Dufour 30
Dufour · Umberto Felci · 1996
Updated
The Dufour 30 is a 9.03 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Umberto Felci and built by Dufour, first launched in 1996. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 56% of the designs it races against. It comes alive as the breeze builds, and gives time away in the light.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 56% of the boats it races against.
71st of 159 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 191 starts across 61 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
9.03 m
29′ 8″
Beam
3.04 m
Draft
1.55 m
Displacement
3.4 t
Sail area
42 m²
On the podium
Where a Dufour 30 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
18%
of 191 starts by 8 boats
Wins
8%
Read from 191 starts by 8 boats between 2017 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Dufour 30 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
"Πορος 2026"2026- 9ο Κυπελλο Καλλιθεας2026
- "Αγκιστρι 2026"2026
- 43ος Ιστιοπλοικος Αγωνας Κορφος ΄262026
- "Νικολαος Σαρικαβαζης 2026"2026
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: 8 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
18%
of these races end on the podium
Who she races against
The designs a Dufour 30 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Dufour 30 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
4.43
41°
Beam reach
7.42
90°
Broad reach
8.16
135°
Downwind VMG
7.11
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.
This design earns its keep off the wind. A course with long free legs suits it better than a windward-leeward.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a reach once the breeze fills, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage cracked off as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short upwind when the breeze is soft, giving away time it never gets back.
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 beam reach.
How fast is a Dufour 30
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 2.73 | 3.81 | 4.40 | 4.43 |
| 52° | 4.28 | 5.76 | 6.38 | 6.53 |
| 60° | 4.56 | 6.00 | 6.57 | 6.78 |
| 75° | 4.75 | 6.21 | 6.75 | 7.17 |
| 90° | 4.88 | 6.46 | 6.95 | 7.42 |
| 110° | 4.96 | 6.56 | 7.26 | 7.96 |
| 120° | 4.79 | 6.48 | 7.25 | 8.30 |
| 135° | 4.32 | 6.19 | 7.04 | 8.16 |
| 150° | 3.70 | 5.60 | 6.65 | 7.64 |
| Run VMG | 3.21 | 4.86 | 6.06 | 7.11 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Roughly half carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 390 kg.
Rigging
Dufour 30 rig and sail dimensions
A Dufour 30 carries 9.98 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.71 m boom, a forestay 11.50 m above the deck and a 3.95 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 11 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 53 to 58 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.