Dehler Duetta 86 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

Three interior versions appear in brokerage stock. The "L" carries a double berth forward under the foredeck, an L-shaped galley saloon, and a cockpit running to the transom. The "G" drops the foredeck berth for interior lockers and a large deck-accessed sail locker, with two dog bunks. The "A" version — the one with the separate aft cabin and two single berths — slides its cockpit forward and, like the "G", lowers the saloon table into a broad sunbathing platform. Berths are large enough for adults and storage is generous, but the WC room is tiny; the door must be open to dress. An "S" suffix marks the plusher fit-out with teak and Treadmaster, though on a used boat that teak may well have been replaced in plastic.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

A Duetta 86 commonly comes with a chartplotter, a self-tacking jib, and an autopilot as standard-era electronics. Heating is often seen on boats that have sailed cooler northern waters. For the buyer, the self-tacking jib is the most consequential sail-handling item — it simplifies short-handed sailing and matches the boat's good-natured character. The hydraulic wheel steering on "A" versions is original but gives no helm feedback, so a tiller-equipped example may suit a purist. The original gas cooker has no replacement, so any "S" boat with a working unit should be valued for it; if it has failed, the owner has improvised. Engines range from the robust Yanmar 2GM20 to the alternative Farymann, and old single-circuit-cooled units are frequently at end of life.

What to Inspect

Moisture intrusion is the central theme. Hairline gelcoat cracks let water into the laminate at the starboard dunnage, and the same path damages the wooden mast-base core through leaking electrical plugs anchor. The ends of the self-tacking rail can let wood swell and destroy the laminate. The balsa deck core must never have been damp. Cockpit bilge hoses sit on copper standpipes above the waterline but without sea valves, and the hull joint there is of questionable durability; there are also no seacocks on the cockpit drains. Rudder bearings wear and announce themselves by blade slapping under engine power. Hatch seals and windows age but replacements exist. The gelcoat chalks and the Treadmaster covering is heavy to renew. Critically, the ABS moulded parts — inner shell, washbasin, hatch garage — are gone from production and cannot be repaired, only rebuilt in GRP.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

Typical markets for the Duetta 86 are the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. For a buyer, the checklist is straightforward: confirm the balsa deck and mast-base core are dry, verify the cockpit drain standpipes and absent seacocks, test the rudder for play under power, and check that any ABS parts are intact since they cannot be sourced. A boat with the Yanmar 2GM20, a sound self-tacking jib, and a dry "A" or "L" interior remains a practical small cruiser with real character.