What about Dufour yachts?

[Rico(IT)]

Hello everybody!

I recently moved in California from Italy, back there I had an old 27feet Nitek sailboat that unfortunately I had to sell before coming here for few money...

Last week I went with my GF in Marina del rey at the fisherman village on Fiji Way to have lunch. Wile I was riding my bicycle I saw a beautiful sailboat! a 40 foot Dufour brand new!

I asked the guys at the office and they show me the boat... I have to say that a I was impressed in how well finish the boat was! inside and outside.. Nice teak deck, 2 big cabins, nice design saloon, electric winches, two rudder wheels and so on.

The seller said that this brand is a very well known brand in France and lately the company is engaging the US market. Actually I really liked that boat but I need more info before spending that money instead of buying a new house !!

My question: do you "expert guys" have any knowledge about Dufour boats ?
any opinion ?
How do they sail ?
Did you guys ever had a ride in one of those yachts ?
Do you have one !!!?

Thank you in advance for your answers !!!

 

[LuzSD]

never been on one but have admired one in our marina for years, I love the look of that boat! Will be interested to see what responses you get!

 

[Tim R.]

I have never sailed one but about 10 years ago a broker insisted on showing me one and I was not impressed. I have a feeling that their limited quantities in the US make them difficult to sell as the broker was very intent on selling me that boat. I had already told him I was not interested but he persisited until I broke the relationship.

This may be relevent:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gener...z-going-down-dufour-grand-soleil-trouble.html

Search the boards at sailnet.com and you will find lots of info.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Tim is too modest to tell you this. If you really want a fine moderately priced sailboat it would be hard to beat his Caliber. A much better boat than the Dufour IMHO.

 

[redhead78]

Ditto on that Caliber LRC, its a beauty.............. Red

 

[higgs]

Dufour's have been available on and off in the US since at least the late 70s. Not sure if the company is the same group, but they have always been out of France. I have been told their availability new in the US varies depending on currency values. From what I see they are a decent boat. Completely different philosophy than the Caliber, which also a good boat.

 

[KD3PC]

older ones sail very well, have not been aboard new ones (1998 or later). They fail to appeal to many Americans, as the style is certainly more European than those boats made specifically for north america.

I would suspect the "older" boats might be a better quality, as the past several years have been tough for Dufour.

They have been marketed in the states for some years, some of those more aggressively than others, with mixed success

Best of luck and I would certainly do a test sail, but I would also look at the LRC

 

[Rico(IT)]

Thanks guys for your answer!

I just reserved a sea trial on the Dufour 405 ( http://www.dufour-yachts.com/boat-dufour-405-7.html ) for next week I will tell you more after this sailing...

Hope is going to be windy that day!

Are you guys going to the boat show in SD this week end?

 

[higgs]

SD baot show? Long drive for me.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

fwiw, I crew on a 2005 dufor 34 shoal. the shoal draft hurts us in racing upwind, but we are very fast downwind.

nice well built boat, Except for the wire.

I do not think its tinned, since the front bow lights wires fell apart. (but the runs were nice, and had a plastic junction box int he anchor well so I could splice in new run to the bow light.

Oh, this boat has a sail drive. very quiet, but it doesn't have enough hours to make an opinion on maintenance.

 

[WGP]

Dufour has new owners Bavaria group. Dufour and Grand Soleil are under the new ownership of Bavaria. They will remain as three seperate boatbuilders as as the owners discribe the product lines like the car world. Bavaria is the Volkswagon (German), Dufour is Audi (French) and Grand Soleil is the Porsche (Italian). To compare the Caliber it's a long range "cruiser" with skeg hung rudder, simi full keel, and not the performance hull shape as the Dufour. The Dufour line of boats are more performance cruisers rather than long range cruisers and they have a line of performance racers also. Have sailed the Dufour 525 and 405 with the local dealer and they are easily driven hulls with wide open deck areas and low cabin structures. Great lines !
Let me know about your experience on the trial sail.

 

[Rico(IT)]

Guys it was cool, Also because of a nice 12 knt !! I loved those electric winches!
The D405 grand Large was pretty fast for a cruising boat we were cruising beam reach at 8 knt!


And there were free sandwiches!!

 

[Ducati]

I really like Dufours, they are well made and sail very nice. I believe the hulls are vinylester and manufactured using "scrimp" technology.

However, unless you plan on keeping the Dufour forever I might consider something else. Selling a sailboat when you are finished with it becomes a challenge especially if you have a rare model or something that is not mainstream. You limit you future buyers and in turn will probably get less money that you were expecting.

I chose my boat (Beneteau 36.7) for its sail performance capabilities but more for its future marketability. I figure the brand name is well know and the type of boat with its huge following may also help me when it comes time to sell.

But what do I know, the economy could tank just when it comes time for me to sell and nothing will matter at that point.