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Dufour 36 Classic
Practical Sailor - June 2002 BOAT REVIEW
Making North American inroads for a second
time, this French company is building a 36-foot
cruiser that will compete for the attention of
Hunter, Catalina, Beneteau, and Jeanneau clients.
Dufour Yachts
was founded in 1964 in La Rochelle, France, by
Michel Dufour, when he introduced a popular
30-footer called the Arpege. The boat was so popular
that more than 1,200 were sold and the builder was
established as a major manufacturer in the European
marketplace.
Dufour's 36 Classic is on the racy side of moderate
in terms of sail power and displacement. a rounded
cabin trunk and sloping scoop transon give nice
lines, although her sheer is straighter and cabin
trunk longer than this picture shows. Construction
could be called "high end production quality"
The company ventured into the American market in
1977, when it was the first to introduce boats now
defined as having "Eurostyling." In addition to
rounded cabin tops, the 25- to 30-foot sloops were
accented by long, black windows and hulls painted
orange, red, and green.
By 1986 the company was foundering in a sea of red
ink, so Dufour formed the first of a series of
unsuccessful financial alliances fashioned to
prevent insolvency. His first was with a French
union; then came a partnership with the legendary
Baron Bich, best known for writing instruments and a
series of unsuccessful America's Cup campaigns. By
1988 the company was near bankrupt again, and was
purchased by Olivier Poncin, a boat salesman and
entrepreneur.
Poncin's initial focus was on the development of 48-
to 65-foot cruisers sold into charter fleets in the
Mediterranean and Caribbean, Under his direction,
the company also launched Nautitech catamarans.
Profits from the sales of large boats allowed Poncin
to re-introduce, in 1995, the Dufour Classic line of
traditionally designed performance cruisers ranging
in size from 30 to 50 feet. Poncin also completed a
series of acquisitions that resulted in the
purchases of Dynamique Yachts and Gilbert Marine.
The acquisition of Gilbert Marine allowed Dufour to
introduce the Gib'Sea line of family cruisers, also
designed to compete with the likes of Catalina,
Hunter, and Jeanneau.
In 1996 Poncin decided to re-enter the North
American market, and hired Don Walsh, a 35-plus year
veteran of the boat building and charter business,
to oversee the operation. Dufour Yachts were
formally reintroduced to the US market at the
Annapolis Boat Show in 1996. Since assuming the
mantle as vice-president of Dufour USA, Walsh has
established dealerships on both coasts, and in the
Great Lakes, Florida, and Texas. The sailboat line
is composed of a 32, a 36, a 38, and a 41 (all
called "Classics.").
By 2000 Dufour was the second- largest builder in
France, and had completed a $14 million renovation
at its original plant. Its production facilities are
now consolidated at La Rochelle and Andilly,
formerly the Dynamique yard.
Changes are ongoing. In 2001 Poncin sold a
50-percent interest in the company to Cantiere del
Pardo, owners of Grand Soleil, and the balance of
his stock to Credit Agricole, a large French bank
with a maritime tradition. One byproduct of the
change is that major charter operators like
Moorings, Sunsail, and Tradewinds, are now acquiring
Dufour yachts for their fleets. The company has also
announced its intent to sell the Nautitech line and
focus entirely on the production of monohulls.
Dufour currently distributes boats in 32 countries.
Design
Dufour's 36 Classic was designed by Mortain and
Mavrikos, whose resume includes lines from ETAP and
Mirage, as well as Nautitech catamarans and Volvo 60
ocean racing sloops. Walsh says the boat "was
designed as a performance cruiser targeted to a
buyer seeking performance, classic styling, and
high-quality construction and finish." Viewed from
abeam, her 45' 6" mast, 13' 6" boom, and 12' 8"
J-measurement present a balanced profile, She has a
nearly straight sheer and a rounded cabin top, which
is carried well forward, reducing working space on
the foredeck but adding space to the forward
stateroom below.
The bow has a moderate overhang. Her wide beam is
carried aft to a fairly broad transom, and her stem
is high enough above the water to allow the stowage
of gear aft without affecting performance.
She carries 616 square feet of canvas with mainsail
and 100% fore triangle. The standard factory
inventory is a mainsail and 130-percent genoa on a
Facnor furler that produces 689 square feet of sail
area. With an SA/D of 18.5 and D/L ratio of 213, we
would expect her performance to be at the faster end
of the scale for moderate-displacement production
cruisers.
Displacement of 13,000 pounds and ballast of 3,528
pounds produces a 27% ballast ratio; however, with
much of the lead deep down in a bulb, plus her
generous beam, she produces a fairly stiff ride. The
draft of the standard keel is 5'10". A shoal draft
version is an option.
The spade rudder is an elliptical shape suspended on
a self-aligning ball and socket bearing. The
standard steering gear is Whitlock rack and pinion,
which, in recent boat review outings, we've found
quite responsive. The boat was very easily handled
while motoring in tight corners.
Don Walsh says Poncin faced two challenges in
designing a boat with international appeal. Feedback
from Dufour dealers and sailors was that buyers were
demanding more head- room, even in mid-sized boats.
The challenge was increasing headroom to 6'2"
without raising the profile of the already
moderately high cabin top. To our eye, his designers
succeeded.
The second challenge was designing interior layouts
that appeal to Europeans, who prefer smaller,
intimate quarters, compared to their American
counterparts, for whom large open spaces seem to be
more important. (Are there continental imperatives
here? Where's Tocqueville when we need him?)
Dufour 36 Classic
LOA: 36' 4"
LWL: 30' 1"
Beam: 12' 4"
Draft (standard deep): 5' 10"
Draft (shoal): 4' 5"
Displacement: 13,000 lbs.
Ballast: 3,528 lbs.
Fuel: 42 gals.
Water: 90 gals.
SA (100%): 616 sq. ft.
D/L ratio: 213
SA/D ratio: 18.5
Auxiliary: 30-hp Volvo Saildrive
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A blend of high topsides, rounded bilges, and
a low cabin trunk give the 36 Classic nice
lines, and leave 6' 2" of headroom below" |
The solution lay in a compromise: a two-stateroom
layout that would be ideal for couples entertaining
the occasional guests; or a three-cabin lay- out
providing large skipper's quarters and two
staterooms in the stern.
Heads fore and aft were initially offered, but the
forward head has been eliminated in favor of one
head aft to starboard. This is a good decision, Two
heads may be important in charter fleets, but a
long-term owner will eventually tire of sleeping in
smaller quarters than necessary in exchange for
having a big space (with plumbing) devoted to
storing a toothbrush.
It's always a treat to find a design feature that
bucks the status quo, as long as the feature works.
In this case, Dufour has gone to a linear galley
arrangement to starboard, and put a bench seat
amidships facing the table and L-shaped settee. This
layout has been used fairly often in European boats,
but rarely in American ones. The layout has some
advantages: Compared to the typical L- or C-shaped
galley located at the foot of the companionway, this
affords the placement of a full-sized head
compartment (doubling as wet locker) and nav station
aft (easier yelling to the cockpit) without
compromising access to the aft quarters. From a
practical point of view there are a couple of
problems: It's harder to lug and stow groceries; the
galley doesn't vent as well as when it's right near
the companion- way; and there's a bit more of the
feeling of having the kitchen sink in the living
room.
As for the cook and the cooking, most people feel
more secure in an L- shaped or U-shaped galley,
especially if they need to be belted in. However,
there are so few people skilled today in sea-cookery
(cooking with roll, pitch, and yaw) that we suspect
this won't matter to many buyers. If it does, a
safety belt can still be rigged, and the bench
amidships will act as a good posterior brace on
either tack. Countertops have two-inch high wood
edges, and the stove is gimbaled, so utensils should
remain on a solid surface.
Deck Layout and Rigging
Like most contemporary production boats, the 36
Classic is rigged for single- or double handed
sailing with lines led to stoppers in the cockpit.
The deck-stepped double-spreader Z-Spar mast sits on
an aluminum brace in the deck located atop the main
bulkhead. As PS readers know, we're uncomfortable
with deck stepped spars on boats this size that may
be taken offshore. It's nice not to have the leaks,
though.
Chain plates are located aft of the mast to disperse
rig loads; they're attached to stainless steel
tie-rods bedded in the hull. Spreaders are swept aft
far enough to increase sheeting angles on the breeze
without interfering with the mainsail on a downwind
leg. An inner forestay prevents excessive mast bend
but does not function as a staysail stay.
Halyards, lines for a soft vang, outhaul, and
reefing lines are led aft to Spinlock XA rope
clutches and a Lewmar ST30 self-tailing winch. The
traveler is mounted out of the way on the coachroof
forward of an area molded to house a dodger. The
traveler is too short to be of much use in heavy
air, although it would serve to get the boom on
centerline in light air. Mainsail control would
benefit greatly from a solid vang.
Sheets are led through turning blocks equipped with
clutches to Lewmar ST40 self-tailing winches. The
clutches ease single handed sail trimming since it's
possible to tail a sheet by hand until it's snug on
the winch, engage the clutch, and finish grinding
the sheet with a winch handle. Couples sailing
shorthanded will appreciate this arrangement.
Except for shrouds that terminate in the middle of
the 18-inch wide side decks, movement forward is
easy. A longer handrail on the cabin top would be a
plus in a heavy sea, or at night. Goiot hatches
located amidships and on the bow provide ventilation
and light belowdecks.
The design of the cockpit moves the boat out of the
"dockside entertainment center" category. The
U-shaped space will seat six adults, four
comfortably. The area measures 60" on centerline,
but usable space on seats is reduced to 48" because
the 32" destroyer wheel intrudes into the bench.
That's enough space for four adults; two others may
sit in cramped quarters on the corners. Seats,
however, are 16" high and have 13" supports, so are
comfortable.
Many boats this size have a 30" wheel that makes the
cockpit more hospitable. However, a larger wheel
gives better control, and facilitates steering from
the leeward rail. A smaller cockpit also creates
more space below decks.
The area is not entirely Spartan, however, since a
table that folds out of the way on the pedestal
opens to provide a 24" x 28" dining platform.
However, it's devoid of molded cup holders. Sacre
bleu!
Instruments on the steering pod will be directly in
front of the helms- man, and engine controls are at
the fingertips. Engine switches are under the
companionway step.
Despite the two staterooms aft on our test boat,
cockpit storage was larger than expected. Lockers
port and starboard running half the length of the
cockpit to the stem are 12-25" deep, 45" wide, and
51" long. They will easily store extra sails, an
inflatable dinghy, and dock lines.
Belowdecks
Orienting the galley along the side of the hull
removes a visual obstruction typically encountered
when stepping below. The resulting impression is of
a wide-open space measuring nine feet on the
centerline, with a width of nearly eight feet.
Headroom is 6' 2". The area is surrounded by solid
Khaya mahogany; a teak sole is underfoot, a white
headliner overhead. The joinery workmanship is good.
The centerpiece of the area is a 48" long dining
table opposite an L- shaped settee to port. The
table will seat four to five, and the aforementioned
bench and cooking brace will seat three more in a
pinch. The bench, although it has a stowage area
convenient to the galley, is an impediment to
movement along the centerline. Don Walsh says that
one client requested that the bench be mounted on
tracks with stops, so that it could be slid under
the table, and a dealer made it happen.
Meal preparation will be on a counter measuring 28"x
21"; the reefer is below. Additional counter space
is created atop the Eno two-burner stove when a
wooden insert adds a 24" x 24" surface. Adequate
storage for utensils and stores for short cruises is
outboard and below the counters and stove, and
behind the settee.
A forward-facing navigation station to port has a
30" x 26" chart table with storage below a
comfortable 27" wide seat. The electronics panel is
on the small side (at least for American technos).
The head is a wide-open, low-maintenance molded
fiberglass compartment with enough elbow room to
allow showering in relative comfort.
Aft staterooms have more than six feet of headroom.
The doubles on our test boat were furnished with 80"
long queen-sized berths, and two-door lockers that
are larger than we are accustomed to seeing on 36
-footers. Spaces below the berths are occupied by
tanks.
The real beneficiaries of, the small cockpit/single
head arrangement are the skipper and mate. The
master stateroom forward is furnished with a
queen-sized (78" x 54") berth outboard to port, a
small L-shaped settee, book- shelves, and two
double-doored cabinets. It's a big space on a mid
sized boat. With a deck hatch, overhead light, and
two reading lights providing illumination, the space
will nicely double as a cubicle in which to retreat
with a book.
Construction
Dufour's construction methods are on a par with
other high-end production builders. The company
produces the 36 Classic to meet Bureau Veritas
Standard One and CE Category A, both standards for
unrestricted off- shore cruisers,
The hull is constructed of one layer of fiberglass
mat in vinyl ester resin, and six layers of
fiberglass mat and tri and bi-directional non-woven
glass, all hand-laid.
The hull above the waterline is cored with
high-density PVC foam; the entire structure is
vacuum-bagged in an effort to achieve a void-free
bond. After the hull is cured, a solid fiberglass
grid that provides multi- directional support and a
base for furniture is bonded to the hull and
reinforced with secondary laminations. Then,
bulkheads are tabbed and glassed to the hull and
deck, and cabinetry is installed.
The hull-deck joint consists of an inward-oriented
flange on the hull, onto which the deck is laid and
bond- ed with Sikaflex adhesive, and self- tapping
screws secured on six-inch centers. After the
toerail is laid over the joint, it is secured with
self-tappers. Though we prefer bolts, nuts, and
backing plates, Dufour's method satisfies the Bureau
Veritas standard.
Dufour's warranty states that any part manufactured
by the company will be free of defects caused by
faulty workmanship or materials for a period of 12
months from the date of delivery to the first-use
purchaser. It also states that the hull of each boat
will be free from structural defects in materials
and workmanship, and free from gel- coat blistering
on underwater surfaces of the hull, excluding the
keel and rudder, for a period of 10 years.
Performance
We sailed her on a typically blustery day on San
Francisco Bay in 15-20 knots of wind with a 1-2 foot
chop on the nose when sailing to weather. Our test
boat, with Guy Frank of Cruising Specialists in
Alameda aboard, was powered by a 120 % UK Dacron
head- sail and main at fall hoist. Though she heeled
15-20 degrees when we were hard on the wind, we
didn't feel over- powered and the helm was balanced.
Since the boat was recently commissioned, we sailed
without the benefit of electronics, but our spar fly
and compass indicated a tacking angle between 80 and
90 degrees. As we beat across San Francisco Bay and
began taking water over the deck, we de-powered the
main and the ride became drier without sacrificing
pointing ability. She cleanly knifed two-foot waves.
By ranging on marks on land, we estimated boat speed
up- wind at better than six knots. Easing sheets, we
put her on a beam reach, and felt her accelerate
without loading up the helm. Since she was equipped
with an Autohelm 4000, we engaged the unit and found
that she tracked well despite being slightly over
canvassed.
As we returned to the marina, the Saildrive, with a
fixed two-blade propeller, allowed Frank to back
down a long finger, turn her 360 degrees in a boat
length, and slip between two moored boats without
putting a ding on the new gelcoat.
Standard gear vs. Grand Cruise
Excepting the absence of an electronics package, the
"Cruising Version" of the 36 Classic is equipped
well enough to meet the needs of most weekend
sailors, Standard gear includes a mainsail and genoa
on a furler, fully equipped galley and head,
pressurized hot and cold water, VHF radio, ground
tackle, and Dufour dishes for six. The engine is a
30-hp Volvo 2030 Saildrive that powered our test
boat quietly at six-plus knots.
The significant additions to the "Grand Cruiser"
version ($6,280) are Autohelm ST6O electronics with
log, speed, depth sounder, and wind speed, and an
MLR FX 312 GPS. A second cabin top winch adds $726
to the price, and an Autopilot ST5000 $4,151.
A" Performance Package" adds spinnaker gear, larger
winches, an adjustable backstay, and folding
propeller.
Conclusions
This is a well-constructed, sea kindly sloop in the
mid-price market that will vie for attention with
Hunter, Jeanneau, Beneteau, and Catalina.
Though we sailed her in stiff breezes, we'd guess
she'll perform well in wind speeds as light as five
knots. When the wind freshens, she shows a good a
turn of speed, and is well- mannered. The deck
arrangement makes for easily double handling, and a
cockpit with space for six on a 36-footer is large
enough for our tastes.
Spaces below decks are well-conceived and executed.
Lounging spaces are large enough for 4-6; we think
Dufour made an intelligent decision when the second
head was removed. Sleeping accommodations in the
three-cabin version are large enough to accommodate
six comfortably, but empty-nesters will likely
appreciate the larger quarters in the two cabin
version.
The current price for the Cruising Version is
$130,537; for the Grand Cruising Version, $136,760
(FOB New York or Baltimore).
The 36 Classic will boost competition in the
American production boat market. It's good to see
Dufour back.
This article was published in the June 2002
edition of Practical Sailor
Pictures from the article reproduced above are by
Dufour
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