Review of Dufour 39

The hull is made of fibreglass while the deck is made of die cast fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
The hull is a double hull which improves the indoor climate. Especially when the water is colder than the air in the cabin, then the double hull insulates against cold water and reduce the condense water in the cabin.
The deck is a double deck which improves the indoor climate.

The interior is like most other boats made of teak. Teak has the advantage of being naturally very oily and therefore water-repellent, which is suitable on boats.
The boat is equipped with 4 cabins, 6-9 berths, a galley, 280.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

The Dufour 39 is equipped 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.

Fin keel

The Dufour 39 is equipped with a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long 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. As the surface of a fin type keel is just a fraction of the total wet surface, the difference between an iron keel and a lead keel can in reality be ignored for cruising yachts.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.00 - 2.10 meter (6.56 - 6.86 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Dufour 39 may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta 2003 engine at 43 hp (32 kW). The speed is 9.5 knots.

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

The fuel tank, which is made of stainless steel, has a capacity of 110.0 liters (29 US gallons, 24 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Dufour 39 is 2.02, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.4 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.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Dufour 39 is about 236 kg/cm, alternatively 1325 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 236 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1325 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Dufour 39 is 24.1.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Dufour 39 is 3.15.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Dufour 39 is 47%.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Dufour 39 is 235 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 40m² (430 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.

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.

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.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Dufour 39 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.