Dehler 36 CWS, a 1980s Shorthanded Cruiser Built Around One Winch

The idea: one winch, two people, no scrambling

CWS stands for central winch system, and on the Dehler 36 CWS it is not a marketing label. Every sheet and control line, from the self-tacking jib sheet to the halyards and reefing lines, runs aft through turning blocks and rope clutches to a single winch mounted on the centerline just forward of the wheel. One person at the helm can tack, trim and reef without leaving the cockpit, which in 1986 was an unusual promise for a 36-foot cruiser.

Germany's Yacht magazine sailed the prototype in 1988 in a steady Force 4 with gusts and reported that the big central winch worked perfectly, calling the boat a return to good sense and a clear rejection of the IOR rule; its point was that a partner or children could handle the winch work while the skipper steered. Yachting Monthly, testing in April 1989, agreed the system works once mastered, with one caution: complex maneuvers such as reefing must be done in the right order because one winch handles every line in turn. The winch could be powered, and a later owner told Segeln magazine that the electric winch was a great help when sailing alone.

The concept spread across the range. Dehler later built a 35 CWS, a 37 CWS, a 39 CWS on the hull of the earlier Dehler 38 and a 43 CWS, so the letters became shorthand for the yard's easy-handling cruisers of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

A van de Stadt hull drawn for balance rather than ratings

The hull was drawn by the Dutch office of E.G. van de Stadt as design number 422. Yachting Monthly described it as beamy and shallow with a fine run aft and a narrow keel and rudder, set up for speed and balanced handling. At 11.00 m (36 ft 1 in) overall with a 9.00 m (29 ft 6 in) waterline, a 3.50 m (11 ft 6 in) beam and 5,600 kg (12,348 lb) displacement, it sits in the moderate middle of 1980s cruiser-racers.

Ballast is a 2,400 kg (5,291 lb) cast iron keel, which Dehler called an upside-down keel because the bulb is carried at the bottom; that gives a ballast ratio near 43 percent, high for a production cruiser and a big part of why the boat stands up to a breeze. Standard draft is 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in), and the owner's manual also lists a wing keel drawing just 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in), a useful find for Chesapeake or Florida sailors.

Self-tacking jib and a big main

The owner's manual lists a 40 m2 fully battened mainsail and a 21.7 m2 self-tacking jib that can be reefed, on a 7/8 fractional rig with twin spreaders, no running backstays and a mast standing 16.92 m above the waterline. Dehler's pitch was that one sail set covers every weather; for light air an adjustable hoist takes a 50.6 m2 masthead genoa, a 91 m2 spinnaker or a 114.8 m2 masthead spinnaker. The trade-off of any self-tacker is less power when reaching in light wind, and the later 35 CWS switched to an overlapping headsail and two winches for that reason.

For an American owner who sails shorthanded on a bay or a lake, the 36 CWS rig is still a sensible arrangement four decades on. Adding a furling gennaker or a code sail on a short sprit is a common way to restore light-air reaching power without complicating the upwind setup.

Mahogany or Nova white: the two interiors

Dehler offered two interior styles. The standard version used mahogany trim; the Nova interior used pearl-white ash with a white lacquer finish, and Dehler's own description pairs it with gray Kalico leather upholstery. Both share a layout with a forecabin, an aft double, a 2.50 m galley and a saloon, and the yard added touches that were rare in 1988: indirect lighting, illuminated companionway steps and a corner cabinet for a TV and stereo. Yachting Monthly singled out the huge galley, berths longer than average and excellent stowage, and called the boat exceptionally well engineered and put together.

Lacquered white joinery is harder to keep looking fresh than varnished mahogany. Chips and yellowing are common on Nova boats, and refinishing is a skilled job, so factor the interior's condition into any offer. On the positive side, a well-kept Nova boat is distinctive and photographs well when it is time to resell.

Dehler 36 CWS engine and tankage

The owner's manual lists a Yanmar 2GM of 18 hp as standard and a three-cylinder 3GM of 27 hp as an option. Many boats have since been repowered, so ask for the engine model, installation date and hours rather than assuming it is original. Tanks hold about 150 liters (40 gallons) of diesel and 240 liters (63 gallons) of water, generous for a boat of this size and era and enough for a couple to cruise for a week or more.

No independent motoring speed or fuel figures were published. Hull speed on the 29 ft 6 in waterline is about 7.3 knots, and a healthy two-cylinder diesel will push the boat at a comfortable passage speed somewhat below that.

The 36 DB and other relatives

Do not confuse the 36 CWS with the Dehler 36 DB, a van de Stadt sister from about 1990 with a taller rig (P of 14.50 m against 13.50 m) and about 63.8 m2 of sail, aimed at racing. Nor is it related to the Judel/Vrolijk Dehler 36 launched in 2001, a lighter, longer-waterline boat with a conventional deck layout.

The 35 CWS of 1993 used a similar but narrower hull with a longer waterline, a modified interior and an overlapping genoa; sailboatdata counts 280 of those. If you are searching for a shorthanded Dehler from this period, all of the CWS models share the same philosophy, but the 36 is the one that sold in the largest numbers.

Buying a 36 CWS in 2026

The youngest boats are now more than thirty years old, so the survey matters more than the brochure. The good news is that Dehler's build quality from this period has a solid reputation and that the design has no known structural flaws reported in the sources we reviewed. The work tends to be the predictable kind: engines, standing rigging, sails, deck hardware and electrics that have reached the end of their lives.

Expect asking prices from roughly $35,000 for a tired boat to about $70,000 for one with a recent engine, sails and rigging. Annual running costs for slip, insurance, haul-out and routine maintenance run about $6,000 to $14,000 in most US regions, plus a reserve for the big-ticket items an older boat will eventually need.