Dufour VS Beneteau or Jeanneau?? are Dufour better

[oceanventure2]

hi there i am looking at buying a boat from one of the above manufacturers.. my question being,

are dufour better than bene or jeaneau? i have heard a few people say this.. if so in what way are they bettter,

having owned a beneteau myself, i can say that some of the fixtures/fittings are cheap and nasty,

all info appreciated..

 

[TwinRudders]

Agree with you on NEW Beneteau - horrible inside - cheap and nasty. The older ones have a much higher standard of craftsmanship/fitting - but that's just progress apparently...

New Dufour look better - but then aren't they a lot more money?

Happy new year to all.
J

 

[oceanventure2]

they (dufour) are normally about 7% more expensive than beneteau.
the new beneteaus are cheap and nasty inside, and i rekon would fall asunder over a few years use,.,

 

[Bajansailor]

Are you on a personal crusade against Beneteau?
They must have done something right to become the biggest (in terms of output) yacht builder in the world.
I think that both Beneteau and Jeanneau are owned by the same parent company now.
I also think that it is impossible to state categorically that one boat is 'better' overall than another - this can only be somebody's personal opinion, and another person might dis-agree.
If Dufours are 7% more expensive than Bennys, one would expect the overall standard to be a bit better as well.
In this day of automated boat building (same as robots building cars) one cannot expect to have handbuilt coachwork quality for mass production prices - you pays your monies and you takes your choice.

 

[Neil_M]

Can't speak for Ben/Jen but as owner of a 2001 Dufour (30 Classic) I can confirm that it is well finished inside and out and holding up well after 4 seasons' regular use - no significant gear failures or noticeable wear and tear signs, other than a small persistent trickle from the stbd toe rail or chain plate - as with all modern boats its fiendishly hard to get to the underside of the fittings to find/fix it.

 

[davehu]

Production built boats are in the same stage of development as production built cars of the 1960's, basically poor when compared to the hand built ones. Todays Production cars are well built well designed and last well, production boats have a long way to go yetbefore they reach that stage

 

[silver-fox]

I can't answer your question but I can tell you that Dufour are owned by the same company that owns Beneteau/ Jeanneau as they were bought a few years ago when Dufor went bust.

 

[bedouin]

Dufour do have a slightly better reputation but having sailed both I can't say that I would regard one as significantly better than the other

 

[Sans Bateau]

[ QUOTE ]
as owner of a 2001 Dufour (30 Classic) I can confirm that it is well finished inside and out and holding up well after 4 seasons' regular use

[/ QUOTE ]

4 seasons use?! who said these modern boats are made to last! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Sailfree]

I have bought a new Dufour 36 then a Dufour 38 and lastly a Jeanneau 43.

The answer is really what do you want, whats important to you.

IMHO all the manufacturers are paring down on the fitting to reduce costs so it can even be unfair to compare makes of boats of different age of design. eg rear mooring cleats on the newer 43 Elan are about 60% the size of the 40 Elan.

If you are considering performance the Dufour 34/40/44 range appear good if you are considering quality/fitting construction of say the 385 etc range of Dufours I would consider the Jeanneaus better.

One major deciding factor for me was the Volvo component. On the Dufours (although new) I had problems at various times necessitating replacing the complete engine, a gearbox, a saildrive and 2 Volvo folding propellers. My boats were on the charter market so got heavy use but not abuse and were regularly maintained. I therefore finally choose a Jeaneau with a Yanmar Engine and for once have now had 2 years of troublefree ownership. While trying to be helpful Dufour do not warantee the Volvo parts and you rely on the Volvo guarantee and their attitude of have to go to court under sale of goods act. I dont buy a boat for this level of agro so hence the Yanmar engine etc was a very major factor in my choice of boat.

Where are you based? Charter boats have heavier usage and any problems are more quickly found. Ask the operators of charter companies that charter all these makes of boats and listen to their experience. When I started with HPYC about 80% of the boats were Volvo engined I think it is now down to 20%. You can either learn from others experience or buy your own!!

Minor point but I did replace the springs that support the heavy fridge lids on the Jeanneau with the sliding locking Dufour type as the slightest touch when reaching down to the bottom of the fridge had the lid crashing onto your head!

Hope this helps PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

[StugeronSteve]

Not sure what you mean by earlier bennys. I have a 2002 Oceanis, which has had five years use by family (inc big teenagers) and lads trips and still looks like new inside. They might not have the flashiest interiors, but from my experience they stay in one piece.

 

[Sailfree]

Sorry but I thought that and it was pointed out on this Forum that I was wrong . Dufour now have a tie up with Gran Soliel I believe.

Regarding Beneteaus they are owned by the same parent company as Jeanneau but operate independantly. I would be surprised though if they don't combine bulk purchasing.

The biggest difference between Jeanneau & Beneteau is the design departments with Beneteau going for an internal moulding that when glued to the hull forms the ribs and stringers while Jeanneau go for the more expensive conventional forming of seperate ribs and stringers (like the dearer Finngulf). I am not confident of a beneteaus ability to withstand impact without some delamination/seperation of the inner lining but then dont go aground or have impacts!

 

[oceanventure2]

the item on the top of my list is
1. must have yanmar, have heard to many issues with volvo saildrives.
2. engine must be easily accessible for maintenance.

 

[Glyka]

[ QUOTE ]
I can't answer your question but I can tell you that Dufour are owned by the same company that owns Beneteau/ Jeanneau as they were bought a few years ago when Dufor went bust.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that Dufour (that went bust several times) is now in the same ownership as Grand soleil and Gib Sea. The group produces these three lines of boats aiming at different budgets.

Grand Soleil : High
Dufour : Medium
Gib Sea : Low

And of course Dufour is now just a brand name and has nothing to do with pre-1980 Michel Dufour design-built and MDSA.

 

[Jonny_H]

Here

Interesting read on this subject - Dufour vs Ben

 

[jonic]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I can't answer your question but I can tell you that Dufour are owned by the same company that owns Beneteau/ Jeanneau as they were bought a few years ago when Dufor went bust.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that Dufour (that went bust several times) is now in the same ownership as Grand soleil and Gib Sea. The group produces these three lines of boats aiming at different budgets.

Grand Soleil : High
Dufour : Medium
Gib Sea : Low

And of course Dufour is now just a brand name and has nothing to do with pre-1980 Michel Dufour design-built and MDSA.

[/ QUOTE ]

Being some one who sells them and actually knows. Gibsea are no more.

Dufour are linked only to Grand Soleil.

 

[andy_wilson]

Don\'t forget Bavaria...

On the recent LIBS preview show they featured a small Bavaria and commented on how well engineered it was whilst showing a shot of the keel root.

Can't think why, all the rest of the boats had dinettes and berths and instrument panels on show!

 

[Marsupial]

As others have said it depends on what is important to you as which differences tip the balance.

I chose Jen43 because the hull is hand laid and all stiffness is integral within hull, the Dufor I believe relies on the inner mouldings to augment hull integrity, the bonding between the mouldings and the hull is structurally important and access to the hull if it is pierced is as a result more difficult - but thats what I thought was important.

However that said the latest offerings from Ben and Jen are IMHO "cheap" especially the Cyclades range from Ben. In recent times the 2000 - 2004 era for all these craft exibit better finish and the Dufor classic range (no longer in production) is very well finished the joinery in particular is very good - and they sail well.

Incidentally many of the Bavs of 2000 has a finish similar to the current Ben; is this progress?

 

[Birdseye]

[ QUOTE ]

They must have done something right to become the biggest (in terms of output) yacht builder in the world.


[/ QUOTE ]

Yes they manufacture in France which means significant government subsidies and assistance over the years. Bit like Hanse.

But then Renault are a huge car maker, and their quality leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[whisper]

Yes and I wonder where Citroens come from, as well /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif