, the rudder blade was revised with a reduced chord and greater depth. Writing in Practical Boat Owner, test sailors found that the revised blade gave a finger-light helm with limpet-like grip. It continued to bite upwind even with the gunwale underwater at about 40 degrees of heel. Thanks to the short keel chord and large rudder mounted well aft, the boat could also be spun extremely fast if necessary. Persistent dealer feedback prompted the change to the deeper, narrower blade, markedly improving helm feel.
In 19 knots of breeze, the Dehler 32 logged just over 6 knots hard on the wind and tacked through little more than 70 degrees. On a beam reach, she made 8 knots and was eager to surf on small quarter-waves, while carrying only the slightest weather helm.
Cockpit and Accommodation
The cockpit is open, with sculpted coamings that aid seating. A full-depth locker to starboard houses the fuel and holding tank. On wheel-steered boats, however, the large double-spoked wheel makes it awkward to reach the mainsheet overhead.
Below, a large enclosed double quarterberth tucks beneath the cockpit. It’s large, but access is tight. Forward, hanging lockers sit just aft of the V-berth. Its toe isn’t too narrow because volume is pushed forward by the minimal bow overhang, although the forecabin remains a dive-in-and-kick-the-door-shut affair.
The galley is small, but the navigation station is generous for a 32-footer. Its chart table is workable, though pilot-book stowage is limited. Thoughtful details include a self-stowing washboard and dished companionway steps in untreated timber.
Engine and Systems
A folding propeller was standard. The engine is listed as a Volvo D1-20 saildrive, although some records specify a Yanmar 3YM20. It can be reached from all four sides, and a calorifier tank is mounted above it.
Known Issues
Testers noted that the split pulpit can catch the jib when hardening up from a reach. The coachroof abaft the mast lacks non-slip, and the main hatch is perilously free-running.
The heads inlet is so close to the waterline that pumping becomes ineffective on starboard tack beyond a few degrees of heel. Under sail, the boat also appeared down at the bow even when unladen.
Verdict
The Dehler 32 is a well-resolved performance cruiser for a small family. She’s stiff, quick, and forgiving on the helm, with an ocean-certified structure and a roomy, if quirky, interior. Most of her known annoyances are at deck level and manageable.
Pros
- Finger-light, grippy helm with the deeper revised rudder
- Beamy, high-freeboard hull with a broad transom and Ocean CE certification
- Generous navigation station and large enclosed quarterberth
- Good engine access and a standard folding propeller
Cons
- Small galley and tight access to the quarterberth
- Heads inlet ineffective when heeled on starboard tack
- Free-running main hatch and no coachroof non-slip abaft the mast
- Jib can catch on the split pulpit when hardening up from a reach
