Canadian Yachting April 2023 - 22

Dufour's big boat features include a drop-down swim platform for easy boarding, hidden life raft storage, and a summer galley integrated into
transom.
the one in the cockpit. A couple with kids
or two friends will never feel crowded.
The Dufour 37 is offered with a two or
three-cabin layout and a single head. With
only two cabins spec' d, the third area aft
on starboard becomes a stowage space
where to tuck away provisions, tools,
luggage and more. Even better, it can be
accessed via the cockpit bench so it' s a
bit of a garage for fenders and lines too.
Another benefi t of the two-cabin layout is
that the head becomes larger and a small
nav desk is added to the aft end of the starboard
salon settee. You could shoehorn in
a third cabin, but why?
For those times when you fi nd yourself
with extra guests, Dufour offers a solution
for extra bedding in the saloon. The port
settee can be made into a double bed with
an infl atable insert cushion which can also
be used in the cockpit to expand the bench
lounge space. In fact, Dufour is all about
infl atables these days and even offers an
infl atable sunbed to be used on the bow
for when you want to settle into a good
book while at anchor.
PERFORMANCE
We tested hull # 2 of the new design on
Chesapeake Bay. We had a perfect breez e
of 10-12 knots and nearly fl at water so we
could hardly ask for better conditions. In
10 knots of wind, we made good 6.5 knots
of speed ( SOG) on a beam reach and
managed to pinch up to 35 degrees apparent
wind angle ( AWA) where we still held
on to 6.2 knots. After playing with the
self-tacking j ib ( which is insanely easy
when short-handed) we used the gennaker
on a top/down furler which we could
carry up to 60 degrees AWA.
The helm was very responsive and the
boat felt light and agile. In fact, we had
to take care not to overturn the tacks,
she was so fast in switching direction. In
intermittent gusts, we still stayed upright
as the small boat leaned on her hull chine
and heeled very little - about 18 degrees.
Although standard propulsion is provided
by an 18-hp engine, we enjoyed the
extra power of the upgraded 30-hp Volvo
diesel that pushed us along easily at a 6.5knot
cruise at 2100 rpm. We topped out at
7.8 knots and 3100 rpm. I was surprised to
see controls for a SidePower bow thruster
on such a small model, but it came in
handy while docking in a cross breez e
and I' m not too proud to use a thruster to
avoid an imprecise landing or an awkward
situation.
A LOT OF BOAT
The funny thing about the Dufour 37 is
that the hull is only 33 feet long. When
asked about this, Dufour company representatives
said that it " just feels bigger "
and the name isn' t exactly representative
of the LOA as one would expect. They're
22 CANADIAN YACHTING | APRIL 2023
not wrong - it does feel like a much more
substantial platform.
The new model delivers greater comfort,
more usable space and better sailing
performance so the specs become j ust
numbers on a page. Another number on
a page is the sail-away price which in
our case was just around $200,000 USD.
You'd be hard-pressed to fi nd this much
boat for that much money.
If you' re in the market for a sub-fortyfoot
sailboat, maybe you should " feel " the
new Dufour 37 for yourself. Chances are,
once you sail one, you won' t think about
numbers on a page at all.
SPECIFICATIONS
LENGTH OVERALL: 35' 4 " / 30' 7 "
BEAM: 12' 6 "
DRAFT: 6' 3 "
DISPLACEMENT: 14,874 lbs
FUEL CAPACITY: 62 GALS /230 L
BALLAST: 4,100 LBS
SAIL AREA: 646 SQ FT
POWER: 19-HP VOLVO PENTA
DIESEL (30-HP AS TESTED)
DESIGNER: FELCI YACHT DESIGN
BUILDER: DUFOUR YACHTS
DUFOUR-YACHTS.COM

http://www.DUFOUR-YACHTS.COM

Canadian Yachting April 2023

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