Dufour 56 Exclusive, Tested Hard and Priced for Buyers

Sunshine, hail and 30 knots in one Solent afternoon

Yachting World's David Harding tested the dufour 56 exclusive on a day that ran from bright sunshine and 15 knots on flat water to rain squalls, a hailstorm, gusts close to 30 knots and the steep wind-against-tide chop of Cowes Roads. The boat took it in its stride. That test is the best evidence available on how this big Dufour behaves when conditions turn, and it is mostly reassuring.

The 56 Exclusive was not a new hull. It was Dufour's refinement of the Grand Large 560 first launched in 2014, with detail and styling changes driven by owner feedback. Together with a new 63-footer it formed the Exclusive range at the top of Dufour's lineup from 2016. Later brochures dropped the word Exclusive, and Dufour's site still listed the Dufour 56 in mid 2024 before the range was reshaped around the 54.

A big dinghy, with a keel that grips

Harding placed the 56 firmly in the modern template: beamy, shallow-sectioned hull, broad stern, high freeboard, bolt-on iron fin, fractional swept-spreader rig and an open, light interior. At about 17.6 tonnes light it gives a displacement to waterline ratio of roughly 143, light for a cruiser, while a modest rig keeps sail area to displacement just under 20.

What earlier beamy designs often lacked was depth in the keel and rudder, so they lost grip as soon as they heeled. The 56 draws 8 ft 2 in on its standard L-keel and has a respectably large rudder. When Harding deliberately put the helm down in a gust with the sheets pinned, it hung on until heel was well past comfortable. The alternative keel is only about a foot shallower, at 7 ft 3 in, and Yachting World argued that a much shorter fin would start to cost the boat its grip.

Upwind in the high 7s, reaching in the 9s

With more than 20 knots across the deck for much of the day and the in-mast main partly furled, the test boat averaged 7.5 to 8 knots upwind depending on wind and sea, tacking through about 80 degrees with a self-tacking jib. Cracked off, boat speed climbed through the 8s and 9s. The Lewmar linkage to the twin wheels had no play, weather helm was modest and a folding four-blade prop kept vibration off the rudder.

The one flaw was occasional slamming in the short Solent chop. Heel made little difference; the ride softened once the waves lengthened. Harding attributed it to the flat, shallow forward sections, and it is worth testing for yourself if your home waters are steep and short.

A low gooseneck and a winch worth upgrading

One detail sets the 56 apart: the gooseneck is barely chest high for a six-footer, so flaking or covering a conventional mainsail does not require climbing the mast. Combined with a German-style mainsheet led to Lewmar 55 winches beside each wheel, it makes a slab-reefed main practical for a couple.

Everything else leads to a pair of Lewmar 50s on the coachroof. The starboard one, manual as standard, handles the self-tacking jib sheet and felt underpowered in a breeze; cross-winching to the electric port winch in the Premium package is the workaround, and a bigger electric winch is the fix. Crossing the wide, smooth cockpit sole abaft the wheels when heeled is another weak point, and Harding suggested foot braces and extra handholds at the helm consoles.

Tender garage and a stern built for anchoring

Behind the helms, the transom hinges down to reveal a garage for a tender, and a hatch in the cockpit sole lets you drop warps and fenders straight into it. The liferaft lives under the step down to the bathing platform. Across the stern you can add the full picnic and barbecue set with sink and cooker. Between the wheels and the companionway, a substantial table carries an optional fridge aft and a stowage bin forward.

On deck, a Facnor FlatDeck furler keeps the jib tack low, and the wide, flat coachroof with its many hatches is good for lounging but slippery underfoot when wet.

Galley across the beam, crew cabin in the bow

Below, a raised sole hides tanks and batteries and trims the headroom to just under 7 feet. Handholds around the companionway are better than on many big production boats. Forward of the saloon and a step down, the galley runs across the full beam, close to the point of least motion; the trade-off is distance from the cockpit. Moabi joinery was standard, light oak and teak optional.

The forecabin offers an island berth with heads and shower split either side, or a berth offset to port with the heads forward. In the bow you choose between a big sail locker reached from the deck or a crew cabin. Dufour's late spec sheet lists five arrangements: three cabins with three heads in two variants, four cabins with two heads and a Pullman, four cabins with four heads, and five cabins with three heads, every one with the skipper cabin option.

• Island berth forward with split heads and shower
• Offset berth forward with heads in the bow
• Crew cabin or deck-access sail locker in the forepeak
• Washing machine or bunk cabin options aft

The other Dufour 56, from 1994

Searches for dufour 56 for sale sometimes turn up a much older boat. The Dufour 56 of 1994 was designed by Philippe Harle and Alain Mortain, offered with a center or aft cockpit, carried a masthead sloop rig and a 100 hp Volvo, and displaced about 38,500 pounds on 56 feet. It shares only the number with the Felci boat.

Telling them apart is easy: the 1990s boat has a raked bow, a masthead rig and often a center cockpit, while the 2016 boat has a plumb bow, hull windows, twin wheels and a drop-down transom. Prices for the older boat are a fraction of the newer one's, and condition matters far more than design.

Running costs and how to shop

Budget roughly $40,000 to $75,000 a year in the US for a 56-foot slip, insurance, haul-out, generator and engine service, sail care and routine upkeep, more if you employ a captain. Asking prices run from about $400,000 for early boats to about $720,000 for late, well-equipped ones.

Because the 56 shares its hull and most systems with the 560 Grand Large, compare both when shopping. The 56 has the refreshed styling and later interior options; a 560 can offer the same sailing for less money.