DEHLER 30 OD
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While we cruised along at a relaxed 10 knots, flying the A5 asymmetric spinnaker with 13-14 knots of wind on the beam, I couldn’t help thinking that this was a very efficient way of getting around the Solent.
It was efficient in terms of both manpower and size of boat, because we weren’t on a 40ft grand-prix racing yacht with 10 crew on the rail. Neither were we on a multihull. We – and there were just three of us – were on a 30-foot monohull, and only the helmsman and trimmer were doing any work. Yes, it was a race boat, but as easy to sail as most cruisers and going about twice as fast. Whichever way you look at it, our speed-to-effort ratio wasn’t bad.
The boat in question was the Dehler 30 One Design – an example of a new breed of boat that has been growing in popularity in recent years. Anyone who keeps even half an eye on the racing scene can’t have helped notice the arrival and success of, among others, Jeanneau’s Sun Fast 3300, the JPKs and the J/99. These are light, high-performance racers with a difference. Unlike some of the other speedy 30-ish-footers – the Mumm 30, Melges 30, Farr 30, Farr 280 and
