1979 Dufour 35

[ipc51]

I'm thinking of buying a Dufour 35 for off-shore as well as around the Pacific Northwest. Looks like the fin keel would make it very responsive but does anyone know how well she tracks? And how does she sail in light winds given the moderate displacement?

[hellosailor]

IIRC a lot of the DuFours had problems with bedding and deck coring from leaks. They are generally well-loved but never had a large distribution network in the US, not even on the East Coast. Many made it as far west as England, not so many beyond that though.

[neemo]

Originally Posted by ipc51

I'm thinking of buying a Dufour 35 for off-shore as well as around the Pacific Northwest. Looks like the fin keel would make it very responsive but does anyone know how well she tracks? And how does she sail in light winds given the moderate displacement?

hi ya. im a 35 dufour owner and sail and keep my boat in the balearic islands,in the med, my boat is, a pleasure to sail, my record, is sailing alone 12 miles without touching sails ir tiller, on 1 track, i have a new profurl c350 roller reef, and standard main sail, she perform fantastic, i have, a13,6 mtr x6,5 mtrbase genoe, and another, 13.6mtx9mtr base, acheiving 5 to 7 nts in moderate wind.you want be dissapointed in these boats,if your searching for a doufour let me no back i will answer \help you were possible ,just to add, i sail modern boats often, let me tell youm i know the best boat to sail when it blows and for long distance, cheers brian

[robsea69]

Hello IPC. I owned a 1979 Dufour 35 for 19 yrs. Sailed it in SoCal and Lake Michigan. I cannattest to the fact that yes, she tracks very well. has the slightest amount of weather helm, but has extremely good sea manners. If the vessel were properly surveyed and put in good repair, I would not hesitate to take one offshore. I could sail her in 23-24 AWI and not have to shorten sail. She will heel, but only to a point and then she digs in, providing for a very comfortable feel. Also you may notice that the cockpit with the high seatbacks also aid in that comfort at sea factor. AS HelloSailor pointed out, the decks are somtheing that require an attentive eye. Delam can be an issue. I had to fill several voids in my deck w/ epoxy, but it was not a horrble job. To offset the cosmetic blemishes, I recovered the non-skid areas with Treadmaster, a wonderful product from the UK (I Think). I would also seriously look at the deck to hull joint. Any older boat needs to have this srea thoroughly scrutinized. One issue that I deemed a "short-cut" was the fact that the aluminum toe-rail was riveted to the hull instead of screwed in. One last thing, even though the bost id basically a flush deck, its extra freeboard prevents it from being a wet boat. It is rather dry in fact! The deck doesn't drain particularly well, but that is a design flaw with the toerail. Hope that info is useful to you. I will be happy to answer any more specific questions you might have. BTW, my vessel was fitted with a Volvo MD17C 35 HP engine which was way more than adequate. 2500 RPM = 7 knots! Low revving engine though.