Thursday, January 14, 2016

DEHLER 42


Beautiful design by Judel-Vrolijk, on the classic side, a boat that should be a very interesting proposal to all that like sailing and cruising, with many options that can make it faster or slower, more expensive or less expensive, more adapted to a dual propose utilization (cruiser-racer) or only fit for cruising.

 It is not a completely new boat but an upgrade of the existent Dehler 41; the same hull with new built materials, in what regards the less expensive version (closed foan instead of balsa) and most of all a much nicer cabin design and I hope a much nicer interior, since the one of the 41, the first boat since Dehler was bought by Hanse, was ugly.  In any of the cases, even on the lesser specification version, a better sailboat than a Beneteau, Hanse, Bavaria, Jeanneau or Dufour GL.

And that is a thing most cruisers seem not to understand: they look at a sailboat like this and only see a sailboat with a slighter smaller interior (less fat) and associate the sleek lines to racing thinking that it is designed for racing and that a main market mass production boat is a better cruising boat, safer and stronger.

Well it is a worse one, unless you cannot live comfortably on the slightly less spacious space these type of boats (Salona, Arcona, Comfortina, Solaris) offer because in what regards all the rest these boats are better, offering a much better sailing hardware, better building (hull and structure) more seaworthiness, with a better stability and most of all a better final stability. And off course, they sail better in a more comfortable way, specially in bad weather upwind.

But the truth is that most cruisers assume that main market cruising boats are safer than these ones just because they are fatter and most chose, sailboats by the interior they can see on boat shows, with a big help from their wives. That really pisses me because makes these type of boats, better sailboats, a species in extinction. It seems Beneteau is going to finish with its First line, the one that was on the origin of the Brand and we see Grand Soleil, that always had made this type of boats, starting to make fat boats. Not commercially interesting this type in what regards mass production boats.

So what you can get better on this boat even if you chose an inexpensive downgraded version that is not much more expensive than a Beneteau or a Jeanneau?: You can get a vacuum infused foam sandwich hull using  vinylester resins on the outer layers you get carbon reinforced hull structure laminated to the hull to distribute keel and rig forces, and all that means a stronger boat. You get higher quality sailing hardware, bigger winches, you get a sailboat with a more comfortable motion, you get a sailboat with a better stability and a bigger B/D ratio, a more seaworthy sailboat, you get a faster sailboat.

All this seems  to be completely ignored by sailors when they buy a sailboat and I believe that most disregard all this by ignorance, assuming that Beneteaus and Jeanneaus are built the same way, with the same materials, have just a bigger interior and are slower. Well, I hope this small rant contributes to clean the waters.

Regarding the boat itself there is not much to say, it is a kind of classic boat regarding this type of boats so there is nothing really special about it, except that it is a very nice design and offers a very big list of options that can make of a basic boat different sailboats with very different performances and prices. Curiously the boat is more pointed to cruisers than to serious cruising-racers not offering even on its higher specification a racing top specification.

The Dehler 42 weight can go from 9350kg to 8450kg, possibly less with carbon spars, the draft can go from 1.98m to 2.40m with different types of keels offered, including L ones, the sail area upwind can go from 93m2 to 99.5m2, depending on the lenght of the mast. 

Regarding the interior no images are shown but it will be an interior very similar and with the same quality of the one of the Dehler 38 or Dehler 46 and that means a very good cruising interior with a cozy look and feel. I like more the one of the 38, that seems more well proportioned and there is a fair chance that this one would be just like the 38 but better and bigger.
The basic price is very interesting at 169 900 euros but if you are interested on a boat of this size, just pick the airplane to Dusseldorf, go to the boat fair (end of this month) and they will offer you huge discounts, I bet more than the announced 50% discount on the extra packages.
http://www.yachtingpartners.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/D42_16_PL_EUR_20150721-7d42c1.pdf

15 comments:

  1. How does Dehler compare to Dufour Performance boats?

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  2. They are the same type of boat. The one closest is the 40. The Dufour is a much older design and you can notice it on the stern design.

    Sail area and weight are not very different but in what regards building while the Dehler uses a sandwich hull and a carbon reinforced structure for the keel the Dufour uses only sandwich on the non immersed hull and a system similar to Beneteau or Jeanneau with single skin and a inner moulded body (contre-moule) on the bottom with laminated structural framing.

    I don't know why (probably due to racing rating) the previous version of the boat (older than 2006) have a bigger B/D ratio, similar to the one of the Dehler, the newer versions have a considerably smaller B/D ratio.

    Both are good boats, well built but I would prefer the Dehler not only because it is a newer design but also because I like more the way it is built and because the bigger B/D will give it a better final stability.
    http://www.dufour-yachts.com/documents/description-40e.pdf
    http://img.nauticexpo.com/pdf/repository_ne/20156/dufour-40-4017_1b.jpg

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  3. Thanks Paulo. I have some other questions:

    -Even though the Dufour 40E hull construction might not be as strong as the Dehler, would the quality of Dufour might still be durable for long term (i.e 15-20 years) under normail coastal cruising?

    - What would be the "minimum ideal" B/D be for the type of boats we are discussing here?

    - I live in Peru were the fleet is small and we only see Beneteau, Jeanneau and Dufour boats. Are Elan, Salona brands at the same level as Beneteau, Jeanneau or are considered in Europe as better quality brands?

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    Replies
    1. I will reply on a post: BENETEAU, JEANNEAU, DUFOUR, DEHLER, ELAN, SALONA, BAVARIA.

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  4. Has anyone seen a PHRF rating for the new Dehler 42?

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  5. First you will have access to the IRC and ORC ratings (new boat) and you will be able to compare them with other IRC and ORC ratings and with the PHRF that corresponds to those ratings.

    Could not found anything yet and it would depend on the boat version (two versions, a cheaper and a more expensive one that they call racing). Just for comparison purposes you can look at the ORC file of the Dehler 38 (the cheaper version). You can find there lots of interesting information including speed and VMG.
    http://www.oscl.gr/certs/10.pdf

    The 42 will be certainly faster, specially with winds over 10k, but not necessarily more competitive under handicap).

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  6. Thanks for all your valuable info.
    My wife and self are looking to buy a new Dufour 412GL and now we also considering the Dehler 42 .We are new to sailing and would be sailing around the Med Croatia Greek Islands.
    Between these 2 yachts which would you recommend.
    Leepluke1@gmail.com
    Many thanks

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    Replies
    1. Most of all I recommend that you don't chose one or another without trying the boats. I say this because they are different types of boats and while the Dehler 42 is a performance cruiser the Dufour 412GL is a main market boat. I could say that the Dehler is better built (also more expensive) but this is not the more important, what is important is that they will offer different sailing sensations and have different strong points.

      The Dehler is faster, specially upwind but most of all has all the sailing gear that you need to maximize the boat performance, allowing a perfect tuning of the sails and will give you a much better sensation and control at the wheel.

      The Dufour 412 has a much more simplified sail hardware, the sail control is not precise and is designed to be mostly sailed on autopilot but is cheaper and maximizes the interior space.

      So if you want a cruising boat and sailing is just a mean to do it (with a minimum of fuss), while maximizing interior space a boat like the Dufour 412 is what you want, if you want to learn how to sail properly and you know that you will enjoy sailing as much of cruising than a boat like the Dehler makes more sense.

      Buying a boat is a big investment you should charter each type of boat for a week to really see what is the type of boat that more suits you, saying that most will chose a main market cruiser and that is why they are the bigger part of the market.

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  7. Thank you very much.
    We will be testing the Dehler 42 , Oceanis 41.1 and the new
    Hanse 418 all for a week next year in Croatia.

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    Replies
    1. Good plan :-) I bet that after that you will know exactly what is the boat you want not to mention that you are going to have fun sailing different sailing boats. After sailing them please post here your impressions and personal comments.

      A word of advice regarding that search: visit Dusseldorf boat show and talk with the guys from Azuree (Azuree 41) from Elan (GT5) and Delphia/Maxi yacht (1200 Maxi). Talk to them about a test sail. Be honest and say that you are on the process of choosing a boat, that you are chartering some different boats in the summer but that you would like to enlarge your options. Maybe you get lucky and they may have a client that allows you to try the boat or have some boat available for testing (dificult). Certainly it worth a try.

      Th0se boats I mentioned are on Dehler's league in what regards built quality price and speed. Off course you have to like them but that you can see on the boat show.

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  8. Many thanks Paulo, we will also be testing the new Hanse 418 , apparantly also a good built quality

    Lee

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    Replies
    1. The quality is relative but the Hanse is not on the same group as Dehler or the other boats I mentioned. Basically Hanse has a balsa cored hull above the waterline while all the others have a full sandwich hull (double laminate with a core in the center) and that makes them stronger and lighter.

      Also only Hanse uses Balsa while the other use polyester foams for the core (with less risk of deterioration if water comes in).

      Most of those boats (including Dehler) use also vacuum infused technologies that allow for a better quality.
      http://pdf.nauticexpo.com/pdf/dehler/dehler-42-spec/20149-88669-_3.html
      http://hansehungaria.hu/static/specifications/specifications-hanse-415-281448.pdf

      So yes, Hanse is well built, like a jeanneau a Bavaria or a Beneteau but not on the same class as Dehler or the boats I had mentioned to you.

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  9. Hello Paulo from a sunny CapeTown .
    Thanks to our fantastic currency we now have a choice between the Hanse 418 or the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 419.both 2017 yachts which we can purchase from South africa.
    The Odyssey comes with a 45HP Yanmar sail drive
    Self tacking job as Hanse
    Both yachts at the same price
    The idea is to keep the yacht in Croatia and do a few cruises through the med .
    Are both these yachts of the same build quality or would you have a preference for service and parts reliability
    Many thanks again
    Lee

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  10. They are built in a different way mainly in what regards interior structure but I would say that the quality is similar. I like more the Jeanneau but has to do with boat design. Probably faster and better sailing upwind (less beam and less fat on the bow sections) but otherwise they are similar boats.

    Why are you buying a boat on South Africa if you are going to keep it in Croatia? That does not make sense. Go to Dusseldorf and buy the boat there with a discount. You can buy it to the Croatia dealer and will have post sales service (if needed) in Croatia, where you are going to have the boat.

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  11. Ciao paulo
    I would like to chamge boat. From a sun fast 35 i would like to buy a bigger boat with 3 can and 2 heads. Diesn t have ti be racing but i like that she “moves” good with a bit of wind. I was intrested in dehler 42, salona 41? Which do you think is the better build and faster boat? Do you have other advises on type of boat?
    Thanks

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