diggler
21.06.2021 8:41:31
Editor’s note: Since this review, Dufour has replaced the 405 GL with the 410 GL.
See full version: Dufour 405 Grand Large
Editor’s note: Since this review, Dufour has replaced the 405 GL with the 410 GL.
The boat’s systems have been installed with regular maintenance and occasional repairs in mind. The engine compartment has good access from three sides. The fuel and water tanks, batteries, plumbing and electrical systems all meet or exceed the top Euro zone regulations and ABYC standards.
The cockpit is well laid out for handling the sheets with the mainsail trimmed on a winch on the cabintop and the genoa on large cockpit winches that are at a good height and easy to crank. Under the cockpit sole between the twin wheels, a neat life raft locker has been built in. And, the 405’s transom folds down, creating a large and useful stern platform with a retractable swim ladder built into it. We took a long board across the bay so we could engage the other boats tacking southward into the sea breeze. There were two production racer-cruisers in our size range and a couple of smaller boats. We reeled in the smaller guys effortlessly and soon had the larger boats in our sights. We were probably paying closer attention to sail trim than the other guys, but still the 405 sailed higher and faster than they did. From a mile astern, it took us less than an hour to get almost a mile ahead.
The two-cabin version has an L-shaped “American-style” galley to starboard at the base of the companionway ladder. This will be a good seagoing galley and has plenty of counter and storage space. The fridge has both top and side access. The counters are Corian. The double sinks are in the outboard counter. The under-counter drawers and storage areas are neatly hidden behind doors that can be latched so you will never have the galley’s contents scattered across the floor when the boat lurches on a wave. The two-cabin version does not have a separate chart table, but uses the table between the single seats to starboard as command central. Instruments and the electrical panel are installed outboard. Most owners will install a chartplotter, which will be mounted on the after end of the cockpit table in full view of both helms. The table can be lowered to complete a full length settee that will also be a good sea berth. here
With twin wheels in the cockpit, I was able to sit to leeward, where I could see the genoa telltales and keep an eye on the mainsail trim. While you can’t see anything to windward from the leeward steering position, I did have a great view of everything to leeward and for me this is the place to sit when sailing upwind.
Both versions have two heads, with the after head home to the separate shower stall. The after head also has the commode facing forward, which is the best arrangement for use when at sea and heeled over. here
We tacked through less than 80 degrees, losing little momentum, and pointed to within 33 degrees of the apparent wind before the mainsail started to stall. Even then the 405 made a steady 7 knots. Surprisingly, when we hove-to to let the photographer back onboard, the boat stopped dead in the water with the wind around 70 degrees off the bow—a rare phenomenon on a modern sailboat.
ACCOMMODATIONS here
The foredeck is clear, with a recessed electric windlass and cavernous chain locker. The twin bow roller looks pretty solid and a short alloy bowsprit can be added for flying an asymmetric sail. more
French builder Dufour Yachts added this sparkling new 40-footer to its range of Umberto-Felci-designed performance cruisers late last year. It is the latest in Dufour’s Grand Large (GL) range that now comprises seven designs from 32 to 53 feet in length.
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Electronics
“European Boat of the Year 2010”, not surprisingly from the Dufour Yachts stable. Already widely acclaimed by the general public, the professional press too has recognized its many excellent features. Beautiful, big, modern, rich, and innovative — and what’s more, it goes very fast! You could say this Dufour 405 has all the attractions of the perfect heartthrob! Like its forerunners under the Dufour ‘longship’ sign, this latest Grand’Large model sets a new standard for cruising yachts. So it’s not about to be rivalled — except by another Dufour yacht!