Dufour 24 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for a Dufour 24 means looking at a Michel Dufour-designed, French-yard fiberglass boat from the mid-seventies, built in several hundred units with iron fin or shallow keels and a fractional rig. The used fleet spans two keel options and assorted engine setups, and a buyer should weigh documented numbers against the equipment tiers seen in typical markets.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Dufour 24 was documented with 4 berths and a galley as its interior provision, and both hull and deck are fiberglass. Keel choice drives the practical layout footprint: the fin keel draws about 1.20 to 1.30 meters dependent on load, while the shallow keel draws 0.80 to 0.90 meters and lets the boat enter even shallow marinas. No further accommodation breakdown is on record, so expect a minimal coastal interior rather than an expanded cruiser plan.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The Dufour 24 has been equipped with different engine alternatives, and an outboard is often used for docking and maneuvering, typically 3 to 4 hp or 74 to 89 lb thrust electric. Solar is often seen on the used fleet. A spinnaker, bimini, cockpit shower, or autopilot are less common, appearing as owner upgrades rather than standard. The fractional rig's documented sheets are all 10 mm diameter (jib and genoa 7.3 m, mainsheet 18.4 m, spinnaker sheet 16.2 m), a useful baseline when checking rigging.
What to Inspect
Documented known facts center on draft-dependent keel condition and rig spec. The fin and shallow keels are iron, so check for corrosion at the 1.20–1.30 m or 0.80–0.90 m draft bands. The immersion rate is about 100 kg/cm (560 lbs/inch) with a wetted surface near 17 m²; verify hull fairness against that loading. Confirm the fractional rig carries 10 mm sheets at the listed lengths and that any outboard mount suits 3–4 hp or 74–89 lb thrust electric. The capsize screening value of 2.11 is a limit, not a defect, but note the boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Typical markets for the Dufour 24 are Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, and Romania. A short checklist: confirm keel type and iron condition, verify 4 berths and galley, expect often-seen solar and occasional owner upgrades, and check the 10 mm sheet rig. The boat is a median-comfort coastal 24-footer with keel options that permit shallow berthing, not an offshore racer.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Dufour 24. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 5 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25 | 4 | $ 7,667 | — |
| Mar 26 | 1 | $ 9,269 | +20.9% |
| Apr 26 | 2 | $ 11,443 | +23.5% |
| May 26 | 3 | $ 10,871 | -5.0% |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $ 10,298 | -5.3% |
Where they're listed
Dufour 24 listings appear across 5 countries. Germany has the most listings with 4 (36.4%), followed by Portugal and Spain.