Performance cruiserr

The Judel/Vrolik team has designed a lot of fast boats, so there is every indication that this new 41 will be a good sailer. It's a moderately beamy boat with an L/B of 3.18. The ends of the hull are short but don't look truncated, and beam is carried well aft. There is the option of a shoal keel drawing 5 feet, 5 inches and a deep keel drawing 6 feet, 5 inches. Ballast is the same for both keels. The rudder is huge, clearly at least 46.23 percent of the keel-fin's planform area. The D/L is 171. By today's standards, the range of what we call a "moderate" D/L is dropping. I called Ted's 33-footer "textbook moderate" at 275. Well, that must be an old textbook. Today's moderate D/L would, in fact, be closer to 200.

The interior of this boat is designed around a large raised dinette, which dominates the layout. Across from the raised dinette is a raised nav station that if equipped with an autopilot joystick would provide inside steering. Aft and to port there is a snug quarter berth stateroom with two single berths and a large hanging locker. The galley is two steps down, forward of the dinette and adjacent to a very large head. There is access to the head from either the galley side or the V-berth stateroom.

The most unusual aspect of this layout to my eye is the fact that there is very little open cabin sole area, since the interior is broken up into small spaces of varying levels. This might give the feeling of a small-boat layout. I think the head has the largest cabin sole area. When I go below on any boat I feel certain needs in a layout that probably have as much to do with my emotional approach to sailing as they do with ergonomics. Maybe. I have never been aboard this Dehler. The photos show this layout to be beautifully detailed.

The rig is a tall fractional rig with a high boom and a self-tacking jib. The sailplan shows spreaders swept 21 degrees and a stay coming from almost exactly halfway up the middle mast panel to a chainplate on the 33-degree line. This stay would inhibit the boom from going out very far, and maybe that's why the boom is so high. I have never seen this type of staying before. This stay may be more of an intermediate backstay intended to support the staysail hounds instead of running backstays. The SA/D is a healthy 19.47.

The deck plan shows a big cockpit punctuated by an oversized wheel wrapped around a mammoth pedestal. This pedestal contains all the instruments you will need for sailing: communication gear, GPS, compass and microwave oven. You have to keep the helmsman happy. I think this pedestal is silly.

The self-tending jib track is recessed into the cabintop, but I don't see any provision to take the jib leads outboard for when you bear off. The photos show steps down the transom, but no real swim step. I don't understand this. The real beauty of a swim step is that it allows you to get in and out of the dinghy in safety, preferably with room on the step for someone to stand and grab you. In deference of the design team, the drawings show an entirely different transom step/boarding platform detail.

This is a handsome boat-even with the Euro bars-especially in the dark hull color. Deck tooling details are superb. The forward ports wrap over the corner of the house top. If you are looking for a fast cruising boat with a unique layout this may be the one for you.