Dufour 48 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

The 48 was offered with three, four, or five cabins and two to four heads, plus two distinct saloon and galley plans: a full-width forward galley or a long linear galley to port. Dufour reported sales split roughly evenly between those galley choices, with experienced sailors from windier regions such as the United Kingdom and France tending to the forward galley and those from Italy and New England more likely to choose the linear version. The three-cabin private layout places a large island bed forward with separate shower and toilet, while aft cabins carry full rectangular double berths; the forward area can also be split into two en-suite charter cabins. Quarter-cabin forepeaks convert to office, pullman, or heads space, giving buyers real flexibility in how a specific hull was commissioned.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

Consequence-focused equipment on these boats clusters around power, sail handling, and navigation. For energy, owners can specify the ODSea+ hybrid rudder system with diesel-generator charging and regeneration, or a hardtop carrying 1,300 W of solar panels over the cockpit; a zero-emission pod drive is also offered. Sail control varies by version: the ocean package adds coaming winches, a German mainsheet, and fittings for asymmetric spinnaker or Code 0, while the performance pack builds on that with a longer boom, bigger mainsail, 108% headsail, and adjustable backstay. B&G instruments are standard throughout, and an optional performance pack brings laminate sails for higher pointing.

What to Inspect

The pedestal tops on early boats sat marginally too close to the wheels and clipped knuckles when steering, though the builder was correcting this. Where the three-cabin layout places its owner suite forward, the boxing above the berth headboard left too little room to sit upright, and Dufour indicated it was investigating a fix. Testers found the sprayhood top lacked a window for seeing the mainsail while hoisting or reefing, and poor aft-cabin airflow stems from the only ports opening onto the cockpit well and aft coachroof bulkhead. Check whether any specific hull received the revised pedestal or headboard detail, and assess aft-cabin airflow for your cruising climate.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

Typical market availability is in Denmark. For a buyer, the short checklist is: confirm galley and cabin configuration matches intended use; verify pedestal and headboard updates if ergonomics matter; evaluate aft-cabin ventilation for warm-weather living; confirm propulsion spec (Yanmar diesel, pod drive, or ODSea+ hybrid) and solar or hardtop fit; and check ocean or performance rig upgrades if offwind or pointing performance is a priority.