BoatsDufour Yachts 31

Dufour Yachts 31

Masthead Sloop · Fin With Rudder On Skeg · First built 1973

A 1973 masthead sloop featuring a skeg-mounted rudder and a comfortable, stable design for coastal cruising

Designed by Michel Dufour.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Fin With Rudder On Skeg

See her sail

The Dufour Yachts 31, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Footage from Untide

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

LivelySea-kindly

Her heavy displacement on a moderate beam gives 26 — a moderate, middle-of-the-road motion.

Comfort ratio 26
CoastalBluewater

1.98 — just under the 2.0 offshore line; her beam is modest for her weight.

Capsize screening 1.98
LightHeavy

352 — very heavy for her waterline, a serious load-carrying cruiser.

Displacement / length 352
EasygoingPowered-up

14.0 — modest power for her weight; easygoing rather than lively, and happier with a breeze.

Sail area / displacement 14.0
TenderStiff

39% of her weight is ballast — moderately stiff, a middle-of-the-road stability.

Ballast 39%

A capable cruiser that sits just inside the offshore line — coastal work with real passages in her.

What the fleet has seen

The Dufour Yachts 31, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Dufour Yachts 31 is a masthead sloop designed by Michel Dufour, built from 1973 to the present, with an LOA of 9.4 meters and a displacement of 4354 kg. It features a fin keel with a rudder on a skeg and was commonly fitted with a Volvo Penta MD11c/d engine. Aboard *Untide*, a Dufour 31 navigated the San Juan Islands, where its thick fiberglass hull proved durable against floating debris.2:18 The boat encountered light winds and strong tidal currents, which created violent tidal races and standing waves.1:53 These conditions stirred up sediment in the diesel tank, clogging fuel filters and leading to engine failure, necessitating filter changes and carburetor cleaning.1:59

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen once across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
38.5%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Masthead Sloop
Ratios
SA / displacement
14.0
Displacement / length
352.2
Comfort ratio
25.5
Capsize screening
1.98
Hull speed
6.4 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
863
Hull
Hull type
Fin with rudder on skeg
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
First built 1973
Units built
900
Designer
Michel Dufour
Builder
Dufour

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Spirit 329.48 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA Jacques De Ridder-designed IOR 23-footer built for nearly two decades as a stiff, masthead-rigged fin-keel sloop
Singlehanding Through Uncharted Atolls on My Grinde 27'2:07from Wind Hippie Sailing
Beneteau Oceanis 319.66 mSame hull family0.3 m longerA Finot-Conq designed fractional sloop balancing a modern hull form with a stable 1.8-meter bulb keel
Sailboats at Every Budget: What You Get for $10K, $100K, $500K & $1M9:36from The Sailing Doodles Podcast
Contest 319.50 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA U. van Essen-designed masthead sloop with a high ballast ratio, built for stability and comfort in a compact hull
Becoming the Captain Our Boat Deserves with IYT — Sailing Yabá14:06from Sailing Yabá
Cal Boats 309.14 mSame hull family0.3 m shorterOffered with an optional tall rig, this masthead sloop served as the predecessor to the 2-30 series
Left a multinational, house, and car to live on a 30-foot sailboat | #SAL Clip #1451:32from Hashtag Sal
Catalina Yachts 309.12 mSame hull family0.3 m shorterWith over 6,000 hulls produced, this versatile masthead sloop remains one of the most successful production yachts ever built
Perfect $20,000 Sailboat (Catalina 30 Refit on a Budget) - Ep 358 - Lady K Sailingfrom Lady K Sailing
Dufour Arpege 309.14 mSame hull family0.3 m shorterA record-breaking production of over 1500 units, this MORC-compliant racer-cruiser defined a new standard for the 30-foot class
🔥 Finally introducing my boat | 1971 Dufour Arpège – SCORPION UNO2:08from NAUTICPIOLI

The family

Boats like this

Nearby designs by size, type, and era — worth a look alongside her.

Dufour Yachts 41A 1971 masthead sloop with a skeg-mounted rudder, offered in both sloop and ketch configurations for versatile cruisingDufour Yachts 27A 1972 masthead sloop with a skeg-mounted rudder, designed for stability and coastal cruising throughout the seventiesDufour Yachts 29A 1975 masthead sloop with a 1.6m draft, widely exported to the US for stable coastal cruisingDufour Yachts 3800Marketed in the US as the Dufour 31 Frers, this 9.35-metre sloop was offered with both fractional and masthead rigsDufour Yachts 34A 1974 masthead sloop featuring a skeg-mounted rudder and a balanced displacement-to-ballast ratio for offshore stability

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