Check out the Dufour 48
Join Editor in Chief Wendy Mitman Clarke in Palma de Mallorca for a first look at the Dufour 48. SAIL is the first U.S. magazine to sail and review the boat, which will be making its U.S. debut at the Annapolis Sailboat Show this October.
She notes that the boat was a rocketship on a sparkling afternoon sail with 15-22 knots of sea breeze. Having sailed the Dufour 41 two years earlier in the same venue, Wendy notes, “the 41’s big sister rolled like a freight train in the breeze, even in the puffs. With significant pre-bend built into the Z Spar mast and optional hydraulic backstays, this sailplan of 210-square-foot main and 108% genoa felt powerful and stable. In 15 knots true, she carved to weather at an apparent wind angle of 32 degrees making an easy 7.5 knots, picking up smartly in the puffs and never feeling overpowered.”
Belowdecks, the boat is spacious and bright with four floorplan options. The test boat had an owner’s head forward and a C-shaped galley to port, though an inline galley is also an option. A storage room with washer-dryer just forward of the port cabin is a stand out feature.
Other notable features include a full outdoor galley complete with sink, refrigerator, and plancha grill and an eco-friendly approach from the design office up. 70% of the core in this boat’s deck is made of PET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate) and hydro-generation is built right into the drive train if you opt for the hybrid electric version.
“Our test boat was equipped with Dufour’s “ODSea+” hybrid electric propulsion system, a 25kW electric motor on a sail drive and a genset feeding a 400-volt battery bank,” Wendy reports. “At 40% of throttle in re-gen mode, we were generating just under 1kW of power back into the batteries; pushing the throttle to 100%, that number jumped to 2kW.” An optional hardtop can also carry a 1300-watt solar array.
Stay tuned for a full review in the October issue of SAIL and at sailmagazine.com.
