Dufour Cat 48: Surprise: Dufour also builds catamarans

The trend towards multihulls continues unabated. Now the French company Dufour Yacht wants a slice of the cake. Surprisingly, the first renderings and a model for a cruising catamaran were shown at their stand at the trade fair in Paris. According to rumours, the yacht builders in Périgny near La Rochelle have been working on the construction of a new multihull line for some time. Now the project seems to be materialising. The new twin-hull will be presented under the name Dufour Cat 48.

The task of drawing up the plans and design was given to Umberto Felci, Dufour's in-house designer. According to initial impressions, he has given the 14.70 metre long hulls an apparently sporty look, with a negative bow stem and a pronounced deck sweep. However, the new cat from Dufour is designed to emphasise cruising. The maximum number of generously proportioned areas for rest and relaxation and the massive width of 8.00 metres stand for this. There are seating and sunbathing areas on the foredeck and on the flybridge, which is accessible from both sides. The massive helm station with its own bimini is also located in the centre of the upper floor. All functions for setting and trimming the sails are routed to the side of the helm station to a wide console with winches and halyard stoppers and can therefore be operated directly by the skipper.

The rig seems to be placed conspicuously far aft. This should allow a self-tacking jib with a still reasonably large sail area to be attached. The gradation in the running deck is also exciting. This will provide far more headroom forward than aft. No layouts or images have yet been presented for the interior fittings. Only this much is communicated: The Dufour Cat 48 is available in versions with three, four or five cabins, each with their own bathrooms and showers. A separate cabin for the skipper should also be possible.

Dufour Yacht has also not yet been able to give an initial asking price. The shipyard will be at the boat show in Düsseldorf will provide more specific information about their catamaran project and will certainly also show detailed plans and publish technical data. The French have even registered their own information stand in Hall 15 (A 47) for this purpose.