Design and Construction
The DB-1 measures 33.1 feet overall, with a 26.6-foot waterline and an 11.2-foot beam. Her fiberglass hull has a solid rather than cored layup, and the fin keel is lead.
Dehler built the boat during its classic production era. The company used a monocoque hull-to-deck joint, laminating the deck and hull together inside the mold.
The proportions combine stiffness with considerable volume. The length-to-beam ratio is 2.97, and the broad beam gives the DB-1 unusual interior room. Period comparisons described her as more spacious than 73% of similar designs.
She carries 3,525 pounds of lead ballast. Her 41% ballast ratio is higher than that of half of comparable sailboats, while the 3,525 pounds of lead give her a ballast-displacement figure near 48. Wetted surface is about 344 square feet, and an immersion rate near 1,033 pounds per inch describes a hull that settles predictably under load.
Rig and Handling
The fractional sloop rig has running-rigging recommendations that specify line lengths as well as sail dimensions. Both the jib and genoa sheets are 10.1 meters long and 12 mm in diameter. The mainsheet is 25.3 meters long at the same diameter, while the spinnaker sheet is 22.2 meters. These figures imply a deck plan with masthead-reachable runs and manageable, repeatable leads.
The DB-1 has a theoretical hull speed of 6.9 knots. Depending on load, her draft ranges from about 6.2 to 6.5 feet, putting her at the deep end of her size class. That depth restricts her to major marinas, but it pays back in directional stability and righting moment.
Accommodations
Interior volume is the DB-1’s standout accommodation feature. The same broad proportions that give her a 2.97 length-to-beam ratio also create a cabin roomier than those of most peers from the era.
For a 33-footer launched in 1980, that space is her defining asset as a liveaboard or weekender. It also separates her from narrower, racer-derived contemporaries.
Verdict
The DB-1 is a van de Stadt–penned performance cruiser that traded the spartan interior of many 3/4-tonners for genuine volume. At the same time, she retained a high ballast ratio and a sea-kindly deep fin. She remains a clear product of Dehler’s classic molded-construction era.
Pros
- More interior space than 73% of comparable designs
- High 41% ballast ratio, exceeding that of half of similar boats
- Lead fin keel with deep, load-dependent draft for stability
- Continuous fiberglass hull-to-deck bond from molded construction
Cons
- Draft of 6.2–6.5 feet restricts her to major marinas
