Dehler 29 Review, a Judel/Vrolijk Pocket Racer-Cruiser Revisited

The Dehler 29 and the Judel/Vrolijk turn

Through the 1980s and early 1990s Dehler's cruisers came from the van de Stadt office, including the popular Dehler 28 and the Dehler 31. In the mid-1990s the German yard began working with Judel/Vrolijk & Co, and Dehler's own history names the Dehler 29 as one of the first boats to show the new look: a steep stem and an upright stern. It arrived at a hard moment, since German Wikipedia records that Dehler went through insolvency in 1998 before new owners and the Judel/Vrolijk range brought a recovery.

The boat won quickly. Cruising World named the Dehler 29 Best Pocket Cruiser in its 1999 Boat of the Year awards, and German Wikipedia lists it as European Yacht of the Year for 1997. Sailboatdata gives 1998 as the first year built. Dehler's website still showed the 29 in its model menu in April 2010 and again in January 2012, after HanseYachts had bought the company, so the boat had an unusually long run for a 29 footer.

Snub bow, chopped transom and three keels

Yachting Monthly's assessment, based on its April 1999 test, explains the shape. The snub bow and chopped-off transom push waterline length to the ends of the hull for speed, the knife-like bow slices to windward, flared topsides add reserve buoyancy and the narrow waterline beam keeps the boat slippery in light air. Sailboatdata lists a waterline of 8.00 m on an 8.75 m hull.

Ballast sits low in a torpedo-shaped bulb on a deep blade fin. The standard keel draws about 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in); sailboatdata also lists a racing keel of 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) and a shoal keel of 1.22 m (4 ft 0 in), with displacement shifting from about 3,600 kg for the racing version to about 3,900 kg for the shoal. Ask which keel a boat has before comparing performance or handicap ratings.

Sixty-five degree tacks and a kite for the reaches

The 7/8 fractional rig rewards tweaking, according to Yachting Monthly, yet the boat is easily handled, stands up to her canvas well and tacks through about 65 degrees, a figure many modern 30 footers would envy. The weakness is deep downwind sailing: without a spinnaker or gennaker the 29 needs a kite to get going off the wind, so a used boat with a good asymmetric or symmetric chute is worth more.

Sailboatdata puts reported sail area at 43 m2 (463 sq ft), a sail area to displacement ratio of 18.3 on the heavier brochure displacement and a displacement to length ratio of 201. Those numbers describe a quick cruiser-racer rather than a stripped racer, which matches the boat's double life in club racing and family cruising. Theoretical hull speed is about 6.9 knots.

A cockpit for four

Yachting Monthly found the cockpit on the small side: comfortable for four, a squeeze with more. That suits a racing crew of four or a couple with children, less so a crowd for sundowners. Because the rig is fractional and the headsail small, the sheet loads are modest, and the boat suits sailors who like to trim the main and backstay rather than winch in a big genoa.

Aft double to the transom and a semicircular dinette

No space is wasted below. The aft cabin's large double berth runs right back to the transom, the main cabin is welcoming with the same semicircular dinette arrangement as the earlier Dehler 28, and the heads compartment is large with good stowage. Yachting Monthly's one complaint concerned the standard galley, which was rudimentary: a small sink and an ungimballed two-burner hob. Many owners will have upgraded it, so check what is fitted.

Tankage is small, as sailboatdata lists about 60 liters of fuel and 100 liters of water, which is fine for weekends and short coastal hops but limits longer cruises without regular stops.

The engine question on a 25 year old 29 footer

Sailboatdata lists a Volvo Penta diesel of 21 hp as original equipment, but a 1998 boat currently for sale in France lists a 12 hp diesel, so engines vary across the fleet and some boats have been repowered. On any Dehler 29 the engine, its saildrive or shaft seal, mounts and exhaust elbow are the first items to inspect, followed by standing rigging age and the condition of the keel bolts and keel-to-hull joint after years of racing and groundings.

Finding one, and pricing it fairly

Few Dehler 29s were sold in North America, so a US buyer will usually shop in Europe. Prices are modest for the quality: a 1998 example in Brest asks about 55,000 euros, and Yachting Monthly's long-standing price guide pitched the type between 40,000 and 50,000 pounds. Budget for transport, a survey and some new sails. Practical Boat Owner's verdict remains a fair summary: a 1998 Judel/Vrolijk design with a different style from the earlier van de Stadt Dehlers, ample performance and space below, and well worth a look.

Where the 29 sits in the Dehler family

Do not confuse the Dehler 29 with the older Dehler 28, a van de Stadt design built from 1987 to 1997 with about 520 hulls, or with the van de Stadt Dehler 31 of 1984 to 1994. Under HanseYachts the 30 ft slot later went to the Dehler 30 one design of 2019, a pure racer, and the 29 now appears on Dehler's site among its historical models.