From her aggressive bow sections to her low-profile topsides, stylish super structure and royal blue paint work, the new Dufour is a striking boat. She is the first of a new range in which style and performance are high priorities. The formula sounds Italian and the boat looks like a Grand Soleil. Coincidence ? Not really. Dufour and Grand Soleil are in the same group and Umberto Felci designs hulls for both.

Design

The lines of the Dufour 40 reflect the current trend towards bows with pronounced hollow and very fine entry. The waterline then sweeps out to a moderate beam, which reaches its maximum well aft of amidships before tucking in gently to a transom which is also moderate. Below the waterline, the hull is a balance between fine sections for speed and volume for load carrying and family cruising. This balance looked to us to be struck toward the performance end of the spectrum. The keel is a high-aspect fin with a substantial bulb at the foot and moderate draft. The rudder is a very slim spade.

Below Decks

There is little evidence of the compromise between speed and comfort below decks, where Patrick Roseo has made a good job of creating a layout with appeal across a broad spectrum, from couples on their own to families or even charter parties. The version we sailed had been optimized for a crew of six in three double cabins with two heads. Other versions include two cabins and a single head or three cabins and a single head. Our test boat was a prototype so we were disappointed but not overly surprised, to find a few building blemishes and some areas that had not been thought through to their final form. However, we have seen many modifications fitted to subsequent boats in the factory.

Whichever layout option is chosen, the middle third of the boat remains the same. This is arranged conventionally, with an L-shaped galley to prot of the companionway, a head to starboard and the saloon stretching right across the boat ahead of them.

Because she carries her beam well aft, the accommodation is at its widest where width is most needed, in the area of the heads and galley. By the time you reach the saloon, beam has reduced considerably, so she does not suffer from the wide-open spaces which can make saloons of this size impersonal and, at sea, exposed. Our boat was warmly fitted out in cherry, but subsequent models will be in light mahogany.

The dinette to port is a shallow C-shape with easy access round the table. Opposite is a short settee, which increases seating round the table to a comfortable six with the leaf up, but which is too short, at 1.63m (5ft 4in) to be used for sleeping. The port bunk, though is 2.05m (6ft 9in) long without removing the seat cushions. The table is firmly mounted and has shallow fiddles. There is a large bottle locker in the central section and the portside leaf drops down to create a double bunk. Stowage either side of the saloon is good, in the form of two deeply fiddled and well-ventilated lockers either side of a bookshelf. The locker doors are supported by struts which seemed to us too fragile. Behind the settees are long, unfiddled shelves and the settee backs remove to reveal more small lockers. There is further stowage in the seat bases.

The saloon is reasonably well lit and ventilated. There is an overhead hatch, two long, narrow windows in the hull and two opening and two fixed port lights in the coachroof. Overhead, there are eight halogen spotlights but no reading lights. The area is unusually well supplied with grab rails, which make it very safe at sea.

Our boat was fitted with two after cabins and the extra head in the fore cabin. Having seen the alternative version at the Southampton Show, we can say that the single head certainly allows for a better fore cabin. The advantage of the format we tested is that the occupier of the fore cabin has a head en suite, which is what owners of 12.3m (40ft) sailboats seem to expect these days.

The head compartment does push the bunk slightly forward, making the foot of the bunk narrow; but since it is 2.29m (7ft 6in) long, the last half meter is not really needed. At shoulder level the bunk 1.66m (5ft 6in) wide. The cabin has a spacious feel which is only slightly spoiled by the lack of ports, which makes the compartment a bit dark. With an opening hatch and a mushroom ventilator thought, there is plenty of air circulating. Stowage is generous and consists of a unit with shelves and a hanging locker plus shelves down the hull sides, as well as some useful stowage aft of the water tank under the bunk.

The heads are a reasonable size and well equipped. There is sufficient floor area for comfortable showering and easy access to seacocks. Holding tanks, however, are extra.

The two aftercabins are more or less identical. they have good standing areas and locker units and shelves similar to those forward. the bunks are 1.95m (6ft 5in) long and 1.32m (4ft 4in) wide. The port cabin has an additional, unusual and valuable row of lockers let into the inboard bulkhead which, apart from providing a small amount of general stowage, gives access to batteries and their switching gear and engine ancillaries.

The after head in our version is virtually identical to that forward. If only one aftercabin is required, the head gains a separate shower cubicle and the cockpit an extra, very deep locker.

The galley is not quite as large as some 12m boats can boast but it is perfectly adequately equipped for extended cruising. This was, however, one area where Dufour was still working out the detail, but from what we could see there will be plenty of structured stowage above and below the work surfaces. the icebox, cooled by Frigoboat compressor, is a generous size but was fitted with a couple of rather nasty plastic boxes. An opening port provides ventilation.

The navigator has a big, wrap-around table with plenty of instrument space, including a special console for radar and plotter. There is a bookshelf and stowage lockers for bosunry and tools, and a big bin under the navigator's seat.

Overall, we felt the interior was well put together and tidily finished. Headroom throughout is generous, varying little from 1.97nm (6ft 5in) in the saloon to 1.94m (6ft 4in) in the cabins. The design manages the trick of appearing to be spacious as well as fully fitted.

On deck

The graceful rounded superstructure by Patrick Roseo is narrow, leaving room for wide side decks bounded by a teak toe rail and with long and secure grab rails on the cabin top. Non-Slip is generally good except on the curved coachroof edges. Deck hardware, such as cleats, is adequate for normal use. The bow roller, on the other hand, is not up to serious cruising standards. Access to the cockpit over low coamings is easy. The well is long and wide, though narrowing towards the forward end, where it is possible to use the leeward seat as a foot brace. The seats themselves are quite low but comfortably angled. The helmsman has a raised central seat and comfortable wing seats as well as moldings on the coamings, so he has plenty of options. The central seat removes to give access to the boarding platform. In the sole at the after end of the cockpit there is very good access to steering flats and to a liferaft locker.

The boat is rigged for short-handed sailing, with the mainsheet traveller on the cockpit sole just ahead of the binnacle and the genoa sheet winches located right aft by the wheel. It is actually quite difficult for the crew to handle the genoa sheets and keep a good eye on the sail itself.

The binnacle is low, so the wheel, though not exceptionally large, has to run in shallow groove in the cockpit sole. The mainsheet, being so close to the binnacle occassionally drops into the trough and jams the wheel. The sailing instruments are unusually (and in our view) incorrectly mounted on either side of the binnacle, where they can be seen by the helmsman if he is sitting on the coamings but not if he is behind the wheel.

The general stowage lockers under the cockpit seats are on the small side in the version with two aftercabins. The gas-bottle locker is also compact, with room for two small bottles. Fortunately, the chain locker in the foredeck is larger than normal and can act as a fender store. It also contains a manual windlass.

She is nine-tenths rigged, with the mast set well forward and supported by twin spreaders, with discontinuous upper, intermediate and after lower shrouds. An inner forestay is an option. The genoa is small and easily managed. Even so, Dufour has generously provided Harken 48 self-tailing winches to handle the sheets. The rest of the deck gear, by Harken and Spinlock, is well up to the job except, possibly, the pair of Harken 40 halyard winches on the coachroof. Those of normal strength might prefer Harken 42's. The standard inventory includes a short battened main and roller furling for the genoa.

Under Sail

Over the two days of trials we experience a range of conditions from flat calm to Force 5, providing a good, all round test for the boat. We began, though, by gilling around in the approaches to La Rochelle hunting for the weakest zephyrs. With little more than six to eight knots blowing, we kept her fairly free (around 40º to the apparent wind) and managed to build up an impressive boat speed of 4.7 to five knots. This proved to be by far her best point of sailing in these conditions. Before we had a chance to do any serious windward work, though, the wind packed its bags for the day. The helm was, not surprisingly, very light, but also very positive. Helming the boat from the coamings where you need to be to read the instruments, the wheel was a long arm's reach away and we were pleased to hear that Dufour are planning to raise the binnacle and install a bigger wheel.

Day two began with a little more breeze in which we made 5.5 knots at 60º to wind with almost neutral helm. Coming up to 45º, the apparent wind rose to 11 to 13 knots and she accelerated to 6.5 knots. The wind continued to build until we were topping eight knots in 16 knots of apparent wind. The log eventually peaked at 8.5 knots in 18 knots apparent.

Hard on the wind, she slipped into a comfortable groove from the start with just the lightest pressure on the fingers. At 30º to the wind we made between 6.5 and seven knots in winds between 16 and 19 knots apparent and tacked through 85º. She came through the wind quickly and was soon back in her stride without the need to bear away to regain speed. Even in the strongest winds, weather helm was no more than a gentle pressure and the angle of heel was around 20º. We felt no need to reef in this wind strength and she stood up to her canvas well. Downwind, we retained good control and she came through the gybe cleanly. Heaving-to proved disappointing: she lay very beam-on and made half a knot or more of leeway.

The overall impression of the two days, though, was of a boat with loads of performance potential, perhaps rather restrained by her sail handling lay-out, which is aimed at the average family crew rather than racing teams. She would be an interesting boat to rig for fully crewed sailing with the optional deep draft lead keel and a full set of tweaking goodies. She could just prove to be a flier. As she was, though, she was still a fast but delightfully easy to handle and a pleasure to steer. Her stability curve shows an angle of vanishing stability which is on the low side, but in normal sailing conditions she felt stiff.

Under Power

Our boat was fitted with a Volvo 55 hp diesel in place of the standard 40 hp sail drive. The installation was smooth enough, but a noisy engine room fan and limited sound proofing rather spoiled the effect.

Fifty-five horsepower is more than the boat needs. We recorded over eight knots at just below full revs with speed actually falling off under full power as the stern dug in. An economical cruising speed was just over seven knots, at 2,500 rpm. we feel sure that the 40 hp unit will do just about the same.

She handled reliably ahead and astern, even in a strong cross wind. Her turning circles are tight and she showed very little preference for port or starboard turns - there should be very few nasty surprises when manoeuvring in tight corners.

Verdict

We were impressed by this new design, which seems to strike a good balance between performance, easy handling, comfort and spaciousness. The Dufour factory, which we visited, is modern in its methods and appears to be producing hulls which are rigid and interiors which are close fitting and well finished.

The standard inventory is reasonably comprehensive. A"Cruiser" pack and basic electronics options are available.

Dufour was once Europe's biggest builder, but subsequently declined to the point where it rented out most of its extensive factory buildings. It was good to see that the company is again in full possession of its facilities.

Technical Specifications & Options (UK Pricing not reproduced below)

Options

»Cruiser pack (incl electric windlass, battery charger, seawater foot pump, stereo radio/DC, boarding gates, warps, fenders, Dufour Crockery for eight.
»Electronics pack (incl 2 x ST60 wind, 2 x Tridata ST60, multi, Furuno GPS, Autopilot
»Performance Pack No longer available - Individual options available to build a performance package
»Other Options See US options lists
 

Construction

The hulls are laid using chopped strand mat and woven rovings, Isophthalic, osmosis-resistant resins are used for the gel coat and first laminate. Above the waterline, a PVC foam core is vacuum bagged in place, and below the waterline a structural tray of floors and stringers is bonded and laminated to the hull. The PVC cored deck is one of the largest to be made by a production boat builder using resin transfer molding techniques, which the company is pioneering. The result is a light structure with a high finish inside and out. The hull and deck are mechanically fastened, then laminated together.

For:
»Lively performance
»Easy handling
»Good interior design
 

Against:
»Some interior detailing to be improved
»Gas bottle storage
»Deck and sail handling layout not ideal for full crews
 

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This article was written by James Jermain, and published in the January 2003 issue of Yachting Monthly in the UK. Photos similar to those published in the article are used here.
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MANUFACTURERS NOTES: (from Dufour USA)
(1) Holding Tanks are included in US Specifications and pricing.
(2) Electric Windlass is standard in US Specifications and pricing.
(3) Options Packaging may differ in the US - i.e. Cruiser Pack is Standard in US and included in pricing.

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Specifications subject to change without notice.