MC38 OD Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for an MC38 OD means buying a pure inshore one-design racer, not a cruiser with race pretensions. Harry Dunning designed it as a step up for owners coming from the Farr 40 or Melges 32, and McConaghy Boats built it in Australia as a stripped-out grand-prix platform. What you see on the used market is a carbon/E-glass and CoreCell hull with a clear-coated interior and no galley, head, or berths — the design brief left those out on purpose.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every MC38 OD follows the same one-design layout: a Spartan interior showing its carbon structure, a cockpit with sail controls and spinnaker sheets led under the deck and exiting the cockpit walls, and a foredeck with a pneumatic rubber seal on the hatch. The lifting 9-foot carbon fin can be removed for shipping, so trailered boats may arrive with the keel fin detached. Recommended race crew is seven, and the boat's ideal crew weight was engineered down to around 1,300 pounds through stability and sail-handling focus.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Buyers should focus on the systems that matter for racing. Steering comes as a McConaghy carbon tiller or dual carbon wheels, and Harken deck hardware is standard. The rig is PBO with a carbon mast, boom, and autoclaved bow pole, plus a spinnaker string-takedown system. Carbon fittings are scattered through the boat. The keel is a removable autoclaved prepreg carbon fin with lead bulb, and the rudder is autoclaved prepreg carbon — these are core to the boat, not upgrades.
What to Inspect
The handling caveat from reviews is crew skill, not structure: in stiff breezes the boat demands a few competent crew to be raced competently when it's blowing 25, things will happen fast, and three or four people who know the drill must be on board. Inspect the under-deck sail-control leads and cockpit wall exits for wear, and confirm the pneumatic foredeck hatch seal and spinnaker takedown system are intact. The removable keel fin and lifting rudder should show no prepreg delamination at the autoclaved joints.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Typical markets are not specified for this class in the current brief. For a buyer, the takeaway is simple:
- Confirm carbon keel fin and rudder are autoclaved prepreg with no damage
- Verify PBO rigging and under-deck spinnaker leads are serviceable
- Check pneumatic hatch seal and string takedown function
- Expect to supply experienced crew for any breeze above 20 knots
- Budget for trailering with the lifting fin removed
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
2 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beneteau First 36 | 39.33' | $ 380,301 | 27 | 3 |
| One Design 31 | 31.36' | $ 224,106 | 15 | 1 |