Design and Construction
The Dehler 46 SQ is designed by Judel/Vrolijk and has a beamy hull with beam carried aft and no chine, giving smooth lines aft that lack aggressive hull chines. The hull and deck are built by vacuum infused epoxy resin over a Divinycell core, with bulkheads of the same construction laminated into the hull and deck, and a laminated carbon keel matrix spreading rig, keel and mast loads. Chainplates sit outboard where they connect to that carbon hull matrix. Against the 2014 hull, the SQ version is lighter, stiffer and more powerful, and the fold-down bathing platform uses much lighter construction to take weight out of the ends of the boat. The standard model displaces 25,353 lbs with 7,716 lbs of lead ballast and a 149 displacement-to-length ratio; the competition model sheds 772 lbs of ballast to reach a D/L of 145. Three keel/draft paths exist: standard 7 feet 5 inches, competition 8 feet 6 inches with a fin and bulb, and short keel 7 feet 1 inch.
Rig and Handling
The sailplan shows a tall, fractional rig with swept spreaders, executed as a 9/10 Selden twin spreader, keel stepped mast suited to this level of performance. A German mainsheet system with a 2:1 purchase runs to a three-quarter-width traveller track, while genoa cars are towable but there are no sheet inhaulers to fine-tune the sheeting angle. A powerful Selden manual hydraulic backstay tensioner adjusts easily from the helm, and a blade staysail can be set on a removable inner forestay to keep the boat balanced when heavily reefed. The bowsprit is supported by a bobstay to allow downwind sails to be set with proper luff tension, served by an open pulpit giving access to tack points. Test sailors found her deep single rudder never lost grip, and hardening onto the wind she made around 30º to the apparent wind; bearing away, the hull took off and easily topped 9 knots and nudged 10 on GPS. With the flatdeck furling headsail you do need to be on the leeward wheel to see under the sails.
Accommodations
Dehler offers a variety of cabin configurations with a new approach to light below deck: every coachroof window opens outward below a sleek black gutter, and hull windows at seated eye-level supplement the coachroof openings for vast ventilation. Two layouts are almost identical, differing only in how the port side of the main cabin is treated — a conventional settee with small nav station forward, or a broken settee with nav station aft. Mirror image quarter sleeping cabins offer a double to starboard always, while the port side can be a double, two singles, or one single plus stowage; a scissor berth configuration yields two tight single berths. The forward owner's cabin has a large island berth (205cm by 170cm mid, narrowing to 115cm ends) with handing lockers to port and a large heads to starboard behind a curved door. The interior finishes in ALPI light oak with teak and mahogany options and light grey upholstery, and the saloon has C-shaped seating around a fold-out table, plus an electrically sliding port berth. The L-shaped galley to starboard is sensible but could use more counter space; it has a double sink, fridge with top and front openings, three-burner oven with crash bar, and a deep top-opening bin forward of the sink.
Equipment and Deck
On deck, a flop down boarding platform hinges into the broad, flat transom and twin wheels — or optional carbon wheels — make access easy, with fold-up helm foot blocks and a lifting foot brace on the lazarette hatch. An optional arch bridges the companionway to lead the mainsheet and traveller out of the cockpit and host a folding sprayhood. Lewmar performance 50ST winches can be powered, instrument pods sit flush with the coaming at the aft cockpit seats, and a steel-framed midships table provides bracing though it lacks stowage. A cavernous foredeck locker, horizontal axis windlass over a deep chain well, and rope tail bins complete the picture. The accommodation layout was seaworthy with plenty of handholds, curved companionway steps, and generous wooden fiddles.
Known Issues and Ownership Notes
The finish appeared very good, though testers noted one or two areas that could have been better thought through, notably access to the electronics wiring. The galley's counter shortfall is structural — gaining space would cost the path to the aft cabin or U-shaped dinette. The heads opposite the galley was enlarged for the SQ version but oddly lacks a wet locker for foulies, and overhead lockers sacrifice volume to an over-elaborate hinge. The test boat did not have grab handles on the pedestals, and the cockpit table has no stowage (a cubby just inside the companionway covers essentials).
The Verdict
The Dehler 46 SQ is a considered modern performance cruiser that trades a little interior compromise for a stiff, light, genuinely fast hull with exemplary ventilation and a seaworthy below-deck plan. She earns her flagship status through engineering rather than ornament.
Pros
- Lighter, stiffer, more powerful SQ hull with carbon matrix and infused epoxy-Divinycell construction
- Tall fractional Selden rig, German mainsheet, adjustable backstay, and predictable deep single rudder
- All coachroof and hull windows open outward for exceptional ventilation; seaworthy handhold-rich layout
- Flexible port-side cabin and nav-station arrangements; enlarged heads and island owner's berth
Cons
- Galley counter space constrained by cabin-access geometry
- No wet locker in heads; overhead lockers lose volume to hinge design; cockpit table lacks stowage
- Electronics-access finish detail flagged by testers; no pedestal grab handles on test boat
