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Review of Dufour 29




Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Dufour 29 is a sailboat designed in the mid seventies. The Dufour 29 is built by the French yard Dufour Yachts s.a..

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Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.


Keel

The Dufour 29 has been built with different keel alternatives.

Deep keel

One option is a deep keel. A deep keel provide a better healing moment than a shallow keel.

The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.64 - 1.74 meter (5.38 - 5.68 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Shallow keel

Another option is a shallow keel. A shallow keel allow to sail both coastal and inland waters.

This keel is also made of iron.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.35 - 1.45 meter (4.43 - 4.73 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

Dufour 29 may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD6A diesel engine at 10 hp (7 kW). Calculated max speed is about 4.4 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 29 is 1.95, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.


Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.7 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 29 is about 147 kg/cm, alternatively 826 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 147 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 826 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 29 is 21.3.

Low High 42% 0 50 100
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 29 is 3.11.

Wide Slim 54% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 54% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Dufour 29 is 36%.

Low High 24% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 24% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly below average.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Dufour 29 is 205 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

Heavy Light 73% 0 50 100
73% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Dufour 29 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 15.5, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 18.6.

Low High 46% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 46% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 69% 0 50 100
The Dufour 29 has more rig than 69% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly overrigged.


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

Dimensions of sail.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale



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
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 24.8 m(81.3 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard24.8 m(81.3 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker halyard24.8 m(81.3 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib sheet 8.9 m(29.4 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet8.9 m(29.4 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet 22.4 m(73.4 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet19.7 m(64.6 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Cunningham3.1 m(10.3 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Kickingstrap6.3 m(20.6 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Clew-outhaul6.3 m(20.6 feet)8 mm(5/16 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 29 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