Hull Form and Design Philosophy
Robert Perry's analysis of the hull is concise: all sailing length, with just three inches of total overhang, all aft. The length-to-beam ratio of 3.0 makes this unambiguously a wide, flat boat by traditional standards — beamy enough to pull the volume aft and sustain hull depth to approximately Station 8.2, which both aids stability and creates the accommodation volume necessary for serious cruising. The canoe body shows moderate rocker, flattened slightly amidships, a configuration that keeps the hull fast in a range of conditions without demanding expert helmsmanship to extract the performance.
Hull construction follows vacuum infusion with a sandwich laminate using a balsa wood core and vinyl ester resin, a specification that places it in the upper tier of production build quality. Laminated bulkheads and a GRP floor assembly complete the structure. The CE Category A ocean rating confirms the design intent: this is not a sportboat dressed in cruising clothing, but a genuinely offshore-capable yacht.
Rig Options and Handling
The defining change in the SQ update is the optional fathead or squaretop mainsail, and it deserves careful evaluation. The large top area, made possible by a diagonal batten, adds five square metres of sail surface and greater aerodynamic efficiency — a measurable real-world gain that YACHT's testing quantified as an average speed advantage of 28 seconds per nautical mile compared to the conventional pinhead mainsail. That is meaningful over any distance.
The trade-off is complexity. The wide head at the top of the sail requires double flying backstays, which must be alternated through each tack and gybe and make strong-wind gybes a more demanding manoeuvre. However, the shipyard offset this by moving the jib sheeting points 25 centimetres aft and increasing spreader sweep from 23 to 27 degrees, redistributing loads so the backstays function primarily as trim tools rather than structural necessities. The mast remains standing without them, while the boom can still be raised sufficiently — a genuine engineering solution rather than a workaround. Those who prefer simplicity can opt for the conventional pinhead mainsail, or go further with a carbon rig carrying a 49-square-metre mainsail.
Perry's standard rig SA/D of 20.85 rises to 23.23 with the squaretop competition rig, numbers that indicate a boat with genuine drive, not just aspirational sail area. Three keel options — shoal at 5'3", standard at 6'8", and competition at 7'6" with a T-configuration fin and bulb — allow the buyer to tune the package to their home waters and competitive ambitions.
Deck Layout and Handling Under Sail
The deck layout pays as much attention to racing considerations as to the needs of the casual cruiser, arguably tilting toward racing efficiency — side decks cleared of obstructions, sheets led aft along the cabintrunk edge, six winches with two flanking the companionway and four positioned aft. Twin wheels suit the broad stern well. The mainsheet traveller spans the cockpit sole directly forward of the wheels, keeping it central and accessible.
Practical refinements in the SQ update include fold-out footrests that emerge from cockpit floor box lids at 15 to 20 degrees, flush with the deck when stowed in harbour — a detail that distinguishes purposeful engineering from box-ticking. YACHT's testing confirmed the boat can be handled single-handed, with jib sheets led to the leeward winch of the German Cupper system. One caveat: buyers should specify the optional larger winches — 50mm for the foresheet and 45mm for the mainsheet — for genuinely easier handling.
At the helm, pleasant rudder pressure is achieved in as little as 10 knots of true wind, with direct and pleasant steering characteristics. Performance is described as easy to call up rather than demanding to extract — an important distinction for shorthanded crews or those who sail in variable conditions.
Accommodation and Interior Layout
Below decks, the SQ update brought meaningful improvements to livability. Larger hull windows and two additional Perspex wedges in the superstructure, combined with new surface treatments, made the saloon substantially lighter and friendlier. The main bulkhead and partition to the wet cell are covered with three-dimensional Skai material and thin upholstery with transverse seams intended to provide noise insulation — a detail that speaks to Dehler's attempt to raise the quality perception of the interior beyond what the price point might suggest.
Layout choices are genuinely flexible. Two cabins plus a large port side locker and no fixed navigation table are standard; a navigation station is available as a fixed or sliding option, the latter allowing it to double as a small dinette. Two berth variants are possible forward, with the sleeping area moved slightly aft to allow service batteries to be positioned underneath for better weight distribution. The bathroom is consistently praised: a spacious wet room whose door can also seal off the entire bathroom area, a practical privacy solution that other builders have since copied.
Three wood finishes — teak, oak and mahogany — and multiple flooring options give buyers genuine customisation choices. The single head is a real-world constraint in the two-cabin layout, and in the mirror-image three-cabin configuration, access to the port aft cabin runs through the head.
Known Handling Limitation
YACHT's test identified a specific interference point with the gennaker configuration: the lever of the backstay clamp collides with the loaded deflection block of the gennaker sheet. This was an acknowledged work-in-progress at the time of review. Buyers intending to fly a gennaker regularly should confirm with their dealer whether the shipyard's solution has been incorporated in current production or can be retrofit. It is the only operational complaint surfaced in either source, and its scope is limited to one sail configuration.
Perry also notes that the refrigerator space appears minimal, with the outboard volume beside the sinks appearing inadequate and difficult to access. For serious liveaboards or extended passages this is worth evaluating in person before committing to a layout.
Refits and Upgrades
The SQ's upgrade history is instructive for buyers of earlier Dehler 38 hulls considering modernisation. The hull and deck shape were retained from the 2013 original, so the structural platform is common between generations. The rig changes — fathead mainsail, repositioned jib tracks, increased spreader sweep — are the most performance-relevant modifications and potentially retrofittable in discussion with a qualified rigger.
Swim platform ventilation and cockpit storage were also improved in the SQ revision. Buyers of pre-SQ hulls seeking to close the gap with the updated model have a clearly documented checklist of changes from which to work.
The Verdict
The Dehler 38 SQ is one of the most coherent performance-cruiser propositions produced in Europe in the current decade. It does not attempt to be a racing boat that tolerates cruisers, nor a cruising boat with a racing number painted on the side. The hull, rig options, deck layout and accommodation choices are the kind of package that has demonstrated how a good, proven product can be improved and modernised with many small, intelligent measures, and the result is a boat that rewards skilled crew without punishing moderate ones.
Pros
- Three keel options and two mainsail configurations allow genuine tailoring to use case
- Vacuum-infused sandwich hull with vinyl ester resin represents production-build quality above class average
- Deck layout handles single-handed without requiring structural workarounds
- Interior materially improved in SQ update: lighter, better-finished, more practical storage
- Direct, pleasant steering feel from low wind speeds upward
- Fathead rig delivers measurable speed gain with backstay complexity successfully minimised
Cons
- Backstay management during gybes adds complexity, particularly in strong wind
- Refrigerator volume appears undersized for extended passages
- Three-cabin layout requires transiting the head to reach the port aft cabin
- Gennaker sheet/backstay clamp interference requires verification with dealer on current production
