Dufour 29
Dufour · Umberto Felci · 1975
Updated
The Dufour 29 is a 8.95 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Umberto Felci and built by Dufour, first launched in 1975. It races in Class C.
Length
8.95 m
29′ 4″
Beam
2.89 m
Draft
1.57 m
Displacement
3.3 t
Sail area
44 m²
On the podium
Where a Dufour 29 finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
0
Seconds
0
Thirds
9
Starts
Not enough races yet for a percentage — these are the counts so far. We keep collecting results, so this will fill in.
Read from 9 starts by 1 boat between 2022 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Dufour 29 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Aegean Regatta2026- Aegean Regatta2022
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
—
Not enough data yet: 2 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: 7 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Dufour 29 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Mount Gay 30 (5 meetings), Bavaria 37 (5 meetings), First 42 (Farr) (5 meetings), Elan 40 (5 meetings), X-332 (5 meetings), Bavaria 36 (5 meetings), JOD 35 (5 meetings), Grand Soleil 45 (Judel/Vrolijk) (5 meetings), First 38 (5 meetings), First 32 (5 meetings), Oceanis 390 (5 meetings), Grand Surprise (5 meetings), Hallberg Rassy 26 (5 meetings), First 41 (5 meetings), Elan 37 (5 meetings), Sun Odyssey 34.2 (5 meetings), X-562 (5 meetings), Sun Fast 37 (5 meetings), Rm 126 (5 meetings), Discovery 300 (5 meetings), Dromor 26 (5 meetings), Elan 31 (Design) (5 meetings), Dufour 350 (5 meetings), Bavaria 40 Cruiser (5 meetings), Baltic 37 (5 meetings), Attalia 32 (4 meetings), First 31.7 (4 meetings), First 28 (4 meetings), Dufour 35 (4 meetings), Yca 29 (4 meetings), Elan 33 (4 meetings), Sun Light 30 (4 meetings), Sun Odyssey 35 (4 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Dufour 29 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
4.33
41°
Beam reach
7.15
90°
Broad reach
7.85
135°
Downwind VMG
6.90
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
There is no obvious weak spot here. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on the run in a strong breeze, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage on a broad reach as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
There is no condition where it falls away badly, which is worth something over a season of mixed weather.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a Dufour 29
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 2.71 | 3.74 | 4.26 | 4.33 |
| 52° | 4.19 | 5.58 | 6.17 | 6.29 |
| 60° | 4.44 | 5.81 | 6.35 | 6.52 |
| 75° | 4.62 | 6.00 | 6.55 | 6.86 |
| 90° | 4.55 | 6.15 | 6.67 | 7.15 |
| 110° | 4.66 | 6.30 | 7.00 | 7.64 |
| 120° | 4.50 | 6.22 | 6.99 | 7.93 |
| 135° | 4.07 | 5.88 | 6.77 | 7.85 |
| 150° | 3.47 | 5.27 | 6.40 | 7.42 |
| Run VMG | 3.00 | 4.57 | 5.78 | 6.90 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. Crew weight is declared around 480 kg.
Rigging
Dufour 29 rig and sail dimensions
A Dufour 29 carries 9.33 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.09 m boom, a forestay 10.79 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 3 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 49 to 62 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.