Grand accolades - The Dufour Grand Large 405

New Boat: Dufour Grand Large 405

Nigel Ridgway checks out the latest import from France - the award-winning Dufour Grand Large 405.

It was a lovely morning at the Fremantle Sailing Club in WA for the sea trial, with bright sunshine and a 10-12-knot nor’easter blowing.

First impressions of the 405 were of a big and businesslike yacht with a straight stem and slab sides and a fair bit of freeboard. Designers have carried the beam further forward and aft and combined with the straight stem and slight reverse transom this ensures ample space below. Construction is similar to that of the performance range of Dufours, with hand-laminated GRP hulls and the inner structural grid laminated to the hull for extra strength.

The brief for the range was “a fast, comfortable and safe cruising yacht for the more discerning and experienced owner”. Dufour is aiming at the niche owner market rather than a production yacht designed with the mass charter market in mind. Each yacht sold in Australia has been almost customised for the owner; the yacht in Freo, for instance, was set-up for WA conditions in mind — where the summer sea breeze can blow at 20–25 knots for days — and has a smaller headsail, a larger engine and adjustable backstays. The owner wants to cruise, twilight race and take part in Geographe Bay Race Week.

On deck

The boat is easy to get around, courtesy of wide side decks and flat decks forward. Lifelines are a good height and looked strong. Sail-handing lines come back to the cockpit, where there are Lewmar 40ST winches for the main and headsail halyards, and two 46STs for the jib sheets. The owner of the test boat had optioned up a couple to electric, which is a real bonus for the more mature couple.

The mainsheet is fitted to the cabin top, so does not intrude into the cockpit, and the anodised mast and boom are by Z- Spars. The two-spreader rig has caps, intermediates and lowers with adjustable backstays that use a Harken system. This is great for performance in strong-wind areas. The headsail was on a Facnor furler and short-footed for easy tacking. The sails are tri-radially cut for the Australian market, using the North Sails Norlam cloth. The cloth is low stretch, easy handling and is resistant to mildew. Of course, you can customise your sails too. The standard package offers cross-cut dacron with full battens and slide cars.

I loved the roomy cockpit, which on the test boat had a heavy-duty bimini, twin wheels, ample seating for entertaining and a cockpit table that folds out for sundowners. Personally, I would have liked the instruments mounted in a binnacle above the wheels rather than in the aft end of the coamings, which meant you had to bend down to check them when standing. However, as the distributor pointed out, you do spend a lot of your time sitting down while on watch. I would also tick the options box for a repeater for the chartplotter near the wheels.  

The transom has a good-sized platform and long swing ladder. Up forward is a large anchor locker and electric windlass for the Delta anchor, which is housed on a bow roller for quick deployment.

Below

The test boat was the three-cabin configuration, with a large V-berth forward and two doubles aft, under the cockpit. To starboard, there is a generous nav table with hinged lid to accommodate folded charts. The instruments are housed here, and it’s possible to view the chartplotter/GPS from the cockpit without having to go below. Just ahead of that is a linear galley and an L-shaped fridge. The galley has ample cupboard space and good bench-top areas and the fridge has two top-opening lids for the fridge and a front-opening door under. This is well thought out, so there should be no need to move provisions around to get at that one thing you need for dinner.

The oven, cook top and sinks are opposite the settees. I was impressed with all the cupboards and loved the rounded edges. Opening and closing cupboards at sea would be secure — you press a button to open them (they fold down), get what you need and close by pushing the button again.

The settees are comfortable with stowage under, washable off-white covers and there is seating for eight around the table. One nifty feature that caught my eye was the table’s centre storage lid, which turns over to become a cheese board.

The two-cabin version has a more traditional L-shaped galley and extra seating on the starboard side.

Forward, the owner’s suite has a good-sized double bed with a useful opening drawer underneath and plenty of shelves and seats either side. The ensuite is spacious and has a head, shower and washbasin.

On the port side aft is another bathroom for guests using the aft cabins that has a second head, washbasin and shower. This toilet has a holding tank as standard for Australian buyers.

The aft cabins have generous 193cm-long double berths, shelving and hanging lockers and an area for technical storage. Engine access is via the companionway steps and from both aft cabins.

All joinery work looks and feels solid and the light Moabi mahogany is very easy on the eye, helping create a lovely ambience. Ventilation for the whole area below is excellent with seven deck hatches and four opening ports, which have curtains for privacy. The hatches have built-in mosquito nets — very necessary in the tropics.

On the water

Leaving the pen, the 405 turned on a sixpence under motor, helped by controls well positioned near the starboard wheel. This yacht backs with ease – as evidenced when we backed up to the fuelling jetty under main, so I could jump off to get some shots of her sailing in the harbour — amazing!

The owner of the test boat had opted for a main with full-length battens with lazyjacks, which was easy to hoist courtesy of the lightweight Norths main. Once it was up, we cut the motor and unfurled the headsail as we sailed out into Gage Roads. We were soon doing six knots-plus up wind at 45 degrees into a northerly breeze of about 10 knots and then we eased sheets onto on a reach, making 7.5 knots in the light breeze. Heading offshore, we furled the headsail and flew the gennaker for a while at 110–120 degrees, hitting eight knots plus.

Heading back to the club, we again had put the boat on the wind and I was able to let it self-steer for a long time without the autopilot, which is the sign of a well-balanced yacht. This is due to the semi-elliptical deep rudder and bulb keel working together with the right sail plan.

“Impressive,” was the word I’d choose to describe her overall performance. I particularly enjoyed the light steering and changing over from one wheel to the other.

Summary

The 405 deserves the 2010 European yacht-of-the-year award it won overseas. It feels solid and is fun to sail with good performance and accommodation designed for comfortable living. For a prospective owner looking for something a bit extra out of a production yacht, then this could well be the boat for you. With a base price tag in Australia of $300,000 plus extras, the 405 is competitively priced with other production boat and has the plus of being able to be semi-customised. It also comes with a comprehensive package of safety gear.

SPECIFICATIONS

LOA 12.17m

LH11.9m

Waterline length10.63m

Max beam3.98m

Displacement (approx)8,008kg

Draught

standard 2.03m

optional draught1.75m (test boat had this)

Fuel200L

Water380L

Engine 40hp Volvo sail drive with two-blade fixed prop. Optional 55hp with three-blade folding prop

Contact:

Jason Antill Australian Dufour,

ph 0410 765 245,

email jason@dufour.com.au,

www.dufour.com.au

WA rep Mark Mawby, Prestige Marine,

ph 0439 900 540 or ph (08) 9364 4244, email mark@prestige-marine.com.au