Dufour - Bloody good sailing boats

by Helen Hopcroft on 22 Mar 2007 In 2001 French boat builder Dufour formed a partnership with the highly regarded Italian boatyard Cantiere Del Pardo, who build the luxurious Grand Soleil Yachts.

Dufour's Australian distributor is Antill Marine. Sail-World spoke to Jason Antill as he was driving to Melbourne for this weekend's Club Marine Sail Boat Show.

Antill says that the partnership with Cantiere Del Pardo, and the related association with Grand Soleil, has heralded a new era in design and styling for Dufour.

'Over the last three or four years Dufour have really rebuilt themselves in Europe. They've been able to share the design philosophies between the two companies and as a result we've got some really nice, stylish fast cruisers in the production market.'

Dufour's recent results speak for themselves. Their Grand Large range has won a number of industry awards. The Dufour 365 Grand Large was voted French Boat of the Year in 2005. It was later voted Boat of the Year 2006 by IPC Magazines; Yachting World, Yachting Monthly and Practical Boat Owner.

The March edition of Yachting Monthly said that the 365 (35'6' or 10.82m) model 'gives a lot of sailing pleasure for little work.' It is a 'thoroughly competent all round family cruising yacht which works well in all departments and has an outstanding fore cabin.'

Antill Marine is making sure the latest models are available at boat shows around Australia. Immediate plans are for the 325 with the popular 385 to on display in Melbourne. You will need to wait until May to see the first 365 at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show. The 425 will launch at the Sydney Boat Show in August.

The popularity of the 325 & 365 in Europe unfortunately means that only a limited number are available to be imported this year. The company has imported two of each model available for immediate delivery, with the next arrivals due early summer.

Antill says that the new Dufour range stands out because of its strong sailing characteristics, intelligent design and quality build and finish.

'They're just bloody good sailing boats.'

'A lot of cruising boats in our market just don't sail at all well. They're just not designed for easy sailing. With the Dufours, sailing design comes first.'

He explained that the design of the Grand Large range focuses on sail-ability, strength and maximizing internal volume. He says that their best features are their 'design and styling, structural integrity and their build quality.'

'If you design a yacht with excellent sailing characteristics, it actually creates a lot of interior volume. Many of the boats in today’s market are being designed to reduce construction costs in order to get the price down to satisfy the charter market.'

'Dufour don't do that. There's a lot more integrated strength in the support structure that stiffens the hull. And the grid is actually laminated into the boat. And that gives you a really strong platform to build your boat off.'

'At the floor level in the boat; the hull shape is quite flat and the hull sides very vertical to the waterline. So what that does is create a large interior space inside the boat.'

'Most people think our 38 footers are 40 footers. If you put our 38 next to a 40 footer and you jump in, you can't see the difference. You don't get the hull angling in at the bulkhead. It stays very square allowing the interior design to appear spacious and comfortable with the added bonus, you have a yacht that can sail'

Antill Marine @ Sydney Harbour

Cabarita Point
Cabarita NSW 2137 Tel: +61 2 8004 2035 Fax: +61 2 8210 5175
Email: info@antillmarine.com.au