Dufour 40
Dufour · Umberto Felci · 2003
Updated
The Dufour 40 is a 12.06 m displacement racing yacht designed by Umberto Felci and built by Dufour, first launched in 2003. It races in Class B. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 35% of the designs it races against.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 35% of the boats it races against.
60th of 92 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 215 starts across 57 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
12.06 m
39′ 7″
Beam
3.89 m
Draft
2.08 m
Displacement
7.8 t
Sail area
85 m²
On the podium
Where a Dufour 40 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
11%
of 215 starts by 24 boats
Wins
2%
Read from 215 starts by 24 boats between 2011 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Dufour 40 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
6η Regatta Σαρωνικού2026
73° Loro Piana Giraglia2026- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2026
- ORC World Championship2026
- Jonica 652026
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
14%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
12%
of these races end on the podium
Level across both. Plenty of designs fall away once the course gets long — a light hull that thrives round the cans can struggle through a night at sea. This one does not.
Who she races against
The designs a Dufour 40 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Dufour 40 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
5.36
39°
Beam reach
8.63
90°
Broad reach
9.45
135°
Downwind VMG
8.13
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 is even-tempered. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on the beam in a working breeze, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short on a broad reach in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is a displacement hull working to its designed speed.
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 40
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.42 | 4.74 | 5.23 | 5.36 |
| 52° | 5.28 | 6.95 | 7.50 | 7.67 |
| 60° | 5.59 | 7.19 | 7.72 | 7.92 |
| 75° | 5.81 | 7.37 | 7.95 | 8.32 |
| 90° | 5.81 | 7.55 | 8.11 | 8.63 |
| 110° | 5.82 | 7.70 | 8.48 | 9.23 |
| 120° | 5.66 | 7.59 | 8.45 | 9.57 |
| 135° | 5.04 | 7.18 | 8.16 | 9.45 |
| 150° | 4.25 | 6.38 | 7.69 | 8.83 |
| Run VMG | 3.68 | 5.53 | 6.86 | 8.13 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 620 kg.
Rigging
Dufour 40 rig and sail dimensions
A Dufour 40 carries 14.50 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.30 m boom, a forestay 14.85 m above the deck and a 4.82 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 60 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 77 to 138 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.