Design and Construction
Robert Humphreys drew the MG 38 as a moderate-displacement monohull with a fin keel and spade rudder, its 13,280-pound displacement carried on a 12-foot beam and a 28.3-foot waterline. The solid fiberglass hull and deck are straightforward glass construction, and the 5,200 pounds of lead ballast give a ballast-displacement ratio around 39 percent. With a length-to-beam ratio of 3.15 and a displacement-length ratio of 261, the design sits among what reviewers classify as moderate racers rather than out-and-out lead-mines or heavy cruisers. The wetted surface runs about 398 square feet, and the immersion rate of roughly 1,185 pounds per inch means she settles noticeably under cruising load — a fact reflected in the quoted draft of 6.56 to 6.86 feet depending on load, which keeps her out of all but major marinas.
Rig and Handling
The fractional sloop rig carries a sail area of 679 square feet and is detailed down to control-line dimensions: halyards for mainsail, jib/genoa, and spinnaker each run 119.8 feet at a half-inch diameter, while sheets — jib, genoa, and mainsheet — are 14 mm, with the mainsheet alone 94.5 feet long. The cunningham, kicking strap, and clew outhaul are all 12 mm and around 32 to 33 feet. On the numbers, the theoretical hull speed is 7.1 knots, and the Motion Comfort Ratio of 23.9 places her as more comfortable than only about 27 percent of comparable designs — honest evidence that this is a lively, race-biased hull rather than a soft-riding passagemaker. The capsize screening value of 2.03 is below the threshold accepted for ocean racing, which yachtdatabase.com noted excludes this boat from ocean-race participation capsize screening value for MG 38 is 2.03.
Accommodations
For all the race pedigree, the MG 38 is roomier than 62 percent of similar sailboats, and the Fairley family's extended cruising — from the Shetlands to Brittany — demonstrates that the interior was used as promised. The commissioning brief of club racing by day and real cruising by week was not marketing: the same boat that won class silverware carried a young family to Scotland, Ireland, and France.
Refits and Ownership
A Volvo Penta diesel may be fitted as inboard power, and the control-line schedule above gives any owner a precise spec for replacing worn halyards and sheets. With only 49 built from 1985 onward, the MG 38 is a scarce boat, and the Harken-connected commissioning means original deck gear tends toward that brand's period hardware.
The Verdict
The MG 38 is a focused Humphreys design that delivers exactly the dual brief Fairley set: a near-the-front club racer that a family can genuinely cruise. She is quick, lean, and roomier than most of her performance peers, but her comfort ratio and capsize screen place hard limits on offshore ambition.
Pros
- Race-winning pedigree with documented family cruising proof
- Roomy for a 38-foot performance design (above 62% of peers)
- Precise, known rig and control-line specifications for upkeep
Cons
- Comfort ratio below 73% of similar boats; not a soft cruiser
- Capsize screen of 2.03 excludes ocean-race acceptance
- Deep draft limits her to major-marina access
