dufour 43 comments please

[ErikKiekens]

My dear fellow sailormen:
Looking to increase my boat size (other plastic surgery will not help) I find a Dufour 43. This looks suitable for my needs, but will she behave well under sail? It is a scary thought to buy a boat for the looks of the interior, and then find that she doesn't sail well.
This one has a rather shallow draft and a fixed 3-bladed prop.
I believe this model is called the Dufour Gibsea 43. Not sure if it is the same as the Dufour Classic 43?
Any comments would be very helpful
Erik


www.nfp-nautic.co.uk

 

[Norman_E]

The Dufour Gibsea range is totally different from the Dufour Classic range. The Dufour Gibsea boats were mainly sold to the charter market and are characterised by the "Dolphin Bow" where the anchor is launched through a slot in the extended bow. In general they were designed for interior comfort and easy but not particularly good sailing, and appeared to be a pretty short lived venture around 2000/2001 by Dufour after they had bought the Gibsea brand. Earlier Gibsea boats were quite different, and it is my opinion that the Dufour Gibsea range pretty well destroyed the Gibsea brand, which Dufour now appear to have dropped. The current Dufour range includes their fast cruiser racer boats developed from the classic range, and the Grand Large which are interior volume oriented, rather like the Dufour Gibsea range.

P.S. I looked at and sea trialled a Dufour Gibsea 43 before buying my Jeanneau, and am very glad that I chose the Jeanneau.

 

[ErikKiekens]

Excellent, thank you! Which Jeanneau did you eventually buy?
Erik

 

[Norman_E]

A 1998 Sun Odyssey 45.2 which is a very good boat for the kind of sailing I do. The photo is in my avatar. These pictures show her alongside at Bozburun, Turkey, in June 2009.

 

[Sailfree]

To ensure the right comparison is made please confirm whether you are considering the Dufour classic range (36,38,41 & 43) or the Dufour Gibsea range.

I had Dufour 36 & 38 classics and they are good durable sailing boats. I never liked the Gibsea later ranges,

While I now have a Jeanneau 43 for its internal layout I would not knock the Dufour classic range - they were good AWB sailing boats better constructed than the Bavarias, Elans, Hanse IMHO and equivalent in build quality to a Jeanneau.

 

[ErikKiekens]

That's clear about the dufour gibsea
Now what about the dufour classic range? I am currently looking at a 45. The interior is magnificent. Will I regret after having sailed her?
Erik
www.nfp-nautic.co.uk

 

[Norman_E]

I have not sailed the Dufour Classic 45, but the range has a good reputation and the Classic 36 that I did a course on was a cracking little boat, fast for its size, and with no discernable vices. How old is the 45 you are looking at? I ask because I was talking to a professional skipper who had just delivered a new Dufour 40 out to the Med. He was impressed by its speed but not by the quality of its interior trim or the fact that with a big rig and only two reefs it could easily become overpressed. The older Classics always appeared well made inside, to me.

 

[Sailfree]

The Dufour classic range were all solidly built.

My 1998 36 ' is still with Hamble School of Yachting,( different owne)r, I believe and has had a very very hard life.

My 2001 38' is still with Hamble point Yacht Charters again with the new owner and still going strong.

New Dufours are like all modern boats built to a price and long term durabilty IMHO will not be as good as their predecessors.

Purely scuttlebutt but I heard the 43 was the best sailing yacht of that range.

 

[Norman_E]

The Dufour classic range were all solidly built.

My 1998 36 ' is still with Hamble School of Yachting,( different owne)r, I believe and has had a very very hard life.

My 2001 38' is still with Hamble point Yacht Charters again with the new owner and still going strong.

New Dufours are like all modern boats built to a price and long term durabilty IMHO will not be as good as their predecessors.

Purely scuttlebutt but I heard the 43 was the best sailing yacht of that range.

Your Dufour 36 was the one I sailed on!

 

[ErikKiekens]

Thank you very much for your comments! I feel a lot more confident now and will probably go for the classic 45 after viewing this weekend.
She was built in 1999
thank you!
Erik the sailorman