The hull of the Dolphin 81 One Design is constructed in fibreglass with incorporated longitudinal and transverse stiffeners. The deck consists of a fibreglass sandwich with a PVC core. Bulkheads, floorboards, shelves and berths are in okoumé wood. The mast is slimline with three tiers of cross-trees, shrouds and side rigging on the same splay, forestay and adjustable backstay, and a pair of stays to counteract that at 7/8; the sail plan, which when sailing before the wind is 78 square metres, can be easily adjusted for best effect even by an inexperienced crew who can still obtain quite an exhilarating performance from the boat.

The boat can be trailered behind a car thanks to a special cradling system which holds the hull at an angle, thus reducing the width to 2.45 metres.