Dehler 34 Buyer's Guide, From the 1980s Legend to the Current Boat

Which Dehler 34 are you looking at?

Type Dehler 34 into a listing site and you get boats built forty years apart. The current Dehler 34 is the Judel/Vrolijk design that went into production in 2016, marketed by the yard as the direct successor of the cult boat that started the performance cruiser idea. That is the boat this guide is about, and the one most buyers mean when they ask about a Dehler 34 for sale with a recent model year.

The name has history. The original van de Stadt Dehler 34 was a cruising version of the DB1 three-quarter tonner, 10.10 m long and about 4,000 kg, and it made Dehler a household name in northern Europe; sailboatdata lists production from 1983 to 1993 and SAIL put the run at about 1,300 hulls. In the 2000s the name returned on a Judel/Vrolijk racer-cruiser of 10.21 m and 4,500 kg, which sailboatdata dates 2002 to 2007 and Dehler's own archive lists as 2004 to 2009. Around 2007 Cruising World also reviewed a Simonis Voogd boat called the Dehler 34 that shares its dimensions with the later Dehler 35. Do not mix any of their specs with the 2016 boat's.

Three keels, two rigs and a choice of personality

Dehler sells the 34 as a kit of options rather than a single boat. The standard version has a fin and bulb keel drawing 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in), 2,100 kg of ballast and a displacement of 6,000 kg, carrying 65 m2 (700 sq ft) of upwind sail on an aluminum Selden rig. The competition package takes 400 to 500 kg out of the boat depending on the source, and adds a T-keel drawing 2.10 m, a deeper rudder, a carbon mast whose top sits about 0.75 m higher above the waterline, tiller steering if wanted, and 71 m2 of upwind sail. A shoal L-keel draws 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) and raises ballast to 2,250 kg.

SAIL's review summed up the competition version as weighing 1,102 lb less and carrying 92 sq ft more sail, with an integrated composite bowsprit. Even the standard boat has the ingredients racers care about: end-boom sheeting with a double-ended German mainsheet, a traveler on the cockpit sole just ahead of the twin wheels, an adjustable split backstay and rod rigging.

For a US buyer the logic is simple. On the Chesapeake, in Florida or around Long Island Sound's shallower harbors, the shoal keel is worth its modest performance penalty. On Lake Michigan, Puget Sound or the Gulf of Maine, the standard keel is the resale sweet spot, and the competition boat only makes sense if you will actually race under PHRF or ORC.

Cockpit details that won over the judges

Cruising World's Boat of the Year judges liked how the cockpit serves both purposes. B&G plotters sit in molded pods ahead of each wheel, and those pods double as backrests for the long settees. Three pairs of Lewmar winches cover the mainsheet, the 108 percent headsail and the halyards, which run aft under deck to Spinlock clutches. The transom drops down manually for swimming and boarding; racers can delete it and fit a pair of wire lifelines to save weight.

Chainplates are outboard, which keeps the side decks clear, and a molded toerail with a substantial bulwark gives secure footing when heeled. Yachting Monthly's Graham Snook found the helm comfortable but a little heavier than some rivals with similar Jefa steering, and noted that the 1.52 m (5 ft) cockpit seats are better for perching than lying down. He also flagged that pop-up mooring cleats lack a fair lead from the bow roller.

Below: two cabins, one head and Dehler's two-way door

The layout is fixed at two double cabins and one head, which is what makes the 34 feel larger than it is. The forward berth can be left open to the saloon so that racers can drop sails through the forehatch and reach them from below, or closed off with an optional bulkhead for privacy. The aft cabin has a generous berth, even with the rudder post intruding in one corner.

Dehler's signature head door closes off either the whole compartment or just the toilet and shower, leaving the basin usable. The L-shaped galley has top- and front-loading Isotherm refrigeration and a gimballed two-burner Eno stove with oven, and the aft-facing nav station uses the end of the port settee as its seat. Curved lockers line both sides of the saloon. Standard joinery is mahogany with teak and American cherry as options. Yachting Monthly judged the galley a little small but the saloon and cabins a decent size.

Sailing and motoring numbers

None of the published tests caught a breeze. SAIL's test on Chesapeake Bay saw 6 knots gusting 8, in which the boat reached 4.6 knots at 40 degrees apparent and pointed to 35 degrees without stalling. Cruising World sailed it in under 5 knots of wind and still made nearly 4 knots downwind under an asymmetric spinnaker. Yachting Monthly reported that the boat came alive as soon as the apparent wind reached double figures.

Under power SAIL measured 6 knots at 2,200 rpm and 6.9 knots at wide-open throttle of 2,800 rpm with the optional 27 hp Volvo Penta and a two-blade folding prop. The standard engine is an 18 hp D1-20 with saildrive. Fuel capacity is about 159 liters (42 gallons) and water about 231 liters (61 gallons), adequate for weekends and coastal hops. No fuel burn figures have been published.

Awards and the value argument

The 34 was named Best Performance Cruiser in Cruising World's 2017 Boat of the Year, beating the J/112E, Elan E4 and Alerion Sport 30. Judge Tim Murphy worked out that at $215,000 the Dehler cost $17.09 per pound of displacement against $26.55 for the J/112E, and concluded it hit the crossover between cruising accommodation and real sail controls. It also collected the Sailing Today award for performance cruisers that year.

That value story still matters on the used market. A 34 offers a modern hull, outboard chainplates, a carbon-reinforced grid and a racer's deck plan for less money than most American and Scandinavian rivals, and the model is still in production, which supports parts availability and resale.

Buying a Dehler 34 for sale in the US

Most used 34s are in Germany, Scandinavia and the Netherlands, so many US purchases will be imports or boats commissioned through Hanse's American dealers. Check that the shore power, battery charger and electronics have been converted or specified for North America, and budget for shipping, survey travel and duty paperwork if the boat is in Europe.

Expect to spend roughly $9,000 to $21,000 a year to keep one on a slip with insurance, haul-out, bottom paint, saildrive service and routine rigging checks. Racing owners should add a sail budget, since laminate sails age faster than the Dacron that many cruising boats carry.