Dufour 3800
Dufour · Michel Dufour · 1978
Updated
The Dufour 3800 is a 9.19 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Michel Dufour and built by Dufour, first launched in 1978. It races in Class C.
Length
9.19 m
30′ 2″
Beam
3.16 m
Draft
1.74 m
Displacement
4.3 t
Sail area
47 m²
On the podium
Where a Dufour 3800 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
13%
of 45 starts by 3 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 45 starts by 3 boats between 2018 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Dufour 3800 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Aegean Regatta2026- Aegean Regatta2025
- Aegean Regatta2024
- 22th Aegean Regatta2023
Regata Amigos de la Vela2023
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
15%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
12%
of these races end on the podium
Level across both. Plenty of designs fall away once the course gets long — a light hull that thrives round the cans can struggle through a night at sea. This one does not.
Who she races against
The designs a Dufour 3800 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Dufour 3800 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
4.56
39°
Beam reach
7.14
90°
Broad reach
7.71
135°
Downwind VMG
6.89
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.
There is no obvious weak spot here. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is to windward once it pipes up, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage on the run as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short on a broad reach when it blows, giving away time it never gets back. That is weight that has to be driven rather than released.
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 broad reach.
How fast is a Dufour 3800
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 2.85 | 3.91 | 4.43 | 4.56 |
| 52° | 4.37 | 5.75 | 6.28 | 6.45 |
| 60° | 4.62 | 5.95 | 6.43 | 6.63 |
| 75° | 4.78 | 6.11 | 6.58 | 6.95 |
| 90° | 4.70 | 6.23 | 6.70 | 7.14 |
| 110° | 4.80 | 6.34 | 6.94 | 7.55 |
| 120° | 4.63 | 6.27 | 6.93 | 7.77 |
| 135° | 4.20 | 5.99 | 6.77 | 7.71 |
| 150° | 3.62 | 5.46 | 6.50 | 7.39 |
| Run VMG | 3.13 | 4.76 | 5.94 | 6.89 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. Crew weight is declared around 360 kg.
Rigging
Dufour 3800 rig and sail dimensions
A Dufour 3800 carries 10.27 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.15 m boom, a forestay 11.82 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 3 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails