In the highly competitive production sailboat market in Europe, where most sailboats are built, the builders and their designers struggle to differentiate the brands. The well-known names like Groupe Beneteau, the Hanse Group and the Fountain Pajot Group, the three biggies, all produce fiberglass sloops with many of the same characteristics, plumb bows, voluminous hulls, twin after cabins and large cockpits with twin wheels. Even cockpit hardtops are shared across the design scape.
In this crowd, Dufour Yachts, a division of the Fountain Pajot Group, has lately been mining the company’s 60 years of design and build DNA to come up with new boats that are strikingly recognizable and designed to offer many iterations.
The new 48, following on the success of the 37 and 44, will be introduced this fall at the Cannes Festival of Yachting and brings to the table features that are both futuristic and practical.
The Felci Yacht Design hull has the new pumpkin-seed-shaped hull that Dufour owners like since it gives the forward and aft cabins a ton of volume. Plus, the hull chines that run aft add to the interior space and give the hull and natural heeling angle for “upright” sailing.
Because the topsides are quite high they have been able to keep the profile of the cabin top low and thus the sight lines from the cockpit will be excellent. Naturally, Dufour is opting for large angular black hull details that add a aggressive look and hide the several ports in the hull.
The cockpit is huge and has a windscreen that I think may be new for the builder. Overhead, a large T-top can be added that will give full-time protection for sun and rain and offers an excellent mounting area for a solar array. Dufour is now offering their boats from 41 to 54 feet with eclectic propulsion, so every square inch of solar energy is essential.
Two details on deck that Dufour continues to do very well are the huge fold-down swim platform that is like a waterfront patio with a barbecue and the handy fixed bowsprit that neatly houses the anchor roller away from the plumb bow.
The 48’s interior has four basic layouts, two with three cabins and two with four. Also, the galley can be positioned along the port side of the salon, across from the dinette, or it can be built into the front of the saloon and athwartships, as shown in the picture below. This second option will make a better seagoing galley, but it is also far from the open ventilation of the companionway. All four layouts have a nice skipper or crew’s cabin on the port side, not something you’ll often see on a 48-footer.
Dufour has been trending toward lighter colored veneers and fabrics to make their boats seem brighter and even larger than they actually are. With the large hull ports and overhead hatches, the 48 will have a true indoor-outdoor ambiance.
The new 48 will definitely stand out at Cannes as a pure Dufour and will definitely have a strong appeal to families who want a ton of living space, good outside lounging areas, great access to the water from the platform aft and a cabin for a professional crew. For this last feature alone, it will be unique in this size category.
