Dufour Trophy 334

Pacific Yachting, headed up by Gil Finlay, has been steadily widening its yacht range over the past couple of years. From day one the central role has been occupied by the Dufour Classic range of French cruiser/racers moderate, high volume all-rounders for club racing, family cruising or chartering.

More recently the revitalised Gib'Sea range has added a second French string to Pacific Yachting's bow, providing more budget-priced cruiser/racers for private or charter use. The company has also become involved in marketing two Australian yacht ranges: the Bluewater aft and centre cockpit cruisers from Cardiff (NSW); and the Farr-designed performance cruiser/racers built by Binks Yachts in Adelaide (SA), including a new model Farr 51 pilothouse cruiser.

Continuing the cruising theme are other French imports in Pacific Yachting's range, namely the Dufour Atolls designed specifically for charter and the Nautitech catamaran range.

So the cruising side is well catered for, but what about racing? This is where the Dufour Trophy line fits in.

The first model to land in Australia from France is the 334, designed by Jacques Fauroux as a racing boat which can also double up on occasion as a family cruiser. In other words, it does have an interior, and a surprisingly well-equipped one at that, but emphasis has been placed on providing a roomy cockpit and a tall, efficient rig, to make life easier, faster and more fun around the racetrack.

The first Trophy 334 to arrive in Australia was ordered by Mark Clifton, who keeps the boat in Port Stephens on the NSW Central Coast. Clifton previously owned a Moody 31, and wanted to progress to a higher performance yacht for club racing and "ocean offshore stuff" such as the annual Pittwater to Coffs Race and the Lake Macquarie keelboat fleet's offshore racing program.

RACING IN STYLE
The Trophy 334 has a tall, fractional rig set up with double swept-back spreaders. This means it doesn't need running backstays, which makes life a lot easier when sailing shorthanded. Another labour-saver is the decision to go with non-overlapping headsails, which can be sheeted at close angles on tracks on the coachroof, rather than trying to wrap large genoas around those wide spreaders.

Clifford has set up his new yacht, Moody Cliffo, for racing, installing Brookes & Gatehouse wind and navigation instruments and a comprehensive sail inventory from North Sails (including a Kevlar racing mainsail and Dacron cruising main, light and medium No 1 3DL headsails, Kevlar No 3 and No 4, plus storm jib and trisail, and two fractional spinnakers 0.6oz and 0.9oz).

Clifford said he has not opted for a masthead spinnaker so far, because this would involve adding jumpers to support the top of the rig and also a longer spinnaker pole.

The cockpit is nicely set up for racing, and for moving about at all angles of heel, with teak-laid seats and a central console for the mainsheet coarse and fine tune controls. The mainsheet traveller runs across the back of the cockpit, with the control lines leading forward on either side to cleats within easy reach of the steerer or mainsail trimmer. So, too, do the tails of the topmast backstay.

The primary sheet winches are Harken 40 self-tailers, mounted on the outer edge of the cabin top, with two Harken 16 self-tailers also provided for halyards and the various control lines leading aft from the mast to Spinlock clutches either side of the companionway.

The interior layout provides a double V-berth and hanging locker in the forward cabin, two settee berths in the saloon, and another double berth in the starboard quarter cabin (which also has a hanging locker). The port quarter is dedicated to a large storage area accessible from the cockpit and the bathroom, quite spacious for a boat of this size and housing a large wet locker as well as the forward-facing manual marine toilet, handbasin and vanity unit with shower attachment.

Pressurised cold water is standard; the testboat has been set up with an optional hot-water system as well.

Forward of the bathroom is the reasonably-sized navigation station, on the port-side of the saloon. It's set up with a good-sized chart table, curved seat and plenty of space for the electrics panel and instruments on the outboard side (on this boat a B&G LCD chartplotter, marine radios and CD player).

Opposite is the L-shaped galley, which is simple but effective, housing a two-burner Eno stove and oven unit, deep single sink and mixer tap, icebox (set up on the testboat with the optional refrigeration), pop-out garbage bin and storage areas. There is also storage space under the chart table and beneath all the berths.

The interior looks good, with adequate natural light, joinery in Khaya mahogany with teak veneer floorboards, plush fabric settee covers and white vinyl-look headliner in button-on panels. A detachable mahogany saloon table can be fitted onto the keel-stepped mast, to provide dining facilities for six people seated on the settees.

Hull and deck are PVC closed-cell foam/GRP sandwich, vacuum bonded and using triaxial glass cloth for stress absorption, with bulkheads laminated to the deck and hull to form a rigid structure. The lead bulb keel is sheathed in GRP.

FORGIVING PERFORMER
We sailed the Trophy 334 in a squally southerly on Port Stephens, ranging in strength from 5-20kt and bringing the odd downpour.

At the top of the range under full main and the No 3 headsail, we had a bit on to start with, our crew of three including one relative novice to sailing, and all of us new to the boat. We pushed it over onto its ear several times while we came to grips with the cockpit layout, but the 334 proved forgiving and quickly sat back up with a luff and an ease of the main.

Although the boat is intended to be raced by a crew of six or seven (Clifford's crew of seven includes a keen 12-year-old), two to three people will have no problems sailing the boat under main and jib because the mainsail controls, including the backstay, are within easy reach of the steerer.

The boat is nippy and responsive to both the helm and the gusts. A sure hand on the mainsheet traveller will make a big difference in gusty weather, as the 334 was quick to heel in the gusts and an immediate adjustment of that big mainsail makes all the difference between heeling or accelerating.

Headsail sheeting angles are fine and the boat seemed closewinded on the breeze. With Alan Yates of Pacific Yachting joining us onboard, we had enough hands to set the spinnaker and enjoy a quick ride, which diminished to a near drift as the rain set in It had been an invigorating sail, but this was definitely time to head back to the marina.

Grown-up dinghy sailors or anyone looking for lively sailing performance will enjoy the Trophy 334. It's an attractive-looking modern yacht which is fast and fun to sail. While not overly difficult to handle, it will reward good crew work with extra speed and performance.

This is combined with a simple but comfortable interior which is more than adequate for weekending by a couple or small family, sleeping a crew of six during an away regatta, or letting the off-watch get some shut-eye during a coastal race.

The Trophy 334 is a little too big to race with the Junior Offshore Group, which is rather a shame for Clifford considering the JOG fleet comes to Port Stephens for a regatta each January. However, it should be a good performer in local arbitrary handicap club racing and also under IRC rules (it was designed to suit the CHS which preceded IRC).

At the time of our test, Mark Clifford had not yet obtained an IRC handicap for his new boat and was unsure whether the boat would need any modifications to meet the stability requirements specified for races such as the Pittwater to Coffs. Assuming any such changes are minor, I would imagine the 334 will prove to be a nippy little coastal racer and a potential annoyance to the crews of much bigger boats.

HIGHS

LOWS