OWNERS’ EXPERIENCES
S/Y LARUS (1998)
Owners Alan and Sue Thomas bought Larus, a Dufour 30 ‘Integral’ with lifting keel, at the 1998 London Boat Show and have owned her ever since. She was first splashed in July 1998, just in time for Alan’s 50th birthday. Since then they have made many minor modifications, the most important being to the running rigging to allow full control from the cockpit. ‘She was an inexpensive French production boat with the bare minimum of deck gear,’ explained Alan. ‘Just three clutches on the starboard side of the coachroof for the halyards and keel uphaul, with all reefing controls, main outhaul and topping lift at the mast. I have since fitted deck organisers, extra clutches to starboard and four new ones to port. ‘The jib sheets were originally run to simple cam cleats on the coachroof,’ said Alan, ‘but having had an incident when I couldn’t release the loaded sheet from the cleat, I also changed these to clutches. ‘All this extra deck gear was fairly straightforward to fit once I knew there were aluminium plates bedded into the coachroof that could be tapped to take machine screws.’ Alan also experimented with various reefing options before settling on a two-line system with luff downhauls running to the extra starboard clutches and topping lift, leech lines and outhaul running to port. Alan continued: ‘Now, even when sailing singlehanded, I can reef in about
a minute whilst sailing close-hauled on the jib alone.’ Other major changes were the sails. ‘The original sails were not too good and when they wore out, Ivan Boles at Arun Sails in Bosham suggested I fit a blade jib. The matching pair of main and jib were brilliant and I have since replaced these with an exact copy,’ said Alan. The new main came with three reefs instead of the original two and Alan said he’s used the third reef only about a half dozen times, albeit very successfully. ‘The strongest wind I have sailed in is about 28 knots and she coped very well even with just two reefs. However, the third reef makes for a more comfortable ride. ‘Ivan’s advice, contrary to the normal view, was to reef the main first. This works well and I don’t roll any jib away until the second reef is in the main. I also have a cruising chute from Crusader Sails.’ Other modifications Alan made were to move the jib furling line (a trip hazard across the coachroof) down the side deck, fit doors into the front of the saloon berth lockers, install an extra battery and smart charger, fit a DSC VHF radio with integral GPS into the side of the aft cabin wardrobe and install an AIS receiver, which Alan believes is ‘the best money I ever spent for peace of mind when crossing the Channel or Irish Sea in fog. That said, I am not into gadgets and rely solely on two handheld GPS units and charts for navigation.’ About the boat herself, Alan said: ‘Larus came with a number of rainwater leaks that took years to track down, but the only design fault was the keel uphaul, which comes up through the mast support and mast then to a coachroof winch. It was tied off inside the keel casing in a way that frayed the rope within six months, causing the keel to drop unrestrained, breaking the fitting. The problem was exacerbated by there being no inspection hatch. After complaining to Dufour, they replaced all the fittings, modified the uphaul and installed a new table with inspection hatch.’ Alan learned to sail an Enterprise dinghy on a gravel pit in Maidenhead in his 20s. Later he bought and raced a second-hand Enterprise. At 39, he bought a Tomahawk 25 and sailed her from the Medway for 10 years. By the time he bought Larus he and Sue had moved to Chichester and were discovering the delights of the Solent. ‘In the last 22 years we have sailed east to Lowestoft, north to Lossiemouth, west to Dublin and south to St. Malo. For two years Larus was berthed in Carentan in France, then on the Clyde and then Holyhead.’ During the 2000s Alan and Sue frequently cruised for up to six weeks at a time. ‘She is ideal for two to live aboard and the aft cabin is very comfortable, although occasionally waves slapping under the transom would keep us awake. The small, open vee-berth forward is mainly used for crew bags or general storage but the saloon bunks are the most comfortable I have ever slept in,’ said Alan. For the last eight years Alan has mostly sailed singlehanded in the Solent. Having made the rigging modifications, he has found ‘Larus is now very easy to sail and handles very well. Close-hauled, she is very well balanced and I frequently leave her to sail herself while I go below to check the chart. For going downwind I have installed a boom brake to take the stress out of gybing. ‘The only small vice Larus has is closequarters motoring in reverse, due to the lack of prop wash over her twin rudders, but once moving, she steers very well.’
S/Y SEA DRIVE (2000)
Owners Geoffrey (77) and Ann Planner owned Sea Drive for 20 years but have just recently sold her. Since new they have added extra batteries, shore power, oven/grill, gas alarm, water tank gauge and various other instruments. They also built a shelf inside the cockpit locker to hold all six fenders, leaving space for a dinghy underneath. The only faults in 20 years have been a few portlight leaks, although they’ve always thought the deck cleats to be too small. Geoff started sailing in racing dinghies The RYA Senior Instructor has also been cruising and chartering since 1977, typical destinations being the French coast, the Channel Islands, the West Country, Scotland and latterly Greece, Turkey and Croatia. More recently they’ve tended to stick to Chichester Harbour and the Solent. Before the Dufour, he owned a Kestrel 22. Geoff said Sea Drive was great to sail, well-balanced, light and responsive and easy to sail two-up or even singlehandedly. A comfortable live-aboard for two and fine for four for a day or two, what they liked most about her was that she was easy to maintain. ‘Things are readily accessible,’ said Geoff, ‘even the Sail Drive diaphragm was changed by me and one other. The interior has also stayed as good as the day we bought her.’ Their dislikes? ‘No hanging locker worth mentioning. With the exception of the lack of midship cleats, she has been an enjoyable and satisfying boat to own.’
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY...
NICK VASS, Marine Surveyor (www.omega-yachtservices.co.uk) The Dufour Classic 30 is a well-made and good-looking yacht that has stood the test of time better than many other French yachts. Dufours can suffer from squeaky decks and the 30s are often found with cracks on the superstructure. In general, early French yachts were lightly built and did tend to flex but the Classic 30 is better in this regard. It’s not as ‘bendy’ as other French yachts, where the inner stiffening mouldings can part from the inside of the hull. The lifting keel ‘Integral’ version is a little tender compared to those with fixed keels, and early models had a few problems with the keel-plate lifting tackle, although it was remedied later.