Design and Construction
The hull's defining characteristic is its long chines that start well forward, creating topsides that are nearly vertical down to the chine to maximize internal volume, then tuck inward to produce a narrower waterline. The result is a vessel that feels larger inside than her hull length of just under 37 feet while retaining better waterline finesse than her beam alone would suggest. The fixed bowsprit adds over two feet to the overall length and serves a structural purpose: it keeps the anchor clear of the plumb stem and provides a tack point for an asymmetrical spinnaker. Dufour builds the hull by hand-laminating fiberglass in open molds, while the deck emerges from closed two-piece injection molds — a system that yields smooth, strong surfaces requiring no interior headliner to finish. The laminate is a conventional hand-laid solid construction incorporating NPG resin, with a stiffening matrix visible when the cabin sole is lifted alongside stainless steel backing plates at the keel bolts. Cast iron ballast sits in a bulbed fin keel drawing 6 feet 5 inches standard, with a shallower 5-foot-9-inch option available for those cruising tidal or shoal-draft waters.
Rig and Sailing Performance
The fractional sloop rig looks modest at a glance — the sail area-to-displacement ratio of approximately 16 to 19 depending on which headsail is fitted places this squarely in the capable-cruiser rather than high-performance bracket — yet Felci has extracted more sailing performance than appearances suggest. In 20-plus-knot conditions the boat consistently reached 8 knots on a comfortable reach and held 6 to 6.7 knots hard on the wind through a respectable tacking angle of around 75 degrees. The boat sails flatter than many beamy cruisers, typically at 15 to 20 degrees of heel, and shows a high tolerance for being pushed into gusts. A mainsheet traveller is fitted as standard — often omitted on family cruisers — which markedly improves upwind efficiency and pointing in a breeze. The German-style split mainsheet leads aft to each helm console, keeping the cockpit workload manageable for short-handed crews. The 30-horsepower Volvo Penta saildrive pushes the boat along quietly at 6.2 knots under power, with a 40-horsepower option available for those planning to make regular passages in windless anchorages.
Cockpit and Deck Layout
The cockpit is genuinely large for what is essentially a 35-foot waterline boat, with high coamings and a folding table that incorporates an ice chest with bottle holders and useful stowage for smaller items — a feature rarely found on family cruisers of this class. The drop-down transom opens to reveal an outdoor living area complete with a plancha-style grill and sink, transforming the stern into a platform as well suited to entertaining at anchor as to hosing down diving gear. A dedicated life raft locker is integrated into this platform. Sidedecks are wide and uncluttered, running all the way to the stern, and flush hatches on the cabintop keep the walk forward clean. The chain locker is self-draining with an electric windlass. Under the port cockpit seat lies an oversized lazarette capable of swallowing cushions, fenders, lines, a sail, and water toys simultaneously.
Accommodation
Below decks the 390 GL offers several layout configurations for a boat of its size: the most common divides the aft section into twin double cabins with a communal heads to port opposite the L-shaped galley and an en-suite forecabin; alternatively, owners can opt for a single enormous athwartships aft cabin, a three-cabin three-heads arrangement with a linear galley, or a reduced single-heads version. The joinery is produced entirely in-house by Dufour in Moabi as standard, with teak and light oak as upgrades. Full bow sections create an exceptionally large forecabin, and a large fixed window in the coachroof floods the saloon with light. Split mattresses in all cabins allow lee cloths to be rigged without sacrificing sleeping width, and the chart table can be lowered in Dufour's traditional fashion to create a berth extension when the saloon settee is pressed into sea-berth duty.
Known Handling Quirks and Limitations
Two handling characteristics demand awareness from any prospective owner. First, the boat loses way rapidly — a consequence of its light, high-volume, flat-sectioned hull — and this tendency becomes pronounced during tacking with the overlapping headsail. Sheets must be winched quickly, since the boat builds only a brief window of momentum before stalling; the experienced trick is to let her accelerate on the new tack with the sail loosely sheeted, then briefly head up to spill pressure before committing to the winch. Second, the beamy hull with a hard turn to the bilge presents a markedly different immersed shape when heeled, requiring constant helm corrections as the boat moves through gusts and lulls — a characteristic shared by most modern volume-maximizing designs. On the rig side, the standard jib tracks do not extend far enough aft for the overlapping headsail, closing the leech while leaving the foot slack; owners who fit the overlapper would be well advised to address track length early. A backstay tensioner — the standard twin backstay arrangement lacks one — is available on the options list and worth specifying for headstay sag control upwind. The self-tacker option combined with in-mast reefing trades roughly 145 square feet of sail area for ease of handling, a compromise that becomes most apparent in light air and a seaway.
The Verdict
The Dufour 390 Grand Large is a thoroughly competent modern family cruiser that earns its reputation through execution rather than any single stand-out feature. Felci's hull delivers the volume modern owners demand while preserving enough sailing intelligence to reward those who choose to push it, and Dufour's reputation for not cutting corners on the parts you cannot see adds confidence in the long-term ownership proposition. The boat will satisfy coastal families and charter-minded owners equally; those with genuine blue-water ambitions may want to weigh the capsize screening figure of 2.04 — marginally above the offshore threshold — against their passage plans, though CE Category A certification confirms the builder's confidence in the design for ocean conditions.
Pros
- Exceptional interior volume for its hull length, with multiple layout configurations
- Sails markedly better than its conservative statistics suggest
- Thoughtfully detailed cockpit with integrated galley, storage, and hinge-down swim platform
- Mainsheet traveller standard, split mainsheet reaching each helm station
- Strong, hand-laminated construction with in-house joinery and solid resin specification
Cons
- Rapid loss of way makes tacking with the overlapping headsail demanding for short-handed crews
- Standard jib tracks too short for the overlapping headsail option
- Self-tacker plus in-mast reefing combination sacrifices meaningful sail area, most felt in light air
- Beamy, high-volume hull demands constant helm corrections when heeled in gusty conditions
- Capsize screening figure sits fractionally above the conventional offshore threshold
