Design and Construction
The 396 is constructed of fiberglass with solid hull and deck lay-up, and its lead ballast is contained in the bulb fin. The standard cruiser version is a good cruising boat made in the tradition of the Faurby shipyard: reliable, solid, a little conservative in appearance. Faurby’s method laminates all main structural bulkheads directly to hull and deck, and a hot-dip galvanized steel strongback is laminated into the bilge to anchor the keel-stepped mast and distribute keel loads — a signature structural feature. The yard builds with wet hand lay-up GRP sandwich using Divinycell foam core, and the 396’s 144.62 displacement-to-length ratio and 25.7 comfort ratio read as a boat tuned for settled motion rather than acceleration.
Rig and Handling
As a fractional sloop carrying a reported 603 square feet of sail area, the 396 shows a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 15.79 — modest, consistent with a cruiser that favors control. The hull speed is documented at 8.04 knots, a function of the 35.99-foot waterline. The fin-with-bulb and spade-rudder configuration gives a maximum draft of 6.30 feet, aiding directional stability without centerboard depth. The Jesper Bank Edition was created in close collaboration with the Danish yachtsman Jesper Bank, a two-time Olympic gold medal winner and seven-time America’s Cup helmsman, and that version is positioned as a boat with high speed qualities; during its development the designers tried to remove weight from the base Faurby 396 model wherever possible, suggesting the standard 396 was seen by the yard as carrying margin the performance variant could shed.
Accommodations and Equipment
The spec record lists a diesel engine and a 26-gallon fuel capacity against 52 gallons of water, a proportion that favors extended anchoring over long motoring. The 396 is available in two versions: a standard cruiser version and a Jesper Bank Edition, the latter the more explicitly performance-oriented expression of the same 39.3-foot hull. No interior arrangement specifics are recorded beyond these capacities and the yard’s stated conservative cruising intent for the standard boat.
Known Issues
The available documentation contains no recorded structural defects, osmotic reports, or systemic failure modes for the 396. The only cautions are implicit in the weight-removal exercise of the Jesper Bank Edition, which signals the base model’s margins were deliberate. Buyers and reviewers have no cited drainage, flooding-path, or rigging-endemic concerns from the authority documents reviewed.
Refits and Ownership
Thomas Dan Hougaard took over Faurby Yachts in 2010, the same year the Jesper Bank Edition partnership was struck; in 2018, Nordship and Faurby merged production infrastructure in Lunderskov, with full merger under the Faurby name in May 2025. None of these changes alter the 1998-origin 396’s construction record, but they situate the boat inside a Danish yard with continuous stewardship.
The Verdict
The Faurby 396 is a traditionally built Danish cruiser with a documented structural lineage and a clear standard-vs-performance split. The base boat’s conservative appearance and solid construction are stated yard traits, while the Jesper Bank Edition demonstrates the hull’s latent speed potential when weight is stripped. For the sailor who values a known ballast ratio, a keel-stepped mast on a laminated strongback, and a 603-square-foot fractional rig, the 396 is a coherent 39-footer from a stable builder.
Pros
- Lead-ballast bulb fin with spade rudder and 6.30-foot draft
- Structural bulkheads glassed to hull and deck; galvanized strongback in bilge
- Two documented versions, including a Jesper Bank performance edition
Cons
- Modest sail-area-to-displacement ratio (15.79) limits light-air acceleration
- Standard version explicitly conservative in appearance, not a sport boat
- No documented defect history means buyer must rely on survey, not sourced warnings
