Kicked Back Center-Cockpit
April 2000 - Sail Magazine (Just Launched)
Dufour 43 CC: Comfortable cruiser/liveaboard
By Kimball Livingston
There's a special pleasure in kicking back below deck with elbowroom and space to wander from cabin to cabin. Not every boat provides that, but the Dufour 43 Center Cockpit delivers as much elbowroom as any worthy 43- footer could. The center- cockpit configuration also allows for a large aft cabin with generous headroom in a Khaya mahogany interior.
I sailed the Dufour 43 CC on San Diego Bay in fresh breeze on flat water, with an afternoon foray onto a nearly flat ocean beyond Point Loma. The boat's performance was moderate, not scintillating, but this is a cruiser designed for people who like to entertain aboard. What we experienced was a speed of 7 knots upwind in 17 knots of true wind, at an indicated wind angle of a little more than 40 degrees. Given other experience with the Dufour line, I would expect something a tick better when the rig is tuned properly.
With its high, central placement, the helm provides excellent visibility forward, though the lack of a window in the jib meant that we had to leave the cockpit frequently to check for traffic. I also found that the high center cockpit, which envelopes you in a strong sense of security while you're in it, makes for a steep, intimidating step down toward the water when you have to leave it.
The boat felt most at home when we eased sheets to reach back into San Diego Bay, With the skyline ahead and the sun slanting toward the horizon behind, I had the sense that I was sailing lazily home from a Catalina week- end, warm and dry and using the boat to the truest intentions of the design.
At that moment, I was liking the boat quite a lot.
However, for passage making I would want some way to brace myself at the nav station, and I would want grabrails belowdecks so I wouldn't have to grab at the countertop fiddles. I would demand a lot more hanging- locker space, and I would expect to carve up part of that pretty interior for storage and a workbench. I would also want to beef up the deck gear and add line pouches to organize the tails of the control lines (which are led to the cockpit for smart, centralized control). On the plus side, I could do all that with the confidence that I was working on top of a capable cruising platform from a builder that has produced more than 6,000 boats.
The boat is very maneuverable under power; systems wiring is neat and logical, and Dufour has maximized engine access. Engine maintenance is nobodyÌs favorite part of boat ownership, but making the chore as simple as possible is the builder's way of getting you back as quickly as possible to a beautiful voyage dujour.
This article was written and photos taken by Kimball Livingston and published
in the April 2000 edition of Sail Magazine - Just Launched !
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