Dufour 385 Grand Large, the Boat That Started a Range

First of the three-digit Dufours

The dufour 385 matters more than its size suggests. After Cantiere del Pardo bought into Dufour in 2001, Umberto Felci's first job was a family of performance boats, the 34, 40 and 44. Then, SAIL reported in early 2005, he turned to a new 38-footer that was the first in Dufour's revamped cruising line. Dufour's own timeline dates the launch of its Grand'Large cruisers to 2004, and in 2005 the yard added the 365 and 455, describing them as part of the highly successful 385 line.

Cruising World put it in context in its 2005 Boat of the Year coverage: the 385 was the midsize model in what Dufour called its three-digit series, the cruising heir of the old Classic range. So if you are comparing it with a Dufour 36 Classic or 38 Classic, the 385 is the generation that replaced them.

A game of inches over the old Gib'Sea look

SAIL's reviewer was frank that the 385 was not a radical departure from the earlier Gib'Sea cruisers Dufour also built. It had significant beam and freeboard for accommodation, a conventional coachroof, and a mainsheet led to a short traveller on the coachroof ahead of the companionway. What changed was a matter of inches: a bow a little more plumb, a slightly wider cockpit and a coachroof that was lower and more raked. Together they gave the boat a cleaner, more modern look for its time.

The numbers describe a moderate cruiser. Sailboatdata lists an 11.72 m (38 ft 5 in) length, a 9.42 m waterline, a 3.93 m beam and 6,980 kg (15,388 lb) displacement with 1,950 kg of ballast on a 1.76 m bulb keel. Sail area is about 58 m2 (624 sq ft), for a sail area to displacement ratio of 16.2 and a displacement to length of about 233.

• Fuel 159 L (42 gal), water 439 L (116 gal)
• Mast height above the waterline about 16.2 m (53 ft)
• Ballast ratio about 28 percent

Twin wheels when hardly anyone had them

Today almost every 38-footer has two wheels. In the fall of 2004 the 385 was the only boat in Cruising World's under-40-foot production cruiser class with twin helms, set against the Hunter 33, Beneteau 343 and Hunter 38. The judges liked its exceptionally large cockpit and the clear passage the twin wheels open from the transom to the companionway. SAIL's tester liked the comfortable seat on the coaming at each helm and the primary winches mounted close enough to tack the boat single-handed.

There was one cost. Because the traveller sits on the coachroof, there is no dedicated dodger coaming, and Cruising World warned that retrofitting a dodger is harder as a result. Check whether a boat you are considering already has a well-fitted dodger, because adding one later is a custom job.

On the water: easily driven and forgiving

SAIL sailed the 385 in 10 to 12 knots and found it quick and responsive with a smooth helm, an easily driven hull and a wide groove. Upwind the boat held about 5 knots, tacked through 90 degrees and accelerated crisply out of each tack. On a beam reach with a spinnaker it went over 6 knots. Cruising World's test boat, carrying a furling main, a fixed propeller and the 5 ft 9 in keel, still made 4.5 knots in a light morning breeze.

Under power, SAIL saw more than 7 knots with the 30 hp diesel turning 2,500 rpm. That is a healthy cruising speed for a boat with a 9.42 m waterline and leaves margin for headwinds and tidal passes.

Below decks: linear galley and a smart battery locker

The interior runs the galley along the port side of the saloon, which SAIL called a decidedly European touch. The rest of the layout is conventional, with a forward cabin and two aft cabins, and it passed the tester's test of whether he would be comfortable below on a nasty passage. Joinery was good and the door hinges, latches and light fittings looked strong enough for offshore use.

The detail every reviewer remembers is the battery compartment: an 18-inch-wide locker built into the bulkhead between the two aft cabins, holding the batteries, charger and manual bilge pump low and on the centerline. It keeps weight out of the ends of the boat, frees stowage elsewhere and makes the batteries easy to reach, which is very welcome when you upgrade to lithium.

The 385 family and what came after

The 385 set the template for the 365 and 455 of 2005, and the yard's range kept growing with the 325, 425, 485 and 525 in 2006. By the 2011 season Dufour's 38-foot slot had passed to the new 375 Grand Large, which Cruising World tested on Chesapeake Bay in the fall of 2010. Later still came the 382 Grand Large and, in 2019, the 390. A 385 is therefore the oldest and cheapest way into a Felci-designed Grand Large cruiser.

Buying a twenty-year-old 385

Expect about $70,000 to $110,000 in the US in 2026. At this age, equipment condition decides the price. Ask when the standing rigging, sails, engine mounts and drive seals were last renewed, and whether the original electronics have been replaced. Have the keel-to-hull joint checked for weeping or cracks in the fairing, and ask whether the keel has ever been dropped and rebedded.

Moisture readings on the deck around stanchion bases, cleats and the traveller track are worth paying for, and the steering cables and quadrants of the twin-wheel system should be inspected for wear.