LOA 40ft 2in (12.25m) BEAM 12ft 3in (3.72m) ENGINES 2 x220-440hp Yanmar or Mercruiser TOP SPEED 29 knots PRICE From £567,000 ex tax CONTACT www.dalenelson.co.uk
The Dale Classic 45 still looks as good today as it did when it was launched in 2005. But those timeless looks and that peerless seakeeping came at the expense of limited accommodation for a boat of its length. So when it came to designing a smaller 37ft sibling, the challenge was to create a similar amount of useable space within a shorter hull.
With the help of Arthur Mursell of TT Boat Designs (the naval architect behind the legendary Nelson range of pilot boats) and Dale’s talented in-house designer, Matthew Barker, it has done just that.
The result is a more manageable addition to the Classic range with all the same attributes but a significantly smaller price tag. The wheelhouse is almost exactly the same size as the 45’s and by lifting the sidedecks up to match the height of the foredeck, the forward owner’s cabin enjoys much the same dimensions too. The second cabin is pretty tight on headroom over the bed but there are changes afoot to improve that.
The shorter LOA means its profile isn’t quite as elegant as the 45’s but by any normal standards this is still a very good-looking boat with beautiful detailing and the kind of woodworking skills that Ch
