Dufour 40
Description
The Dufour 40 is a French sailboat designed by Umberto Felci as a performance cruiser-racer, blending competitive speed for club racing with comfortable accommodations for family coastal cruising and short offshore passages on lakes or protected waters. It features a fiberglass monohull with a fin keel (bulb optional) and spade rudder for agile upwind handling, a wide beam carried aft for stability and interior volume, and a fractional sloop rig for responsive sail trim and good light-air performance. The design emphasizes lightweight construction for quick acceleration, a moderate displacement/length ratio for balanced motion, and a high ballast ratio for stiffness in gusts, with a comfort ratio suitable for weekend overnights. Introduced in 2003 by Dufour Yachts in La Rochelle, France, the Dufour 40 was Felci's collaboration with the builder during the early 2000s cruiser-racer boom, evolving from earlier models like the Dufour 36 to offer dual-purpose versatility in a compact 40-footer. It was marketed as an affordable, high-quality GRP yacht with French elegance, targeting shorthanded sailors or small families, and won accolades like European Yacht of the Year in 2003. Production ran until 2010, with approximately 200 units built across standard and Performance variants, before being succeeded by the Dufour 425.
Construction Details
| Designer | Umberto Felci |
|---|---|
| Builder | Dufour Yachts |
| Length | 40.420 ft |
| LOA | 40.420 ft |
| LWL | 35.240 ft |
| Beam | 12.800 ft |
| Displacement | 16535 lb |
| Ballast | 5952 lb |
| Max Draft | 5.410 ft |
| Year Built | 2003 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 48.09 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 13.74 ft |
| p | 46.75 ft |
| e | 17.22 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48.09 ft | 13.74 ft | 46.75 ft | 17.22 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Dufour 40 - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 46.75 ft - (14249 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 17.22 ft - (5249 mm) |
| Leech | * 48.97 ft - (14926 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 49.25 ft - (15011 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 6 in - (152 mm) |
| Area | * 412.44 ft² |
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Dufour 40 - GENOA
| Luff | * 47.51 ft - (14481 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 21.93 ft - (6684 mm) |
| Leech | * 45.01 ft - (13719 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 20.61 ft - (6282 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4.04 ° |
| Area | * 489.57 ft² |
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Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.