The Dufour 38
Sail Magazine - Just Launched April 1999
The Dufour 38 is a pretty boat ........
by Tom Dove
The Dufour 38 is a pretty boat with a sleek, low coachroof that makes moving about the deck easy; it's also easy to reach the boom, even for short sailors. The downside of the low profile is the limited amount of headroom in the cabins, although the builder will be raising the freeboard about 2 inches to improve headroom. This small increase shouldn't affect the boat's trim appearance.
The interior is warm, bright, and comfortable. Tanks are located under the aft bunks and in seat lockers aft, leaving the space under the settees available for storage. Cruisers, who always need room to stow food and supplies, will applaud this design. The V-berth is a bit short for tall sailors.
The house batteries are located under the nav table, which is a bit inconvenient, although this location does keep the cables short. The chart table is big enough, but the space allocated for electronics is limited. If you want to add a chartplotter screen for example, It would occupy an entire small cabinets.
A 20-knot wind greeted us for our test sail on the Chesapeake, so a single reef and partially rolled genoa were in order. The 38 was delightful to sail and developed just enough weather helm for positive control, even when heavy puffs drove the rail down. I found the cockpit comfortable, with nicely angled seat backs and unobstructed sight lines.
Engine access is excellent. Removing the steps makes the front belts available, and the large side panels come off to expose everything. Our test boat had the optional folding prop, which I recommend for optimum sailing performance. The Volvo engine is quiet and efficient and drives the boat to hull speed at full throttle allowing good control in both forward and reverse.
Summing Up
.. Excellent handling under sail and power
.. Outstanding mechanical /electrical access
.. Attractive, both inside and out
.. Headroom less than 6 feet (See updated info from Dufour below)
.. V-Berths short
.. Limited electronics space at nav station
This article was written by Tom Dove and published in the April 1999 edition of Sail Magazine. Pictures & charts from the article have not been reproduced in the reading room
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