And I say incredible because it is not really a new boat, but a new version of the 8-year-old Dufour 310 and nevertheless it has deserved high praises from all nautical press. Yachting Monthly says about it "Impressive new small yacht", Yacht.de says: "Fresh ideas, amazing gadgets: "Dufour surprises with the announcement of a new entry-level model", Voile Magazine gives it "the 2022 Innovation Award".
It is really incredible that a remake of an older boat that was a success 8 years ago can generate so much praise, and it tells that Dufour is making something good in what regards creativity and also in what regards promotion and management of new models because the Dufour 32, compared to the older version, the 310 is a simplified and less expensive model even if with many gadgets, and a "fun" look.
The Dufour 310 was a very successful model and deserved an enthusiastic welcome from the press, generally acclaimed as being a small fast boat that looked and felt much bigger than what it really was, partially due to a two-wheel setup; it was fast and sailed very well, with the two rudders giving excellent control.
Well, so much for the two rudders that are now substituted by a single one and the two wheels by a tiller. The truth is that the boat didn't need two wheels (now optionally it can have one) but that has nothing to do with having two rudders or one, that has a lot to do with price, being the new solution much cheaper.
The two rudder solution is better for cruising because due to the necessary bigger length of a single rudder this one is necessarily more fragile to shocks (due to the size of the arm) and less reliable. Having two, even if one is destroyed, the boat remains maneuverable. The two rudder setup has disadvantages in regards to marina mobility, which doesn't seem very important in such a small boat.
The 310 comes standard with a self-tacking jib and this one too, but while the upwind sail area of the 310 was given with the self-tacking jib the one of the 32 is given with the larger genoa, and it looks it is much bigger due to that. It seems that to the press it was suggested that the considerably bigger sail area was due to a bigger mast, a mast further taken aft, a mast much more raked aft, and a mast without a backstay.
In the drawing (plan) it looks much more raked but looking at the boat sailing it looks just about the same as in the previous 310, which also did not have a backstay, and if we look at the size of both boats' mainsails we will see that the new one has only 0.5m2 more (34.0m2 to 33.5m2) and that is mostly due to a square head that was absent on the 310. So much about all other explanations.
The bigger sail area is due mostly to a bigger headsail and being the mast in the same place and with a similar height, the 5.2m2 sail area difference (22.0 to 18.8m2) seems the difference in area between a jib and a genoa, as a standard sail. And regarding that, we can see that the older 310 was sold standard with a jib on a self-tacking traveler but had a genoa track while the new boat comes without it, and only in the performance version offers a more complicated but effective 3D headsail control. Again, in the standard version, cheaper and with less control over the sail.
They also managed to convince reviewers that this boat was not only more powerful than the previous one, with more sail area, but also much lighter and much faster and therefore on Yachting World magazine the title of the review is "Sporty and Fun" while on the Yachting Monthly review ("Impressive new smaller yacht") they say that the new boat is 500kg lighter (11% of the displacement), and that is absurd taking into account that the boat is built the same way and the weight of the equipment that was taken or replaced:
Two wheels and two rudders for a tiller and one rudder set up, two winches less, substituted by a purchase system, a small genoa rail out, four small cabinets out, a traditional swimming platform substituted (that was an option) by an inflatable one, plus the weight in the new boat of an integrated bowsprit, on a 32ft boat it does not make for 500kg, not even close, and if we look at the difference of the given displacement between the two boats we will have a 40kg difference (4900 to 4940kg).
Probably that does not take into account the difference in weight between the two different swimming platforms but that difference should not be bigger than 30 or 40 kgs, so, even considering the boats equipped with those options, how can someone imagine a 500kg difference in weight when in reality it is obvious that it is less than 100kgs? Hard to believe!
So, instead of "sporty and fun" maybe we should say cheaper, and with innovative solutions, that are not necessarily better. Who would prefer a proper swimming platform, that increases the cockpit area and that has a ladder for coming out of the water to an inflated board, that will be hard to climb to, and will not provide added space? If someone wants a board like that and dispenses the swimming platform, it will be easy to find it on the market, cheaper than the price Dufour charges for it, not to mention that the boat looks ugly, sailing with that thing on the transom.
The running rigging intrudes the cockpit
Regarding sails, the absence of a genoa rail worsens sail performance (standard boat) and it will be needed a relatively expensive performance package with 3D control to improve it.
The solution of a tiller with a purchase system with a fixed point on the cockpit (an option on the 310) will provide better control of the main at the cost of a much bigger intrusion on the small cockpit, in what regards sailing the boat.
The running rigging leaves the cockpit free
Why was this not referred to by any of the press reviews? The two-wheel setup provided a cockpit free of intrusion, with everything being controlled by the two winches on the back of the boat and with the help of the self taking jib. Now if one wants to have a similar set up will not only have to buy, as an option, two winches that were standard on the previous version, as it will have one wheel, in place of two, restricting the access and the movement between the cockpit and the transom. Again a cheaper and less effective option in what regards cruising convenience.
Above the 32, below the 310. Note the number and dimensions of the cabinets
I prefer the purchase control system with a tiller, that is a more sporty option, but I bet that most that have bought the 310 ( and were many) would prefer the two-wheel option and the bigger cockpit comfort, so why not offer standard a cheaper tiller set up, maintaining the two rudders (that proved to be very effective on the 310) and offer also the two-wheel set up that proved to be very popular on the previous version? The only reason is that it would cost significantly more.
Regarding boat sail power, everything remains the same, the same hull, only 40kg less displacement and the same keel and ballast,1330kg for a cast iron L torpedo keel with 1.90m draft. The B/D is almost the same (27.1% to 26.9%) and that does not change anything significantly in what concerns stability.
Dufour 32
There are some great ideas on this version that could have been introduced on the older boat, being the more interesting the new integrated bowsprit, not only nicer but it will provide better performance with gennaker, the inflated sail bag (Still to see how resistant it will be) that seems an idea with great potential, and also the 3D control of the genoa, as a performance pack (but maintaining the genoa track on the standard version).
I like the idea of having a cockpit table that can lower and become the floor of the cockpit and that can also be used to create a longitudinal rest bed on the aft part of the boat, but I don't like the idea of taking away 4 saloon cabinets, even if it makes the space bigger and nicer. On such a small boat, if used for cruising, those cabinets are needed, especially because the ones over the galley are very simplified ones with little storage.
Dufour 310
It seems clear that at some point they wanted to do an interior with much more light and outside views and you can see that by the big black decorative band but, at some point, due to costs, they decided to maintain the small port hull of the 310. that now seems incongruous on the middle of what should have been a much bigger port hull.
Don't take me wrong, I would prefer this sailboat, hands down, over the Oceanis 30.1, it is a much better cruiser, faster, with a much bigger offshore potential. The Dufour 310 was a great little cruiser, one of the best in the market ( shares that distinction with the Hanse 315) and you can understand that reading what I said about it:
The point is that I consider that this version could have been a lot better, improving the previous version without turning that great little cruiser into a kind of hipster boat, losing in the way many great features. This boat could have been turned into a more sportive boat, as an option, without diminishing the great cruising potential of the previous boat.
And I didn't like how the nautical press absorbed the shipyard propaganda without any criticism, giving the idea that this is a new, faster, and much better, cruising boat than the previous version.
The fact is that the previous one was already a fast boat, that this one is not significantly faster (if the same sails are used), not 500kg lighter, as it was mentioned in a magazine, not with a mast brought aft, as it was said by another, but with a square-top mainsail, that could have also been mounted on the previous version, that had not a backstay to start with.
It pisses me also all those eulogistic references of a boat without a backstay as if a boat without a backstay was not only a simpler and cheaper solution, but a better solution in what regards performance sailing. it is not the case, racing boats have backstays.
Backstays are important for controlling the shape of the forward sail and give added security to the rig.
For allowing a bigger square-headed main you need to have two backstays instead of one and they are more complicated to use.
But if the backstay is eliminated to allow a bigger mainsail you don't lose only the possibility of better control over the frontal sail, you lose also the possibility of opening the mainsail in a big way while sailing downwind, and particularly in this case the spreaders are so much brought back that limit a lot that possibility, more than I ever saw in any other rig.
Even so, a very interesting sailboat at a comparatively low price, a price all these "simplifications" made possible, with the introduction of some innovative solutions that can make life at anchor more pleasant.
Also faster in standard configuration, coming with a genoa (instead of a jib) and with a square-top mainsail. The Dufour 32 costs standard at the shipyard 96 000 € without VAT a relatively low price for what the boat offers.
This size of cruisers, that 50 years were very popular have become more and more scarce, with some of the main factories not bothering to offer them, but even so there are on the market more seaworthy, better-built sailboats, but far away from the Dufours 32 cost, and that makes it a very interesting sailboat, offering a lot for the price.
Hard to tell. That bowsprit in the Dufour is very interesting and makes the boat nicer. The Dufour is a faster and lighter boat, the Hanse is a heavier and better built boat (sandwich hull) that will go probably better upwind in heavy weather.
For having fun and do ocasional coastal cruising I would chose the Dufour, for more seaworthiness, more extensive cruising I would chose the Hanse 315, but I would try to buy the Hanse 345 that is only slighter heavier and slightly longer but has much more ballast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99W92LkgevU
You don't have much time. They will not take much time to substitute it by a much beamier boat with a less bigger B/D. By the way, the H345 is now called H348. Same hull, same ballast.
I am not saying that the eventual new boat will not suit much more people, probably it will, but if you want a boat that sails better and a more seaworthy boat, wait till they announce the new boat (and if I expect, it is beamier with less B/D) and then buy one of the last H348 with a discount.
Talk with a dealer not about the 348, but saying that you are interested in the boat it will replace it, and when he gives you information about its launch, and prices, say you don't have the money, and deal a better price for the H348.
In short, it is a worse and more expensive boat than the D310 (99.556€). According to the current price list the D32 now costs 111.899€ + Comfort Pack 11.797€ is OBLIGATORY!!! In total, therefor 123.696€ and the price is increasing day by day https://www.kiriacoulis.com/sales/Dufour32_price.pdf Instead of upgrading, only pointless cost cutting has been done. That's what you call bullshit. Yacht Magazin say it's a ship like a Swiss Army Knife. This really fits https://www.yacht.de/yachten_jollen/neue_boote/neue-dufour-32 I wonder which fool will buy it.
Price of boats unfortunately are increasing rapidly due to economic factors that increase production costs. They are interested in selling boats there is a huge competition and they try to sell them at the best price with a minimum margin, that sometimes does not even exist.
Look at the number of brands that are going down, many times good brands that have made great sailboats for decades, at a fair cost.
Look for instance to Sunbeam that stop producing bigger boats, very good boats, and that is trying now to survive doing only small boats.... because they were losing money with the bigger ones.
Hello, would you prefer it or the Hanse 315?
ReplyDeleteHard to tell. That bowsprit in the Dufour is very interesting and makes the boat nicer. The Dufour is a faster and lighter boat, the Hanse is a heavier and better built boat (sandwich hull) that will go probably better upwind in heavy weather.
ReplyDeleteFor having fun and do ocasional coastal cruising I would chose the Dufour, for more seaworthiness, more extensive cruising I would chose the Hanse 315, but I would try to buy the Hanse 345 that is only slighter heavier and slightly longer but has much more ballast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99W92LkgevU
Thanks, I'll look at the H345, and then I'll buy a new sail for snowkite ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou don't have much time. They will not take much time to substitute it by a much beamier boat with a less bigger B/D. By the way, the H345 is now called H348. Same hull, same ballast.
DeleteI am not saying that the eventual new boat will not suit much more people, probably it will, but if you want a boat that sails better and a more seaworthy boat, wait till they announce the new boat (and if I expect, it is beamier with less B/D) and then buy one of the last H348 with a discount.
Talk with a dealer not about the 348, but saying that you are interested in the boat it will replace it, and when he gives you information about its launch, and prices, say you don't have the money, and deal a better price for the H348.
In short, it is a worse and more expensive boat than the D310 (99.556€).
ReplyDeleteAccording to the current price list the D32 now costs 111.899€ + Comfort Pack 11.797€ is OBLIGATORY!!!
In total, therefor 123.696€ and the price is increasing day by day
https://www.kiriacoulis.com/sales/Dufour32_price.pdf
Instead of upgrading, only pointless cost cutting has been done. That's what you call bullshit.
Yacht Magazin say it's a ship like a Swiss Army Knife. This really fits
https://www.yacht.de/yachten_jollen/neue_boote/neue-dufour-32
I wonder which fool will buy it.
Price of boats unfortunately are increasing rapidly due to economic factors that increase production costs. They are interested in selling boats there is a huge competition and they try to sell them at the best price with a minimum margin, that sometimes does not even exist.
DeleteLook at the number of brands that are going down, many times good brands that have made great sailboats for decades, at a fair cost.
Look for instance to Sunbeam that stop producing bigger boats, very good boats, and that is trying now to survive doing only small boats.... because they were losing money with the bigger ones.