Review of Dufour 350 Grand Large
Basic specs.
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The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
The boat is equipped with 220.0 liter fresh water capacity.
The Dufour 350 Grand Large is equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a gennaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.
L-shape fin keel
The Dufour 350 Grand Large is equipped with a L keel. An L-shape keel is a bulb keel with the shape as an L. This keel is less exposed to seaweed, fishing nets and lines.
The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.90 - 2.00 meter (6.23 - 6.53 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
Dufour 350 Grand Large may be equipped with an inboard engine at 19 hp (14 kW). Calculated max speed is about 5.0 knots
The transmission is a saildrive.
The fuel tank has a capacity of 160.0 liters (42 US gallons, 35 imperial gallons).
Sailing characteristics
This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for Dufour 350 Grand Large is 2.00, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.
What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?
The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.3 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Dufour 350 Grand Large is about 214 kg/cm, alternatively 1201 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 214 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1201 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.
Sailing statistics
This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.
What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Dufour 350 Grand Large is 23.9.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Dufour 350 Grand Large is 2.82.
The ballast ratio for Dufour 350 Grand Large is 27%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Dufour 350 Grand Large is 213 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.
What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?
The SA/D for Dufour 350 Grand Large with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.3, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 19.0.
Maintenance
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 37m2 (398 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.
Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.
Dimensions of sail for fractional rig.
Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale
If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Mainsail halyard | 31.5 m | (103.3 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 31.5 m | (103.3 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 31.5 m | (103.3 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 10.0 m | (32.7 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 10.0 m | (32.7 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 25.0 m | (81.9 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 22.0 m | (72.0 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Cunningham | 4.5 m | (14.8 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 9.0 m | (29.5 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 9.0 m | (29.5 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
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