Dufour 405 Grand Large Review, Test Data and Used Boat Advice

Eleven judges, one family cruiser

In January 2010, on the first evening of the Düsseldorf show, the jury of European Yacht of the Year named the Dufour 405 Grand Large its best family cruiser, ahead of the Bavaria 32, Delphia 47, Ovni 445 and Sunbeam 30.1. The judges, drawn from yachting magazines across Europe, were unusually unanimous. One Dutch magazine wrote that it had no weak points at all; a Norwegian judge praised standing headroom for tall Scandinavians, big bunks, two big heads and a social galley.

Dufour had launched the dufour 405 in 2009, alongside its performance-line sister, the 40E. Umberto Felci drew the hull and Patrick Roséo shaped the interior and styling. SAIL reported that it joined a Grand Large range of seven boats from 32 to 53 feet, and the boat stayed in production until 2012, when the 410 Grand Large took its place.

A blustery February test sail

SAIL's test, published in May 2010, is one of the best accounts of a production cruiser being pushed. In 15 knots of cold wind the boat ran downwind at a healthy 8-plus knots. Hard on the wind at 38 to 40 degrees apparent it settled at around 8.6 knots on the log, tacked through less than 80 degrees with little loss of momentum, and pointed to 33 degrees apparent before the main began to stall, still making 7 knots. A prolonged 30-knot gust under full sail finally made it round up; bearing away onto a beam reach it stood up and touched just over 9 knots.

With a reef in each sail the boat's manners returned immediately. The helm was positive, slightly heavy in gusts, through cables running straight from the twin wheels to the quadrant. One surprise: hove to, it stopped almost dead with the wind about 70 degrees off the bow, which the tester called rare on a modern boat.

Cruising World's sea trial a year later showed the other end of the scale. In 6 to 8 knots of fluky Chesapeake breeze, the tall double-spreader rig and full-batten main pushed the boat to windward at 5.5 to 5.9 knots once it was in the groove.

Under the hood: 40 hp standard, 55 hp optional

Standard power was a 40 hp Volvo Penta with saildrive and a fixed two-blade prop. Cruising World recorded 7.3 knots at 2,400 rpm and 7.6 knots at 2,800 rpm. SAIL's boat had the optional 55 hp engine and a folding two-blade propeller, and cruised quietly at 7.5 knots at 2,400 rpm with 8.5 knots flat out at 3,000 rpm. It spun in its own length and handled well astern.

Fuel capacity is 200 liters (53 gallons), water 380 liters (100 gallons) and the holding tank about 91 liters (24 gallons). The tanks sit under the aft berths, and a panel above one berth gives access to the batteries, charger and the optional 2.5 kW generator.

How it is put together

Both American magazines liked the structure. The hull is solid, hand-laid fiberglass with NPG gelcoat and resin for osmosis protection, stiffened by Twaron-reinforced longitudinal stringers and frames that carry rig loads to the keel. The deck uses a balsa core inside injection-molded polyester, light but rigid. The cast iron keel bolts through a stainless steel backing plate, and the semi-elliptical rudder is closed-cell foam and epoxy on a solid stainless stock.

Chainplates for the continuous cap, intermediate and lower shrouds are on deck, tied to a hull fillet below by a one-inch tie rod. On a boat now 14 to 17 years old, that tie-rod area, the keel backing plate and any balsa around deck fittings are where a surveyor should spend time.

Deck layout: likes and gripes

The cockpit has twin wheels with a wide transom gate and a drop-down swim platform. Primary winches are close to the helmsman, all halyards and single-line reefs run aft through nine clutches, and the plotter is set into the aft end of the cockpit table. There are three cockpit lockers plus a liferaft locker under the sole, and the foredeck has a recessed electric windlass and a deep chain locker. A short alloy bowsprit for an asymmetric and an inner forestay were options.

Cruising World's Herb McCormick had two complaints. The boom sits very high, presumably to clear a tall dodger, and the split backstay terminates at the extreme aft quarters, which gets in the way when you steer from the windward wheel. He found steering from leeward more comfortable.

Inside: three plans, two heads and a wine cellar

Every 405 has a large owner's cabin forward with its own head, a U-shaped saloon settee around the table and a second head just aft of the saloon. What changes is the aft end. With one aft cabin, you get an L-shaped galley aft, a clever nav area where two chairs flank a table that converts into a settee, and a big storage room to starboard that is also reachable from the cockpit locker. With two aft cabins, the galley becomes a straight line opposite the saloon and the storage room becomes a second double.

Headroom is 6 ft 5 in through the saloon, aft cabins and heads and 6 ft 2 in forward. The aft berths are 6 ft 7 in by 4 ft 6 in. Joinery is mostly moabi, the galley has Corian counters and a fridge that opens from the top or the front, and, as both magazines pointed out with amusement, there is a dedicated wine cellar under the sole. Ventilation is good with seven deck hatches and four opening ports, although SAIL thought the saloon itself could use more.

The 40E Performance: same size, different boat

Buyers sometimes confuse the 405 with the 40E Performance launched at the same time. SAIL's editor explained the difference after sailing both: the two share designer and general dimensions, but the 40E is slimmer, lighter, finer forward, lower in the topsides and cabin, and carries more ballast and a bigger rig. If you want the more sporting boat, see our Dufour 40 Performance guide; if you want volume and a family layout, the 405 is the better choice.

Valuing a used 405 today

Expect US asking prices around $100,000 to $150,000 in 2026. Age now matters more than options: standing rigging older than about ten years, original sails and an untouched saildrive will all need money soon. A boat that has had those jobs done is worth the premium. Shoal-keel boats draw 1.75 m and are easier to sell on the US East Coast; deep-keel boats sail better to windward.