Design and Construction
Kaufman gave the 38 a slender, easily driven hull with a relatively shallow 1.78m draft, paired to a fin keel whose pattern is shared with the Northshore 33 and which carries lead filling anchor. The hull-to-deck moulding join is FRP strapped using 12-ounce cloth from stem to stern, while interior moulds and bulkheads are attached to the hull with eight-ounce cloth, and all plywood throughout is marine grade or structural 'A'. Keel bolts, nuts and washers are 316L stainless steel. From 1984 onward the hulls were moulded using vinyl ester resin in the first layer or a full vinyl ester lay-up, a change that underpins the class's noted resistance to osmosis — post-1995 boats were even sold with a five-year warranty against blistering, and all Sydney Yachting Centre boats carry epoxy primer beneath the original anti-fouling. The cruising version carries a single-spreader, 3/4-7/8 rig with a deck-stepped mast and skeg-hung rudder, and spars come from Yachtspars in Brisbane, anodised.
The Sporting Variant and Later Derivatives
The sporting version, the NSX38, is a rarer beast built from the same hull moulds as the cruising 38, though the shallow skeg between keel and rudder was blanked off in production. It trades the cruiser's profile for a keel-stepped, double-spreader mast, a slimmer-profile 2.25m-draft keel, and a spade rudder with tiller steering. In 1995 the moulds passed to Sydney Yachting Centre, with Geoff Pearson and Bob Vinks as the new owners, and the resulting Northshore 380 arrived in two forms: the 380C cruising version and the 380 Sports. The 380C is a detuned evolution of the original, keeping the deck-stepped single-spreader rig but with a shorter mast and higher boom, 59sqm of sail, 5455kg displacement and 2190kg ballast. The 380 Sports keeps the NSX38's underwater profile and twin-spreader keel-stepped mast, though its rig is not as tall, and it carries 61sqm, 5680kg displacement and 2430kg ballast.
Rig, Handling and Performance
The standard cruising 38 is an easy boat to sail two-handed in cruise mode, and its hull and keel shapes make it very easy to steer in heavy conditions — broaching one is not easy anchor. The taller-rigged boats were somewhat tender in stiff breezes, and a shoe fitted to the keel of some examples stiffened them up quite a bit. The NSX38, by contrast, is best handled by experienced crew. Vinks described the 380C as more of a cruiser than its predecessor and more easily handled by a couple, while the 380 Sports is less 'tender' than the NSX38. Writing in boatsales.com.au, testers found the shorter-rigged 380 a true cruiser/racer and more manageable, handling 25kt easily with a full main and a number two jib without dipping its leeward rail, and a tuck in the main with a few turns of furling headsail makes for a comfortable passage up to 30kt. The sea-keeping ability suits coastal hops or longer journeys, a point borne out when two 38s finished among the 40 survivors of the 140 entries in the 1998 Sydney to Hobart.
Accommodations
The original arrangement places a forward double vee-berth ahead, a port dinette, shower/head and galley, a starboard navigation station, and an aft quarter berth; dropping the port-side quarter berth opened space for a huge cockpit locker. A full headliner moulding runs through the cabin with teak strip joining trims, and light enters through a forward deck hatch, a head hatch, and two cabin windows — later boats add a hull prism each side, while the 380 standardises three cabin windows. The cockpit itself seats six in comfort and many boats carry stern pushpit seats for two more, clear of sail handling. An aft double berth option appeared from 1990 until 1995 but only four or five were built. There is plenty of room for a family of four, and the NS38 interior carried straight across to the 380. Most boats have hot and cold showers, and most carry end-boom mainsheet travel just ahead of the wheel, while 380Cs use cabin-top mid-boom sheeting to keep the cockpit hazard-free.
Known Issues
The class shows an unusually clean structural record for its age. The vinyl ester resin introduced after 1984, together with the epoxy primer under anti-fouling on Sydney Yachting Centre hulls, explains the noted resistance to osmosis and the five-year blister warranty on post-1995 boats. The FRP-strapped hull-to-deck joint and the cloth-bonded bulkheads present no structural defects in service. The one handling caveat is the tenderness of the taller-rigged cruising boats and the NSX38's demand for experienced hands; the keel shoe on some hulls was a field fix for that, not a factory defect.
Refits and Ownership
Owners can order a factory infill to fit the post-1989 boarding ladder stern to any plain-transom NS38. Engine fitment shifted across the build: a 20hp Bukh with shaft folding prop from 1983 to 1986, a Bukh 24hp in 1987, a Volvo 28hp with shaft or saildrive from 1988 to 1994, and Yanmar or Nanni 29hp saildrive on post-1995 380s. With all 110 built still afloat, spares and community knowledge remain practical for long-term ownership.
The Verdict
The Northshore 38 is a genuinely Australian success story: a slender, easily driven Kaufman hull that proved itself from club racing to the 1998 Hobart, with construction details — vinyl ester from 1984, FRP-strapped joins, 316L keel hardware — that have kept osmosis and structural worries at bay. The cruising 38 is a tractable two-handed coastal or offshore boat; the NSX38 rewards experienced crew; the 380 line refines the formula toward couple-friendly cruising.
Pros
- Slender, easily driven hull with shallow 1.78m draft and shared, lead-filled fin keel
- Vinyl ester lay-up from 1984 and epoxy primer on later hulls give strong osmosis resistance
- Hull-to-deck joint FRP-strapped stem to stern; bulkheads cloth-bonded; 316L keel bolts
- Forgiving steering and broach-resistant behaviour in heavy conditions
- Practical accommodation with huge cockpit locker, six-seat cockpit, family-of-four space
Cons
- Taller-rigged boats and the NSX38 are tender in stiff breezes and demand experienced crew
- Aft double berth option extremely rare (four or five built)
- NSX38's blanked-off skeg and tiller/spade rudder not suited to casual handlers
