Dufour 38
Dufour · Umberto Felci · 1997
Updated
The Dufour 38 is a 11.65 m displacement racing yacht designed by Umberto Felci and built by Dufour, first launched in 1997. It races in Class C.
Length
11.65 m
38′ 3″
Beam
3.85 m
Draft
1.85 m
Displacement
6.6 t
Sail area
78 m²
On the podium
Where a Dufour 38 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
15%
of 46 starts by 3 boats
Wins
2%
Read from 46 starts by 3 boats between 2018 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Dufour 38 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
32nd Cyclades Regatta - '262026- "Επιδαυρος 2024"2026
- "Μακης Πανταζης" - Αγκιστρι2026
- AHEPA Cup Perama2026
- "Αγ. Νικολαου 2025"2025
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
—
Not enough data yet: 3 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
17%
of these races end on the podium
Who she races against
The designs a Dufour 38 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Dufour 365 (7 meetings), Mount Gay 30 (7 meetings), X-332 (7 meetings), Bavaria 37 (6 meetings), Granada 31 (6 meetings), Gib'sea 372 (6 meetings), Oyster 37 (6 meetings), Elan 410 (6 meetings), Bavaria 31 (5 meetings), Melody (5 meetings), Maxi 95 (5 meetings), Grand Soleil 37 (Design) (5 meetings), Dufour 35 (5 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Dufour 38 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
5.18
40°
Beam reach
8.33
90°
Broad reach
9.02
135°
Downwind VMG
7.85
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
This design is even-tempered. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a reach once it pipes up, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short on a broad reach when it blows, giving away time it never gets back. That is a displacement hull working to its designed speed.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Dufour 38
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.26 | 4.51 | 5.11 | 5.18 |
| 52° | 5.07 | 6.67 | 7.25 | 7.40 |
| 60° | 5.40 | 6.89 | 7.43 | 7.63 |
| 75° | 5.70 | 7.06 | 7.63 | 8.02 |
| 90° | 5.63 | 7.26 | 7.82 | 8.33 |
| 110° | 5.56 | 7.32 | 8.07 | 8.97 |
| 120° | 5.42 | 7.22 | 8.00 | 9.17 |
| 135° | 4.87 | 6.85 | 7.78 | 9.02 |
| 150° | 4.11 | 6.18 | 7.41 | 8.48 |
| Run VMG | 3.56 | 5.36 | 6.70 | 7.85 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Roughly half carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 500 kg.
Rigging
Dufour 38 rig and sail dimensions
A Dufour 38 carries 13.15 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.15 m boom, a forestay 14.50 m above the deck and a 4.71 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 7 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 85 to 108 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.