Najad 390 Buyer's Guide
The Najad 390 is a Thorwald Karlsson-designed centre-cockpit cruiser built by Najad Yachts from 1984 to 1995, a 38-foot-7-inch hull with a 20,944 lb displacement and 8,818 lb ballast. On the brokerage market used Najad 390s present as a serious bluewater candidate with a secure deck plan and a roomy, traditional interior. Knowing which layouts and upgrades are typical, and what to inspect, will sharpen any purchase decision.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every 390 carries two sleeping cabins with double berths, a salon with settee singles around a folding table, and a single head with shower aft to starboard by the companionway. The forward V-berth cabin and the aft island-berth cabin are fixed by design, as are the port-side galley and the forward-port nav station. Headroom is 6 foot 2 with 6 foot 5 saloon berths, so the accommodation suits tall crew without modification. The centre cockpit and inboard engine compartment behind the galley are consistent across the fleet, meaning a buyer chooses mainly between standard and shallow-draft keels rather than interior plans.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Cabin heating and a chartplotter are commonly fitted, and many boats also carry an autopilot, solar, hot water, teak decks, bow thruster, and AIS. For a buyer, the consequential clusters are power and energy—heating plus solar supporting off-grid living—and navigation, where chartplotter and AIS reduce reliance on the forward-facing chart table alone. A bow thruster helps docking but on a 30-year-old boat its intermittent faults are a known owner complaint, so confirm function during survey. Less common upgrades include radar, a furling main, dinghy davits, and a life raft, usually added by individual owners rather than the yard.
What to Inspect
The encapsulated keel on most 390s was filled with iron ingots rather than lead anchor, so a survey should look for corrosion signs around the keel sump and any history of internal rust migration. The single-skin Lloyds-approved hull avoids foam-sandwich water ingress, but the flush decks deserve close checking for fastener issues at penetrations. Confirm the emergency tiller operation from below decks and verify the cockpit soft patch is intact for engine removal. The bow thruster’s age-related malfunction should be tested under load alongside the 60 hp Volvo Penta’s rpm response.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These yachts typically appear in Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Grenada, and the United States. For a shopper, the short checklist is: verify keel ballast type and corrosion, test bow thruster and engine rpm, confirm deck and hull penetration integrity, and assess autopilot and heating for liveaboard use. A sound 390 rewards the careful buyer with a stiff, track-friendly cruiser built for distance.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Najad 390. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 11 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25 | 1 | $138,675 | — |
| May 25 | 1 | $69,000 | -50.2% |
| Jul 25 | 1 | $139,724 | +102.5% |
| Sep 25 | 9 | $110,707 | -20.8% |
| Oct 25 | 2 | $124,109 | +12.1% |
| Nov 25 | 2 | $115,634 | -6.8% |
| Dec 25 | 1 | $150,329 | +30.0% |
| Jan 26 | 6 | $150,329 | 0.0% |
| Mar 26 | 2 | $115,368 | -23.3% |
| Apr 26 | 14 | $138,675 | +20.2% |
| May 26 | 2 | $127,022 | -8.4% |
Where they're listed
Najad 390 listings appear across 12 countries. Germany has the most listings with 8 (21.1%), followed by Netherlands and Portugal.
Country view
38 listings · 12 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | $138,675 | 8 | 0 | 21.1% |
| Netherlands | $150,329 | 7 | 0 | 18.4% |
| Portugal | $115,368 | 5 | 0 | 13.2% |
| Spain | $115,368 | 3 | 0 | 7.9% |
| United Kingdom | $81,513 | 3 | 0 | 7.9% |
| Grenada | $69,000 | 3 | 0 | 7.9% |
| United States | $149,900 | 3 | 0 | 7.9% |
| Denmark | $109,059 | 2 | 0 | 5.3% |
| Gibraltar | $110,707 | 1 | 0 | 2.6% |
| Italy | $92,062 | 1 | 0 | 2.6% |
| Panama | $99,500 | 1 | 0 | 2.6% |
| Sweden | $156,155 | 1 | 0 | 2.6% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.