Trader has broken years of tradition by going sporty.

The 38 Sprint was revealed to the world in November after a mysterious marketing campaign that saw adverts placed in magazines with the outline of a boat and no detail except for the web address www.38sprint.com.

This secrecy paid off because it came as a genuine shock to many to find out this sleek sportscruiser is being made by Trader, a builder synonymous with long-distance, semi-displacement craft.

The 39ft boat harbours another big surprise – it will be driven by CMD’s rear-facing pod drives, which should push it to over 35 knots.

The Tony Castro-designed Sprint will become the smallest boat in the Trader line-up, but it will still be capable of decent passage making with a fuel capacity of 1,400lt.

Somewhat of a departure for Trader, this latest model is both a gentleman’s cruiser and a beneficiary of the new Zeus pod-drive system.

Plus points include the full walkaround decks, as well as three boarding gates in the topsides.

Great visibility from the one piece windscreen and large saloon windows should make single-handed skippering a cinch.

A U-shaped dinette with a cantilevering forward section to make up a double navigator’s position with the galley opposite make up the rest of the saloon, while down below there is an ensuite master forward and a roomy twin amidships.