Design and Construction
The Dufour 27’s very high freeboard gives her an upright profile that’s unusual for a boat of this length. She also has semi-flush decks and a window set into the hull. Both hull and deck are solid fiberglass.
She measures 8.30m LOA and 6.20m LWL, with a beam of 2.79m, a draught of 1.58m, and a displacement of 2,291kg.
Rig and Handling
The Dufour 27 is a masthead sloop with a small mainsail and a large headsail. This foretriangle-biased sail plan delivers adequate cruising performance. Her fin keel and near-34-percent ballast ratio help her stand up to canvas, making her a forgiving coastal cruiser rather than a design focused on speed.
Accommodation
The interior provides four berths and 5ft 11in standing headroom, giving the Dufour 27 useful space for her length. It’s also a very bare, GRP-dominated cabin, with a pragmatic molded finish rather than the joined-wood interior found in some of her teak-fitted contemporaries.
The molded fiberglass is easy to clean and resists rot, but the overall effect is decidedly utilitarian.
Known Issues and Refitting
The early Dufours are getting a little tired, and boats that haven’t already been refurbished will need attention. A buyer should assume a refit is due unless the work has been documented. The engine, rigging, and hull-window bedding are the usual suspects.
That window depends on aging bedding and can allow cold air and water into the berths. The bare GRP interior also shows every stain and crack, so cosmetic fatigue is easy to spot.
On the positive side, the simple interior leaves little hidden structure to fail, and the boat’s straightforward systems remain easy to reach.
The Verdict
The Dufour 27 is a plainspoken 1970s cruiser: roomy for her length and mechanically easy to understand, but now old enough that deferred maintenance should be expected rather than treated as the exception.
Pros
- Distinctive, popular design, with 320 built
- High freeboard provides useful volume and 5ft 11in headroom
- Solid fiberglass hull and deck
- Simple GRP interior and accessible systems
Cons
- Early boats are getting tired and need refurbishment
- The hull window is a through-hull weak point
- The bare interior shows wear and lacks warmth
