Dufour 405
Dufour · Umberto Felci · 2008
Updated
The Dufour 405 is a 11.90 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Umberto Felci and built by Dufour, first launched in 2008. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 17% of the designs it races against. It comes alive as the breeze builds, and gives time away in the light.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 17% of the boats it races against.
132nd of 159 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 46 starts across 9 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
11.90 m
39′ 1″
Beam
4.00 m
Draft
1.98 m
Displacement
8.1 t
Sail area
80 m²
On the podium
Where a Dufour 405 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
46%
of 46 starts by 4 boats
Wins
22%
Read from 46 starts by 4 boats between 2021 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Dufour 405 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2026
Porkkala Race2026- Campionato Invernale di Roma, 45a edizione2026
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2025
- Campionato Invernale del Ponente2025
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
33%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: 6 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Dufour 405 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Solaris 44 (6 meetings), Xp 44 (4 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Carkeek) (2 meetings), Dehler 39 (Judel/Vrolijk) (2 meetings), Elan 350 (2 meetings), Sun Fast 3600 (3 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Dufour 405 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
5.38
40°
Beam reach
8.54
90°
Broad reach
9.19
135°
Downwind VMG
7.62
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.
The stronger it blows, the better this design looks. On a windy coastal course it is in its element; on a light-air windward-leeward it has to be sailed well to hold on.
Where it gains
Its best ground is across the wind in a working breeze, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short upwind in light air, giving away time it never gets back.
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 0.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Dufour 405
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.09 | 4.38 | 5.11 | 5.38 |
| 52° | 4.85 | 6.59 | 7.39 | 7.71 |
| 60° | 5.17 | 6.87 | 7.59 | 7.96 |
| 75° | 5.38 | 7.07 | 7.78 | 8.29 |
| 90° | 5.39 | 7.31 | 8.06 | 8.54 |
| 110° | 5.49 | 7.47 | 8.31 | 9.31 |
| 120° | 5.35 | 7.36 | 8.23 | 9.46 |
| 135° | 4.80 | 6.91 | 7.96 | 9.19 |
| 150° | 4.05 | 6.12 | 7.46 | 8.53 |
| Run VMG | 3.51 | 5.29 | 6.51 | 7.62 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Roughly half carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 600 kg.
Rigging
Dufour 405 rig and sail dimensions
A Dufour 405 carries 13.50 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.60 m boom, a forestay 14.55 m above the deck and a 5.45 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 12 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 80 to 120 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.