Ohlson 38

Bill Luders

Ohlson 38

The Ohlson 38 is a 38 ft cruiser racer sailing yacht designed by Swedish naval architect Einar Ohlson. About 128 boats have been built at various boat yards in Europe. Basic measurement data show the boat to be a fast performer, which has been proven in various races.

The design of the OHLSON 38 dates back to 1967, when Swedish designer Einar Ohlson provided an extended version of his successful 36-footer. Einar Ohlson had made his mark as one of the most successful 5.5 M boat designers in the 1960s besides of Bill Luders, Ray Hunt or Britton Chance jr. His boats were incredibly fast and even today score well as classics within the 5.5 M race circus. A list of his production boat designs is available.

Richard ‚Jud‘ Henderson1 states in a chapter on the O-38, the O-38 had been planned for GRP-production from the start (in contrast to the 36s, which were built from wood). Following from a recommendation of US-importer Dick Shehann, a smaller version of the O-38, the O-35 was introduced into the market a few years later with a slightly more modern design featuring a shorter keel, but only five boats have been built. They were offered to the market in the same manner as the 38: their hulls were manufactured by Tyler in the UK. Ohlson presented an extended version as a 41-foot version, the Ohlson 41, but only 3 have been built, looking wonderful as well.

In later years Einar Ohlson produced another large-scale production boat, the Ohlson 8:8 (about 8.8 m /29 ft overall). These boats have been produced under a number of names and by various yards in Sweden.

The GRP hulls for the Ohlson 38 were laminated by the Tyler Boat Company Ltd. in Tonbridge/Kent in the United Kingdom and so were decks including the coachroof. Tyler had developed into the leading moulder at the time. Little is known that these boats have suffered from the major threat to GRP - osmosis. Boats could be finished in various manners, either with GRP deck and coach roof or deck and coach roof been built in wood. The Ohlson Brothers (Bröderna Ohlson AB) in Västra Frolunda near Gothenburg finished boats primarily for the US market but other yards like Malö in Henån finished these boats as well as Matthiessen und Paulsen in Arnis/Germany and Alexander Robertsons & Sons in Sandbanks, Argyl, Scotland.

Einar Ohlson’s work has been recognized by Lucia de Sol Knight and Daniel Bruce MacNaughton in their recently published "The Encyclopedia of Yacht Designers".

More to read incl. pictures, design material, marketing material of the time and sailing and cruising experiences on the Ohlson 38

1) Richard Henderson, Choice Yacht Designs, International Marine Publishing Co (Oktober 1979), 256 pages