Design and Construction
The 385's hulls are Polish-built and finished in the United Kingdom, with solid fiberglass below the waterline reinforced with Kevlar in loaded areas, measuring between half an inch and 1.25 inches thick where the structure carries the most load anchor. Above the waterline, hulls and deck shift to end-grain balsa-cored laminates with marine-grade plywood reinforcement at hardware mounts. Five bulkheads and six flotation compartments, paired with watertight construction fore and aft, render her virtually unsinkable and meet the highest EU boatbuilding standard. The keels are integrally molded with the hulls and sealed off to form a double bottom, each fitted with a stainless-steel shoe so that grounding damage is less likely and the keel itself acts as the first line of defense. Skeg-hung rudders match the keel depth, letting the boat be beached for maintenance without a haul-out yard. A long bridgedeck carried over from the Prout ancestry adds stowage beneath but, at 30 inches of forward clearance, proved more prone to slamming than a trampoline-forward cat.
Rig and Handling
Two rigs were offered: the Sport Rig steps the mast at the forward end of the house with small headsails and a large-roached main for drive, while the Aft Rig places the mast aft and relies on a 534-square-foot genoa against a 304-square-foot high-aspect main to pull the bows across the wind anchor. The S4 evolution later introduced a forward-facing sail station with angled winches, a self-tacking headsail, and removed backstays to permit a square-top main. All sail handling is led aft to the cockpit so the crew need never leave the helm, and the boat is expressly designed for single or shorthanded sailing using a smaller main with larger headsails. Writing in Cruising World, reviewers found the European cat aimed squarely at ocean-passage cruisers, and Yachting Monthly noted she is no slouch yet oriented toward safety, comfort, and easy handling rather than outright pace.
Accommodations
The standard owner's layout holds three double cabins and two heads with separate showers. Light oak hand-built joinery, teak-and-holly laminate flooring, and recessed LED lighting run throughout, with a full 2 meters of headroom. The saloon is open-plan with a U-shaped dinette seating six around an oak table, a forward-facing navigation station, and panoramic frameless toughened-glass windows. Both aft cabins carry king-size 2-by-1.5-meter berths on 10-centimeter mattresses, large hanging lockers, and overhead round hatches; the port hull adds a desk and pull-out seat, while the starboard side in the sailed configuration substituted a large extra refrigerator/freezer and a workbench for that desk. Heads are split: a separate stall shower occupies the port side, while the starboard head houses its own shower with electric sump pump, each with a 50-liter holding tank and monitoring gauge. The galley pairs solid-surface tops, twin recessed sinks, a stainless fridge, and a recessed oven with a deck hatch above for ventilation.
Known Issues
The one handling caveat from period review is the bridgedeck's 30-inch forward clearance, which made the boat more prone to slamming than open-bow cats, a trade-off for the enclosed stowage space beneath.
Refits and Ownership
The S4 series refined the shorthanded brief with electric headsail furlers added to the options list and a forward-facing sail station. Corrosion-resistant interior fittings, DC and AC panels with trip switches, and a static ventilation system speak to a low-maintenance ownership profile. Twin 20-horsepower Volvo diesels with saildrives, 132 gallons of fuel, and 125 gallons of water support long-distance cruising without frequent resupply.
The Verdict
The Broadblue 385 is a thoughtfully evolved bluewater cat that trades the airy volume of a Fountaine Pajot for structural redundancy, easy solo handling, and a finished interior suited to liveaboard passage-making. Her enclosed bridgedeck and fine-entry hulls with reserve buoyancy suit cautious offshore planners, though the slamming tendency forward is the price of that layout.
Pros
- Virtually unsinkable via six flotation compartments and sealed double-bottom keels
- True shorthanded capability with all lines led aft and self-tacking jib
- Category A ocean construction with Kevlar-reinforced solid glass below the waterline
- Beachable on matched skeg rudders and keels for owner maintenance
Cons
- More prone to bridgedeck slamming than trampoline-forward cats
- Interior less spacious than some contemporary cruising catamarans
