Dufour 45
Dufour · Umberto Felci · 2008
Updated
The Dufour 45 is a 13.60 m displacement racing yacht designed by Umberto Felci and built by Dufour, first launched in 2008. It races in Class A. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 2% 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 2% of the boats it races against.
45th of 46 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 101 starts across 16 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
13.60 m
44′ 7″
Beam
4.31 m
Draft
2.29 m
Displacement
10.6 t
Sail area
118 m²
On the podium
Where a Dufour 45 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
9%
of 101 starts by 6 boats
Wins
4%
Read from 101 starts by 6 boats between 2011 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Dufour 45 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Lliga Creuers2026- XXX Lliga Social CMPO2026
Nurolbank Loryma Cup2026- Lliga Creuers2025
- 36th Marmaris International Race Week2025
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
8%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
8%
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 45 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
First 40 (7 meetings), X-332 (7 meetings), Centurion 40 (7 meetings), Salona 44 (6 meetings), IMX 38 (6 meetings), Salona 41 (5 meetings), Latini 52 (4 meetings), Swan 45 (4 meetings), Sun Fizz 40 (4 meetings), Oceanis 390 (4 meetings), Attalia 32 (4 meetings), Bavaria Cruiser 46 (4 meetings), Mount Gay 30 (4 meetings), First 305 (4 meetings), Dufour 3800 (4 meetings), Sigma 33 (4 meetings), First 456 (4 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Dufour 45 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
5.83
39°
Beam reach
9.39
90°
Broad reach
10.37
135°
Downwind VMG
8.74
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 a reach in a working breeze, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short off the wind 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 45
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.71 | 5.18 | 5.70 | 5.83 |
| 52° | 5.75 | 7.58 | 8.12 | 8.27 |
| 60° | 6.11 | 7.83 | 8.35 | 8.54 |
| 75° | 6.37 | 8.00 | 8.62 | 8.98 |
| 90° | 6.33 | 8.11 | 8.75 | 9.39 |
| 110° | 6.24 | 8.27 | 9.16 | 10.00 |
| 120° | 6.06 | 8.16 | 9.15 | 10.44 |
| 135° | 5.44 | 7.69 | 8.79 | 10.37 |
| 150° | 4.54 | 6.80 | 8.23 | 9.59 |
| Run VMG | 3.94 | 5.89 | 7.30 | 8.74 |
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 880 kg.
Rigging
Dufour 45 rig and sail dimensions
A Dufour 45 carries 17.16 m of mainsail hoist on a 6.00 m boom, a forestay 18.24 m above the deck and a 5.50 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 — 112 to 179 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.