Review of Dufour 30 Classic

Dufour 30 Classic anno 1997. Dufour 30, Sweetheart, Aabenraa

Basic specs.

The Dufour 30 Classic also known as Dufour Classic 30 is a sailboat designed by the Slovenian maritime architect bureau J&J Design in the late nineties. The Dufour 30 Classic is built by the French yard Dufour Yachts s.a..

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Hull

Both the hull and the deck is made of fibreglass. A hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Interior

The boat is equipped with 2 cabins, 4+2 berths, a galley, 170 liters (44 US gallons, 37 imperial gallons) fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

The interior is like many other boats made of mahogany. Mahogany belongs to the hardwood species, known for being water-repellent and resistant to decay. It has an attractive wood grain and holds wood polish and varnish well.

Rig

The Dufour 30 Classic is built with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.

Keel

The Dufour 30 Classic has been built with different keel alternatives.

L-shape fin keel

One option is a L keel. An L-shape keel is a bulb keel with the shape as an L. This keel is less exposed to seaweed, fishing nets and lines.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.42 - 1.52 meter (4.66 - 4.96 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

L-shape fin keel

Another option is a L keel.

Dufour 30 Classic can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.20 - 1.30 meter (3.94 - 4.24 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The fuel tank has a capacity of 75 liters (19 US gallons, 16 imperial gallons).

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD2010 diesel engine at 10 hp (7 kW). Calculated max speed is about 4.3 knots

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Dufour 30 Classic is 1.95, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

EU classification

Dufour 30 Classic holds a CE certification:

The boat is by European Union certified as Class B. OFFSHORE:

Designed for offshore voyages where conditions up to, and including, wind force 8 (Beaufort scale) and significant wave heights up to, and including, 4 m may be experienced.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.9 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Dufour 30 Classic is about 160 kg/cm, alternatively 897 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 160 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 897 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Dufour 30 Classic is 21.6.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 42% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just below average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Dufour 30 Classic is 3.03.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 58% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Dufour 30 Classic is 29%.

This ballast ratio is higher than 4% of all similar sailboat designs. Since the ballast ratio and the righting moment (i.e. better ability to resist heeling) is strongly correlated, a ballast ratio significantly below average indicates a very low ability to resist heeling.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Dufour 30 Classic is 196 which categorizes this boat among 'moderate racers'.

76% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 26m² (279 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

Rig

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Jib sheet	9.0 m	(29.7 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Genoa sheet	9.0 m	(29.7 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Mainsheet	22.6 m	(74.1 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	19.9 m	(65.2 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Dufour 30 Classic it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.