Dufour 520
Dufour · Umberto Felci · 2019
Updated
The Dufour 520 is a 14.75 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Umberto Felci and built by Dufour, first launched in 2019. It races in Class A.
Length
14.75 m
48′ 5″
Beam
4.80 m
Draft
2.23 m
Displacement
15.1 t
Sail area
115 m²
On the podium
Where a Dufour 520 finishes when she goes racing.
Not enough data yet to show how this design finishes. It has not been found in the race results we have collected so far.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Dufour 520 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
No regattas found yet.
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
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Not enough data yet: no races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: no races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Dufour 520 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Not enough data yet to say who this design races against. No result we have collected puts it on the water beside another design we track.
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
5.96
40°
Beam reach
9.81
90°
Broad reach
10.08
135°
Downwind VMG
8.23
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 is a boat that wants breeze. On a windy coastal course it is in its element; on a light-air windward-leeward it has to be sailed well to hold on.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on the beam in a strong breeze, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short to windward 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 1.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Dufour 520
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.02 | 4.47 | 5.38 | 5.96 |
| 52° | 4.79 | 6.86 | 8.00 | 8.65 |
| 60° | 5.18 | 7.24 | 8.30 | 8.94 |
| 75° | 5.46 | 7.52 | 8.57 | 9.34 |
| 90° | 5.58 | 7.82 | 8.98 | 9.81 |
| 110° | 5.62 | 8.05 | 9.20 | 10.56 |
| 120° | 5.44 | 7.88 | 9.09 | 10.52 |
| 135° | 4.79 | 7.26 | 8.71 | 10.08 |
| 150° | 4.03 | 6.32 | 7.97 | 9.30 |
| Run VMG | 3.48 | 5.47 | 6.91 | 8.23 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 880 kg.
Rigging
Dufour 520 rig and sail dimensions
A Dufour 520 carries 16.20 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.60 m boom, a forestay 17.25 m above the deck and a 6.12 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 2 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails