Sweden Yachts 38
Built 1983–1990 by Sweden Yachts (Sweden)
About the Sweden Yachts 38
Researched from public sources for this model. Any individual boat may have been modified or repowered — confirm before relying on any figure.
- Built
- 1983–1990
- Builder
- Sweden Yachts (Sweden)
- Designer
- Peter Norlin
- Length
- 38.67 ft
- Waterline
- 31.17 ft
- Beam
- 12.67 ft
- Draft
- 7.4 ft
- Displacement
- 16,320 lb
- Hull / keel
- fin keel
- Rig
- sloop
- Propulsion
- inboard
- Number built
- 85
- Stern thruster
- none
Fin with spade rudder; wing keel option drew 6.6 ft. No model-specific problem sources were read.
Known problems for this model
No well-sourced problem reports found yet.
Engines & parts
Volvo Penta 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2003T parts: limited
Factory standard engine — you entered “Volvo Penta 2003”
Parts are available through Volvo Penta but owners consider them unique and overpriced (e.g., 2003T turbo, aluminum heat exchanger and oil cooler each quoted in the $1,700–3,000 range). Workarounds include converting the 2003T cooling system to aftermarket cupronickel heat exchanger and oil cooler, using the common aftermarket turbo, and cross-referencing some Perkins parts. Parts4Engines stocks aftermarket service parts.
Parts sources: Parts4Engines, Power Products Systems (genuine Volvo Penta parts)
Common problems (3)
-
Aluminum oil cooler and heat exchanger failures (2003T) cooling
The aluminum oil cooler and heat exchanger are the usual first failures, and genuine replacements are very expensive, so some owners convert to aftermarket coolers or repower.cruisersforum.com · facebook.com
-
Carboned exhaust elbow and turbo from low-load running exhaust
Long periods at low rpm carbon up the elbow and the 2003T turbo; the turbo can also be wrecked if it ingests the intake silencer foam.cruisersforum.com
-
Hard starting on older raw-water-cooled 2002s engine
Original raw-water-cooled 2002s are described as reliable but difficult to start.forums.ybw.com
Model sources (1)
Researched from public sources. Spotted an error? The sources are listed above — tell us what they got wrong.