34 Dufour

Source: David Lockwood, Boatpoint Magazine

In the mind-boggling world of thermal diffusion, the Dufour effect is a difficult concept to comprehend. But out on Sydney Harbour, David Lockwood has no problem explaining the effect of the sizzling new Dufour 34

In mock contrast to the racing yachts zipping this way and that, we sailed nonchalantly along Sydney Harbour and sallied stress-free several miles out to sea.

Whereas they were yelling “starboard”, 10 deep on the rails, madly grinding winches and trimming spinnaker sheets, we cruised about with our feet up and a feeling of glee.

Our yacht on this race day, the delightful Dufour 34, is surely one of the most user-friendly yachts on the market. And unlike the racing set, our Saturday sortie proved that you don’t need lots of crew, a loud voice and a bloodthirsty spirit to go sailing.

But don’t mistake ease of handling for sluggishness. Once clear of the harbour, the dapper Dufour 34 knifed to windward at mid-six knots in 10kt of true wind. It was sprightly and responsive, with a real willingness for adventure beyond the hubbub of the harbour.

At sea, the yacht felt like a much bigger boat as it powered over the waves instead of diving through them, and without shipping water. The hull derives lift from its buoyant forward sections. It was apparent when looking over the transom that the weight has been kept out of the stern, too.

In fact, before long we were keeping company with the maxis racing home in their offshore series. Just as easily, I could have cruised north to Pittwater – we could see the headlands calling – or headed back inshore, dropped anchor (optional windlass fitted), removed the lift-out transom panel and scoffed lunch on the transom and clip-in swim ladder.

At rest, occasional crew will find the private second cabin to their liking. In between fore and aft cabins is an accommodating saloon for entertaining. The yacht’s fine lines drew a lot of attention on Sydney Harbour and, as such, one should expect visitors aboard.

DESIGNS LINES
Launched at last year’s Southampton Boat Show, the Dufour 34 is one the French company’s new range of Umberto Felci-designed sleek performance-cruiser yachts. Felci is a well-known Italian yacht racer and designer with an apparent hankering for fast and pretty yachts.

The hull maximises its waterline length (and speed) by way of a bluff bow and narrower waterline beam than the old Dufours. Stability comes from the broad aft sections and deep lead keel. In the slop on the harbour, the well-ballasted yacht rolled only so far before coming back up.

The stiff hull is fashioned from vacuum-bagged PVC foam composite and fibreglass for the decks, which are laid up using a resin-transfer process. This means the deck is a one-piece moulding comprising both outer and inner liners. There are weight savings of 40 per cent compared to decks with separate liners, says Dufour.

The hull itself is made from solid fibreglass. Twaron, a kind of high-tech aramid fibre, is used for rigidity in the laminated stringer system. The bulkheads are glassed to the hull, and the semi-elliptical rudder is made with closed-cell epoxy foam for weight savings. It hangs off a stainless-steel stock on self-aligning bearings. Result: a balanced helm.

DRIVING FORCE
The alloy twin-spreader mast, which flies a 9/10th fractional rig, was deck-stepped with a stainless-steel compression post and solid boom vang. The demo boat had optional tri-radial kite gear and pole (asymmetric kite also available).

The kite came as something of a surprise considering this yacht was fitted with a Cruising Pack, though owners shouldn’t be complaining. A kite will come in handy for reaching north or racing on Saturdays when a few spare hands are onboard. The yacht should sail to its IRC rating.

There are both shoal draft and deep lead keel options. The latter on the demo yacht had a 1.90m draft and 1670kg of ballast for the 5700kg lightship. A self-feathering prop was fitted, and future Dufour 34s can be fitted with a new factory-fitted Performance Pack which, aside from the deep lead keel on the test boat, includes a taller mast with Dyneema halyards and running rigging, Dyform standing rigging, and the adjustable genoa cars seen here.

The Cruising Pack fitted to the demo boat included an extra battery, Shorepower (including battery charger), seawater pump in the galley, roller blinds on the deck hatches, sound system, outboard engine bracket, anchors, fenders, mooring lines and crockery for six. As such, the Dufour 34 was a sail-away package. And it sailed away rather well.

The optional, deep-roach fully-battened Elvstrom mainsail, with lazyjacks and boom bag, is a powerful sail, while the roller-furling genoa passes easily through the tacks. The adjustable 32:1 backstay was the only real compromise.

There wasn’t much room for the stays and the helmsman in the limited space behind the big (optional) leather-bound wheel. Sit or stand to one side, be it the low or high sides, and they won’t rub your noggin. This way you’ll also enjoy great views forward.

I thought it brilliant that all of the key controls – the traveller and mainsheet and jib sheets – are within easy reach of the skipper. While there isn’t much room for crew to trim the headsail, the setup works well for shorthanded sailing. I sailed the yacht pretty much on my own through the harbour melee and enjoyed the fact that the simple layout left more time for enjoying the sailing. All the halyards, the single-line reefing system, vang and outhaul lead to clutches on the cabin top.

The optional wheel was mounted on a moulded pedestal with Autohelm wind, speed and depth gauge, and VHF radio at hand. There were also autopilot and GPS, optional lifelines, upgraded teak cockpit and stainless-steel bowsprit. The cockpit shower comes standard.

The throttle for the Volvo was within easy reach of my boat shoe. Under power, the Dufour 34 was doubly manoeuvrable, no less sprightly and confidence-building for new captains. The upgraded Volvo 29hp diesel with Saildrive gave about 8kt top speed and a comfortable 6–7kt continuous cruise. Consider it an easy boat to park before the throng at the marina or club.

Crew will like the fact that the decks are easy to get around. At sea, depending on what tack we were on and where the sunlight fell, either cockpit seat was used by my partner as a daybed – much to the amusement of the passing yacht-racing parade. Under the starboard seat was a massive sail/storage locker. The liferaft has its own dedicated space at the transom.

Set up as it was, the smart-looking little French 34-footer turned a lot of heads as we cruised the harbour. You can also turn the boat into a racy rig and join the rabble around the cans. We liked it as it came. Down below was no less impressive.

INTERIOR GLOSS
The contemporary interior design with light mahogany joinery, which seemed to be assembled with more care than other Dufours I have sailed, is a sign of continual improvement in the French factory. It’s as though Dufour is really backing itself with this new Performance-Cruiser range.

The Patrick Roseo-designed interior reminded me of a Parisian apartment, with a kitchenette, guests’ accommodation and a nice big head to starboard – handy to the companionway for crew and at-sea visitations. Features include a wet locker, manual loo, pressurised hot handheld shower (courtesy of a heat-exchanger or shorepower), moulded washbasin and stainless-steel handrail. Ventilation is by deck hatch and/or opening port light.

The portside aft cabin has 1.82m of headroom at the foot of the double bed, whose 10cm-thick foam mattress measures 200cm by 150cm. There’s a hanging locker and a couple of shelves, a shoe locker that doubles as a seat, and access to the engine’s gearbox and fuel supply.

An L-shaped synthetic stone counter traced by fiddle rails and featuring twin sinks is at the portside galley. There’s a two-burner gimballed gas stove/oven (dedicated gas-bottle locker outdoors), 12V top-loading fridge with ice-tray, and a subfloor crumb tray.

Among the storage spaces are two pull-out drawers for provisions. The cutlery drawer and bootleg locker are features of the huge dinette. Five deck hatches and various opening port lights help with ventilation.

I tried on the nav station for size and consider the chart table to be big enough, and the seat to be okay in a seaway. I also noted that the instrument panel was angled for easy viewing. Thanks to icons and French/English labelling, the 12V switch panel wasn’t hard to workout.

Beyond the beamy saloon and its opposing lounges, which can double as sea berths when fitted with lee clothes, is the forward cabin with 1.77m of headroom at the foot of a 210cm by 165cm double vee-berth. The his and hers vented hanging lockers suggest that this is the owner’s cabin. There was a shoe locker/seat too, and timeless blue and beige or buff fabrics.

After a day of Dufouring, one can’t help but think that this a lot of boat for about $250,000. Optimised with the Performance Pack, the yacht will perform well in Saturday club races and IRC offshore events such as Coffs Harbour. Midweek, it will host social racing with aplomb.

But whenever you care to cast the lines, the yacht will be willing. As I said, you don’t need any more than one crew to go places. And when you get to where you are going, the twin-cabin layout with full headroom and an aft head (or optional three-cabin layout with head for’ard) will be obliging.

A great yacht for big-city couples like, well, us.

HIGHS

• Ease of handling
• Geared for shorthanded sailing
• Seaworthy hull and engineering
• Slippery performance under sail and motor
• Bright interior with an improved finish

LOWS

• Tight helm space between the wheel and backstays
• Not much room for crew to face for’ard and trim the headsail when racing

Boat Specification: 34 Dufour

DUFOUR 34

OPTIONS FITTED Wheel steering with instrument pods and electronics, windlass, lifelines, holding tank, teak cockpit, folding prop, fully battened mainsail and bag, spinnaker gear, deep-lead keel, engine upgrade, Cruising Pack with tender outboard bracket, extra battery, battery charger, seawater foot pump, roller blinds for hatches, CD player/FM radio, crockery, fenders and lines

GENERAL

Material: Vacuum-bagged GRP hull with aramid and foam sandwich above waterlines, with resin-transfer injected foam-cored deck

Type: Monohull

Hull length: 10.30m

Waterline length: 9.13m

Beam: 3.48m

Draft: 1.92m (deep-draft lead keel)

Displacement: 5700kg (dry)

Ballast: Deep draft keel about 1670kg

CAPACITIES

Berths: Four plus two

Fuel: 90lt

Water: 285lt

ENGINE

Make/model: Volvo 29hp

Type: Three-cylinder diesel inboard

Rated hp: 29hp

Drive: Saildrive

Prop: Self-feathering model

SAIL AREA

Main: 29.3sqm

Furling Genoa: 32.35sqm

I 12.78m, J 3.74m, P 11.83m, E 4.50m