Nouveau GRAND

New management has overhauled Dufour Yachts, but the DUFOUR 37 shows that longtime staples such as fine performance and good value have endured

- HERB McCORMICK

For most of the decade starting around 2010, Dufour Yachts approached the business of making and marketing its performance cruising boats in a uniform manner. Nowhere was this more obvious than at gatherings such as the annual sailboat show in Annapolis, Maryland, where the company's Grand Large line of boats was displayed, all clearly from the same lineage. They had nearly identical hull shapes and profiles, and matching beige canvas dodgers and Bimini tops. The only major thing that set them apart was the length of their waterlines. I quite liked those boats, which sailed well and offered extremely good value; in fact, I often had Dufour at the top of my list of favorite French production boatyards.

Then, in 2018, Dufour was acquired by another iconic French yard-catamaran builder Fountaine Pajotwhich slowly but surely is stamping its own imprint on the brand. The latest example of this evolution is the Dufour 37 that was introduced in Annapolis this past fall, replacing the 360 in the lineup (and measuring closer to 35 feet than 37 feet).

Fountaine Pajot made no secret about its intention to modernize the Dufour line, which was clearly a priority in the aesthetics of the 37. The freeboard is ample, the angular windows in the hull and coachroof are flashy and accent one another, and the integrated bowsprit forward gives the whole shooting match a sense of purpose and performance. Throw in a forward sun deck with an inflatable lounging pad that can be stashed away when not in use (the catamaran guys in the building surely had a say here), and you have a contemporary package in looks and feel.