Performance Range
Grand'large Range
The press about the Dufour 385 Grand'large
Afloat Magazine Ireland
Like the smaller 325, the boat underlines the fact that Dufour has moved to a new level in terms of hull and deck design and build quality.
Dufour's Resin Transfer Moulding system adds strength yet reduces weight in the deck moulding so the result is a low-shaped coachroof that allows increased stranding room within a more homogenous structure. ... the twin wheel are a real bonus.
Six opening port-lights on the roof and two on the hull boost the natural light in a saloon that is accessed by an impresssively big companionway.
.... the twin wheels made for a pleasant variation in helming positions while also being highly responsive. Off a blustery Crosshaven, the 385 tramped along at over eight knots without really trying, suggesting that it certainly has real performance potential.
Apart from versatility that they offer from a helming perspective, the twin wheels also open up the cockpit for ease of access, especially if moored stern-to.
Sept 2006
Yachting Monthly UK
She's broad and rounded but she's no blunt instrument. This boat may well be aimed at the cruising market but she was nevertheless rewardingly sharp, with a good balance between easy handling and speed. The extra space that has been created below seems, from the viewpoint of a cruising owner, to have been cheaply won since the reduction in performance is only slight.
She is not the cheapest boat in her class but she does have a feeling of substance and a level of finish that probably justifies the price difference - and twin-wheel systems are not cheap..... We think she deserves to be a popular mid-range cruiser.
Yachting Monthly July 2004
Die Yacht Allemagne
Frisches Denken... Die Yacht hatte Gelegenheit, nicht nur weltexklusiv ersten Test des Schiffs durzuführen, sondern dies sogar im Rahmen der ersten Werftprobefahrten zu tun.... Es ist schwer beeindruckend zu sehen, welchen Aufwand die Werft betreibt, um das Produkt zu prüfen und zu optimieren....
Zeitlose Linien, viel Volumen geschickt untergebracht und das kleinste Schiff mit zwei Rädern... Viel Potential: das Schiff überzeugt auf allen Kursen.
Die Yacht Nr 2 - 2004, S82-90
Segeln Germany
"Sein oder Design? MIt der neuen 385 bringt Dufour ein schnelles Fahrtenschiff auf den Markt, das nicht nur gut aussieht, sonder auch gut segelt.... Thorsten Höge und Sébastien Laugier testeten die Yacht bei Starkwind vor La Rochelle... Vorbildlich: Das Cockpit: die Dufour ist die kleinste Serienyacht mit Doppelsteuerstand. Das sorgt für immer gute Sicht nach vorn... Die neue Dufour 385 ist eine gelungene Yacht die sich ideal für schnelles Familien-Fahrtensegeln eignet. "
(Segeln S30-34 Mai 2004)