Design and Construction
Einar Ohlson folded the hard-won experience of the then highly competitive 5.5 M class into the 38's lines and even used the towing tank in Göteborg to refine a physical model of the hull. The result is a traditional deep-V hull with elegant long overhangs and a narrow beam of only 10'3", a form that slices through head seas rather than slamming like a modern flat-bottomed yacht. The hulls were primarily moulded by Tyler Boat Company in Kent, a firm renowned for heavy-duty laminates and structural integrity, and the thickness of those solid GRP laminates is something contemporary boats simply do not match. Decks and coachroofs were moulded in GRP with sandwich construction or could be ordered in wood; only yards on the Swedish west coast and in Germany delivered boats with wooden deck and superstructure, while most European finishers used GRP. A skeg-hung rudder separated from the hull, combined with a lead ballast keel on the early boats, gave a low centre of gravity and very high directional stability.
Rig and Handling
The 38 was offered as a masthead sloop or yawl, with Einar Ohlson supplying sail plans to satisfy the RORC, CCA and IOR racing rule sets. The fore-triangle stayed constant through the production run and the main mast was used much the same way across all versions, with boom length varied between 3.6 and 4.25 m to shift sail area. The reasonably tall masthead rig carries a heavy spar, so standing rigging oversized for the loads a 14,900 lb hull generates is vital for offshore work. On the water the boat is known for excellent sailing characteristics across a wide range of conditions and exceptional upwind performance; the narrow beam reduces wetted surface when heeled and keeps a symmetrical waterplane, so she remains balanced and light and tracks beautifully when the weather deteriorates. She can be a handful in reverse because of the long-ish keel and the propeller's proximity to the rudder, with significant prop walk, but forward manoeuvrability is generally good once steerageway is established and her inherent balance makes single-handed sailing entirely practical.
Accommodations
Inside, the Ohlson 38 is traditional rather than voluminous: she lacks the cavernous interior of modern wide-stern designs and feels more like a modern 32-footer below, yet sails like a 45-footer in a Force 6. The deep, well-protected cockpit leads to a companionway flanked by a sea-going galley on one side and a proper navigation station on the other; the galley is compact but built to be worked in a seaway with deep sinks and secure footings. The main saloon holds two settee berths, often with pilot berths above, and German-finished boats are noted for rich mahogany and teak joinery of very high standard. Tankage and storage reflect the racing roots rather than long-term liveaboard cruising.
Known Issues
The principal material concern is osmotic blistering if the gelcoat was poorly maintained or the hull spent its life in warm water, though the Tyler-built laminates are so thick that this is rarely structural. Later boats built entirely by Tyler as the Tufglass 38 carried a bolt-on cast-iron keel in place of the earlier built-in lead ballast on a modified, slightly shortened negative-transom hull.
Refits and Ownership
Production moved entirely to Tyler Boats later in the 1970s with further modifications, and the cost-reduced Tufglass 38 was sold direct or as a do-it-yourself project. The Ohlson Project has identified 128 boats built in total across yards including Malö Yachts, Matthiessen & Paulsen, Alexander Robertson & Sons and Navalco SA. Clare Francis and her Ohlson 38 Robertson's Golly captured public imagination in the 1976 Observer Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race, finishing 13th of 125 and setting a women's single-handed record in 29 days 4 hours 38 minutes.
The Verdict
The Ohlson 38 is a quintessential offshore cruiser with an aristocratic racing pedigree, offering aesthetic beauty, heavy-duty construction and a sea-kindly motion that suits long passages where helm fatigue matters. She rewards an owner who values directional stability and upwind grace over interior volume, and who will keep the rig and gelcoat honestly maintained.
Pros
- Deep-V hull and lead ballast give low centre of gravity and exceptional directional stability
- Heavy Tyler laminates resist structural damage even if osmotic blistering appears
- Proven trans-ocean and single-handed capability, including OSTAR record
- Traditional, seaway-oriented galley and navigation station layout
Cons
- Narrow beam limits interior volume relative to modern designs
- Significant prop walk and tricky reverse handling with long-ish keel
- Racing-derived tankage and storage are modest for extended cruising
- Later Tufglass 38 boats lost built-in lead ballast for bolt-on cast iron
