Dufour 325 Grand Large Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

The 325 carries its accommodation in a Moabi mahogany interior with above-average headroom, removable-cushion settees, and a sliding Plexiglas companionway over curved wooden steps. Engine access is through the step case on a jack, and the aft port seat hides a gas cylinder locker while the starboard cockpit locker is sized for life-raft stowage. The transom opens centrally by removing the helmsman's seat to form a boarding platform, and a folding bathing ladder is standard. The keel choice splits examples into a deep L-bulb fin around 1.85 to 1.95 meters and a shoaler L-keel near 1.55 to 1.65 meters, the latter reaching more marinas.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

On the used market, chartplotter, teak decks, autopilot, heating, hot water, and bimini are commonly fitted, so most boats will already carry the core navigation-and-comfort kit a couple needs. Often-seen additions include solar, a swim platform, cockpit shower, and short-handed setups that suit single-or-duo sailing. Less common but worth noting as owner upgrades are dodgers, life rafts, watermakers, lithium batteries, inverters, code zero or spinnaker sails, furling mains, electric winches, and radar. A buyer should weigh the energy cluster — solar and lithium — against the commonly fitted heating and hot water when judging liveaboard readiness, and view the canvas cluster of bimini and occasional dodger as a weather-protection baseline rather than a luxury.

What to Inspect

The keel bolts load into a stainless steel backing plate, so check that plate and its fasteners for crevice corrosion or movement where the cast-iron keel meets the hull anchor. The saildrive transmission should be inspected for diaphragm condition and any weep at the seals, since this driveline type needs periodic service distinct from a shaft. With the boat overrigged relative to peers, examine the single stainless steel chainplate for cap and aft lower shrouds and the chrome-plated bronze turnbuckles for elongation or cracking under that higher load anchor. The rudder stock head sits under the helmsman's sole for the emergency tiller; confirm the semi-elliptical foam-filled rudder shows no play on its solid stock. Finally, the hull is a hand-laminated NPG-resin layup promoted as an osmosis barrier, so survey the gelcoat for blistering despite the claimed protection.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

These boats regularly appear in the United Kingdom, France, Malaysia, Spain, Australia, and Sweden. Before committing, run through a short checklist: check the chainplate bedding and backing plate; service-test the saildrive seals; confirm rudder stock play; survey gelcoat for osmosis; verify the keel draft matches your marina limits; confirm heating and autopilot function; inspect solar and lithium upgrades; test the transom boarding access.