Sailboat Dufour 470 for sale

Out and about in the 15-metre class on the Dufour 470

With its Grand Large range, the long-established French shipyard in La Rochelle was able to gradually initiate a shift from being a manufacturer of exceptionally high-performance cruisers towards producing yachts with greater volume – and thus greater luxury and suitability for holidays. As the market – particularly the lucrative charter sector – increasingly demanded boats that prioritised comfort, luxury, ‘gadgets’ and ‘water toys’, the focus shifted significantly towards the end of the 2010s. This was true not only of Dufour, but of all the major mass-production manufacturers. A trend which, incidentally, the ‘premium brands’ also followed later on.

In 2021, Dufour’s chief designer, Umberto Felci, unveiled the new Dufour 470, which directly replaced the Dufour Grand Large 460 – a model that was hugely successful at the time and remains very popular on the second-hand boat market today. However, he was keen to emphasise that the new yacht was “absolutely not a makeover or merely a facelift”, but a completely new design: at 14.85 m in length, the 470 is 70 cm significantly longer and also wider than the Grand Large. If you place the two yachts side by side, the Dufour 470 has greater freeboard (which provides much more interior volume); it has a fuller bow and also sharper chine edges, known as ‘chines’.

Higher-quality manufacturing processes, greater volume – more luxury

The concept behind the new Dufour 470 is simple: Dufour aims to offer significantly greater comfort. If you look at the current, even newer Dufour yachts – recognisable by their ‘double-digit’ designations, such as the only slightly larger 48 – you can see the direction the shipyard was heading in back then with the 470. This boat was the first significant step towards greater volume and luxury. With the 470, Dufour also switched from the heavy and osmosis-prone hand-lamination process for the hulls to the higher-quality, lighter but also more expensive vacuum infusion and injection process. It can therefore be said that the Dufour 470 is a milestone in the fleet’s development – to this day, this model enjoys high sales figures, which is due, amongst other things, to the many layout and design variants available. Furthermore, the Dufour 470 represents an interesting alternative for all those boat buyers who cannot or do not wish to make the leap to the slightly larger Dufour 48. The yacht is only marginally smaller and, in our opinion, even offers a little more sailing pleasure and agility on the water.

Calling all ‘real sailors’: one of the last production yachts to feature a mainsheet traveller!

We really don’t want to leave this fact unmentioned! After all, as one of the last (if not the very last!) production yachts currently under construction, the Dufour 470 can be delivered from the shipyard with a mainsheet traveller. Unfortunately, this trimming aid has almost fallen into oblivion amongst cruising sailors and is therefore now only fitted on dedicated and ‘serious’ performance cruisers, as well as, of course, on racing yachts.

On the one hand, the mainsheet traveller enables the trimmer to narrow the sail profile by ‘pulling down’ the boom as the wind picks up – before having to reef – meaning you can push the reefing limit significantly further back and reef much later, thus sailing under full sail for longer. Secondly, when sailing close-hauled, the traveller allows you to bring the boom right into the midship position: without this device, mainmasts always remain at least 10 or even 20 degrees to leeward and cannot be moved any further towards midship.

The Dufour 470 will therefore be able to sail noticeably closer to the wind than most (in fact, all) other cruisers. And finally, thirdly, the traveller allows you to ride out sudden gusts much more elegantly, as you don’t have to open the mainsheet all the way (and thus lose the carefully adjusted trim) but simply take the pressure off the sail, pull the traveller in again and … simply carry on sailing with perfect trim. This feature alone makes the Dufour 470 very appealing to owners who are looking to buy an active, ‘proper’ sailing boat but don’t want to compromise on comfort!

Buying a Dufour 470 – Hull, design, construction & sail plan

A first for Dufour: vacuum infusion for the deck and hull

As already mentioned, Dufour is launching its 470 as its first vessel to be produced using vacuum-assisted moulding for hulls and decks. In the so-called ‘hand-lay-up’ process, the hulls in particular are still built up layer by layer by hand. Employees must soak these in resin, lay them on by hand (hence the name of this manufacturing process) and then press them firmly into the mould using a kind of roller. This process is very labour-intensive; staff must protect their respiratory tracts from the corrosive fumes of the resin and work in very hot protective suits, as everything around the mould becomes sticky due to the resin. Furthermore, hulls produced in this way are generally heavier. In most cases, inexpensive polyester is used as the resin. This is not watertight, which means that older polyester hulls in particular absorb water and are considered susceptible to osmosis. The vacuum infusion and vacuum injection processes change all that.

The glass fibre mats, sandwich foams and other inlays are now placed ‘dry’ into the mould and secured only loosely with a little spray adhesive. The entire mould is then sealed airtight, either with film (in the infusion process) or with a counter-mould (in the injection process). Small pumps create a strong negative pressure inside the mould via suction hoses (not a true vacuum), whilst the resin is fed in through supply hoses on the other side. The even negative pressure ensures that the resin spreads into all corners and edges. This also prevents air bubbles from forming in the laminate, which is quite common with the hand-lay-up method. The negative pressure makes the structure thinner – and therefore lighter. In addition, other resins are used, usually vinyl ester or (though not in the case of Dufour) high-quality epoxy.

The result: thinner, often lighter and stiffer components that are more resistant to osmosis and deliver a better outcome both structurally and aesthetically. What’s more, the working environment for staff is significantly better. You get all this with the Dufour 470 – and all the shipyard’s other models.

It’s turned out to be a bit of a struggle, though – the yacht needs wind

When comparing the current 45–47-foot production yachts, however, the Dufour has turned out to be a little on the heavy side overall. With a lightweight of 13.2 tonnes, the Dufour 470 is therefore somewhat ‘more sedate’ compared to the Oceanis 47 (10.9 tonnes), the Dehler 46 (11.5 tonnes) or the new Hanse 460 (12.6 tonnes). The only explanation we can give for the extra weight is the yacht’s extensive and beautiful interior fit-out and the wealth of extra equipment, such as the Dufour-typical plancha grill at the stern. That’s not a ‘bad’ thing, as the Dufour is explicitly designed to offer more luxury, so one has to accept the extra weight. Owners should therefore – for greater sailing enjoyment in any case! – definitely equip the Dufour with a gennaker and a Code 0, so that the diesel engine can be left off even in light winds.

Adapt the sail plan and keel options to suit your sailing area and sailing programme

As with all Dufour yachts in the current range, there are generally three sail plans and equipment variants for the 470: with the ‘Easy Sailing’ package, the yacht is designed from the ground up for the easiest and simplest operation: no traveller, a self-tacking jib and, for those who prefer, a furling mainsail. With this sail plan, you can sail single-handed without a care in the world, especially if you’re the only skipper on board, as the yacht can be operated entirely using just two winches aft. The ‘Easy Sailing’ Dufour 470 is the perfect holiday boat if sailing is your second or third priority.

If you’re looking for something more fun, agile and faster, go for the ‘Ocean’ package: a mainsheet traveller mounted on the superstructure in the centre of the mainboom, a classic arrangement of the running rigging on four winches, with the working winches positioned on either side of the companionway, and a traditional sail plan featuring an overlapping genoa and a flared pinhead mainsail with battens. Here, too, single-handed handling is straightforward, albeit with more sail area and consequently greater performance. The ‘Ocean version’ of the Dufour 470 is particularly well suited as a cruising yacht.

If you’re looking for even better performance, order the ‘Performance Version’. This version of the yacht is fitted with the full racing setup comprising six winches, giving you the full range of sail trim options. In addition, the traveller is now recessed into the deck across the width of the cockpit, with the attachment point moved to the boom end: this gives you, as skipper, particularly good control over the fine-tuning. This variant is also ideal for cruising, although it does require more active sailing from the skipper and crew. The fact that the traveller is ‘in the way’ may be a source of annoyance for owners who use the yacht primarily for holidays, which is why you should, if necessary, view the ‘Ocean’ and ‘Performance’ cockpits in person beforehand and ‘try them out’.

The Dufour 470 is available with two keel options: the standard keel, with an impressive draught of 2.25 m, provides considerable leverage for good stability; for shallow waters or where your mooring has corresponding draught restrictions, you can also order a keel with a draught of 1.80 m.

Dufour 470 for sale: twin-rudder vs. single-rudder steering

The age-old debate, the big and hotly contested question amongst sailors. So which is better, a single rudder or twin rudders? Of course, there can be no clear-cut answer, as both systems have very distinct and specific advantages, but also their drawbacks. Dufour (like Hanse Yachts, incidentally) remains loyal to the single rudder. Due to their design, these must be deeper (take care when mooring astern!) and are also built heavier, as the forces acting on the single rudder blade are disproportionately higher than on their twin-rudder counterparts. On the other hand, helmsmen get better feedback on a single-rudder boat, as there are fewer moving parts – such as steering cables or linkages – to dampen the response. However, this also means you have to cope with greater rudder pressure, and autopilots consequently require more power. If you’re more of a ‘traditional’ type and also want to benefit from a rudder blade positioned within the propeller wash when mooring and casting off, Dufour is the right choice for you.

All the information for skippers and sailors

Combine active sailing with a luxurious sailing holiday!

We’ve talked a great deal about the sailing aspects so far – let’s now turn our attention to the luxury on board, as the vast majority of Dufour 470 owners are looking to buy a yacht for the perfect holiday on the water. Umberto Felci was not yet assisted by Luca Ardizio during the development of the Dufour 470. This Italian specialist in yacht interiors will not join the shipyard until 2023 – a turning point that is evident in the superb interiors of the yachts produced from that point onwards. Nevertheless, the interior of the Dufour 470 already features many brilliant ideas and design approaches, which we’ll discuss in more detail shortly.

For your sailing holiday, you’ll first find plenty of chill-out areas on deck for sunbathing whilst at anchor (for example, on the central sunbed at the end of the cockpit) or spots for socialising, such as the cockpit itself. There’s also a central table here, which, when fully in use, makes moving in and out of the boat a little tricky: this is better resolved on the larger Dufour 48, as the two tables in the cockpit ensure that a central aisle leading down to the lower deck always remains clear. What’s more, these two tables can be lowered to create large sun lounges – a luxury that the 470 unfortunately doesn’t offer in this way.

Nevertheless, the two sofas facing each other are long enough for relaxing and reading a book; the high back cushions are particularly appealing. If you wish, you can leave the stern completely clear apart from the two helmsman’s seats on the outside, or order a continuous bench seat (in which case it comes with a plancha barbecue station, which is operated from the large bathing platform). If you go one step further, you can then add the central sunbed mentioned earlier, which looks particularly stylish when at anchor.

Unfortunately, the Dufour 470 does not yet feature built-in sunbeds on the foredeck – a popular spot for guests looking for a bit of ‘peace and quiet’ and some distance from the hustle and bustle of the cockpit. Nevertheless, you can of course make the most of the space here: two large beanbags and a sunshade attached to the forestay, and you’ve got the perfect reading spot for your teenagers.

Dufour 470 for sale: A popular choice in the charter market

The Dufour 470 has carved out a niche for itself in the charter market. It wasn’t so much the sailing performance that was decisive here, but rather the fact that the shipyard has managed to pack an impressive maximum number of cabins (including a skipper’s cabin in the bow!) into the yacht’s relatively compact dimensions. In the charter version, with its four cabins and three bathrooms, the Dufour 470 can offer a place to sleep for as many as 12 adults (!).

If you’re interested in a second-hand Dufour 470 and are looking at an offer for a former charter yacht, be sure to pay close attention to the layout and the number of cabins, as it goes without saying that such a ‘charter workhorse’ no longer conveys the charm and luxury of the yacht’s spacious interior.

Become an e-skipper: the Dufour 470 with electric propulsion

If your sailing plans tend to focus on day sailing and you don’t really intend to venture far from the coast in your Dufour 470, then the fully electric version of this sailing yacht might be of interest to you. The yacht is also available with a 25 kW or 32 kW pod propulsion system, powered by either a 27 kWh or a 32 kWh battery bank (modern lithium batteries, of course). An efficient and whisper-quiet 12-kilowatt diesel generator can recharge the batteries whilst underway, or – if you’ve got a good wind and are sailing fast – you can recover energy via the folding propeller at a rate of up to 1.5 kW per hour. With the 6 kW fast-charging transformer, your yacht will in any case be fully recharged overnight at the jetty and ready for your next day out at sea. If you combine these charging options with an effective solar panel system, for example, you’ll have a constant supply of power in sunny regions, even without extensive charging infrastructure.

As mentioned, we would only recommend the electric version for use in relatively sheltered coastal areas and for day sailing – for serious cruising, we would not (yet) be willing to do without the reliability and, above all, the enormous range of the classic diesel engine.

Dufour 470 for sale – comfort, below deck

Versatile in design – stylish in Finnish

One of Dufour’s strengths is its industrialised furniture production. Whilst a Bavaria might perhaps go one better in terms of quality, the proportion of real wood and precision of fit, compared with other mass-produced yacht manufacturers, Dufour has, above all, made a name for itself with its furniture. It seems as though the veneers on Dufour yachts are always slightly thicker (and therefore of higher quality and more resistant to scratches and the like). Furthermore, the shipyard naturally uses solid timber squared timbers in exposed areas such as table edges and table edging, This ensures the furniture retains its attractive appearance and durability for longer. This is even more evident in later models, but the Dufour 470 represents a major step forward in terms of furniture-making quality, including fittings such as door handles and hinges.

Generally speaking, however, what stands out about the interior is that many elements lack a sense of the ‘big picture’: the panels on the rear walls look out of place and misshapen; the white-painted flaps on some of the cupboards in the galley provide a nice contrast, but they, too, look ‘piecemeal’. The boat lacks somewhat the symmetry and balance that Luca Ardizio would later bring to the interior – though this is not meant as a criticism; both the design and finish of the Dufour 470 are certainly stylish and modern.

The real highlight: the front galley

Unfortunately, far too few manufacturers make use of this option of integrating the galley into the boat. With many brands, customers are only given the choice between the classic L-shape or a longitudinal galley. The Dufour 470 offers not only the latter but also a stylish forward galley, at least for the 3-cabin/2-bathroom ‘owner’s version’.

The galley is not fitted lengthways or along one side, but runs directly along the bulkhead separating it from the owner’s cabin across the entire width of the yacht. This has some very interesting effects: for one thing, the galley is now situated directly above the keel. This is the yacht’s centre of rotation, and therefore the calmest spot on board. This is a major advantage, particularly if you intend to use the Dufour 470 as a cruising yacht, as it allows the ship’s cook to work here with the least disturbance from the swell. Secondly, it creates a sort of ‘buffer’ between the saloon and the owner’s area, which will ensure a much more peaceful night’s sleep up here at the bow. And thirdly, in this layout, the dinette (i.e. the seating area) ‘moves’ from port to starboard and becomes slightly smaller (after all, in the owner’s version, there’s no longer a need to feed 12 people), whilst opposite, the sofa creates a small lounge area. If Dufour had managed to fit in a navigation table for the captain here as well, it would have been perfect.

Dufour 470 for sale – Plenty, plenty of space in the cabins

The highlight, as far as the cabins are concerned, is of course the owner’s area. The Dufour 470 has an ‘iron-shaped’ hull, which means it offers maximum volume right at the bow. Even though later models are even wider in this respect, the owner’s cabin on the 470 is already significantly more spacious than that of the Grand Large 460. The island bed faces separate toilet and shower cubicles. Exemplary: Dufour positions the second toilet aft on the side opposite the forward toilet, ensuring that even in extreme heel angles, one toilet can always draw in flush water. This is by no means the case with all brands …

Aft, guests will be delighted by the large beds. Unfortunately, none of the aft bathrooms are ‘en-suite’, so you always have to step out into the saloon first if you want to use the toilet. Depending on the layout chosen, the starboard wet room is either converted into a Pullman cabin or, in the owner’s version, disappears altogether. A nice touch: the aft cabins benefit from plenty of natural light through the hull windows, which is sure to alleviate the discomfort of seasick fellow sailors somewhat.

Summary and conclusion

Could the Dufour 470 be your next yacht?

The 470 goes significantly further than the Grand Large 460 and impresses with greater volume and an evolution in design. A welcome feature: it is one of – if not the – last yachts still available with a reasonably sized mainsheet traveller. Fitted with the ‘large’ rig and high-quality cruising laminates, even this comparatively heavy vessel is no longer a problem; the Dufour 470 will particularly delight the active sailor as a serious cruising yacht on long voyages. Inside, the yacht cannot yet boast the stylish, cohesive design of a Luca Ardizio, but it is certainly appealing and, above all, well-built. We think this boat is well suited to cruising sailors as well as families who simply want to enjoy lovely sailing holidays. Anyone looking for a cruiser designed for active sailing should snap up the Dufour 470, as its ‘closeness’ to the significantly more modern Dufour 48 could mean that the decision might be taken in La Rochelle to discontinue production of this yacht. Of course, that is not yet the case.

… or would you prefer one size larger?

As mentioned, although the Dufour 48 is a 50-foot yacht and therefore larger, the difference in its dimensions is negligible. This boat is newer and therefore more modern, and offers far more than the ageing 470, particularly in terms of its array of luxurious gadgets, the number and layout of the relaxation areas, and, of course, the interior design. This is explicitly not in terms of sailing performance, but relates entirely to comfort and luxury. The Dufour 48 has a beautifully designed interior – a true oasis of beauty. If you’re considering a purchase, you should definitely view both yachts. And do the maths, as there’s naturally a difference in price too.

Buy a Dufour 470 – What we particularly like about it:

• Excellent sailing performance (the ‘Ocean’ and ‘Performance’ versions) with a traveller!
• Still bearing many resemblances to the old Grand Large series, but offering far greater comfort
• Front-Pantry is something special

Buying a Dufour 470 – Here’s what you should look out for:

• It’s turned out a bit too heavy; the Dufour 470 needs sail area and wind
• Compared with newer models, the interior design looks slightly ‘disorganised’
• There are no built-in berths in the foredeck, even though there is plenty of space

Further reviews and test reports: