Dufour 61 Review, the Flagship Under a Carbon Arch

Nobody had sailed it before the test

When SAIL's Charles Doane stepped aboard the dufour 61 at the 2021 Annapolis show, he learned the boat had just been rigged for the first time and nobody had ever test-sailed one. The self-tacking jib needed more halyard tension that could not easily be added, and the main was on in-mast furling. His expectations dropped. Then, in 12 to 15 knots off Annapolis, the boat made 8.5 knots at 40 degrees apparent, 7.8 knots pinched to 35 degrees and still about 5 knots inside 30 degrees without stalling. On a beam reach under jib alone it topped 8 knots.

SAIL went on to give the 61 its 2022 Best Boats award in the flagship monohull category. Doane's summary was that it felt almost like a giant dinghy, with a well-balanced helm, good feedback and a rudder that never let go.

A flagship from the Fountaine Pajot years

The 61 was the first new flagship Dufour designed after joining catamaran builder Fountaine Pajot in 2018. Felci Yacht Design drew the hull with the in-house team, and Dufour explicitly pitched it against bigger superyacht-style sailboats with two layout concepts, one with the galley integrated into the saloon for young families and one with a discreet galley near the companionway for owners who carry a skipper and crew.

It made its North American debut at Annapolis in October 2021 alongside the Dufour 470, and Cruising World nominated it for its Boat of the Year awards. Dufour still listed the 61 in mid 2024, but by autumn 2025 its range topped out at the new Dufour 54, which makes the 61 the largest modern Dufour now found only on the brokerage market.

A carbon arch instead of a traveler

The 61's deck looks different from other Dufours. Rather than a traveler on the coachroof, a tall carbon-fiber arch over the companionway carries the double-ended German mainsheet through a narrow bridle, and it also anchors the dodger and bimini. That keeps the coachroof and side decks clear of lines and gives crew a grabrail at the most useful point. Forward of the mast the deck is flush, with low solid bulwarks outboard.

Every working line runs under the deck to two pairs of Lewmar 65 winches just ahead of the wheels, and the engine controls and a full instrument set are at both helms. On the Cruising World boat all four winches were electric and the headsail furler motor sat below deck. The jib is self-tacking; there are no genoa tracks on the standard deck, though SAIL notes an overlapping jib, slab-reefed main and downwind sails can be ordered. Aft, the fold-down transom opens to a dinghy garage, with room under a bench for an optional outdoor galley.

Three ways to place the galley

Below, the 61 effectively offers three galley treatments. The first places a step-down galley forward of the saloon to port with a small passage cabin opposite holding two over-and-under singles. The second deletes that cabin and runs the forward galley across the full beam, bathed in light from overhead windows and hatches, with twin sinks near the centerline and a large front-loading fridge-freezer. The third moves the galley aft to port by the companionway, more conventional and tighter, which frees midships for a larger passage cabin and a big head.

Common to all is a spacious saloon with strong handholds at the companionway and overhead, an L-shaped settee to port around a table that rises and lowers, a starboard settee with a movable insert, and a nav desk. Forward is the owner's stateroom with an island berth offset to port, a settee, a big hanging locker and an en suite head. A small crew cabin sits in the forepeak.

• Forward galley with passage bunk cabin: 4 cabins, 4 heads, 9 berths
• Full-beam forward galley: 3 cabins, 3 heads, 8 berths
• Aft galley by the companionway: 4 cabins, 4 heads, 9 berths
• Skipper cabin in the forepeak in every version

If anything, overpowered

Standard power is a turbocharged 175 hp Volvo Penta on a shaft with a four-blade prop; Dufour's own sheet lists 180 hp. SAIL called the boat overpowered: 7 knots at only 1,450 rpm, 8 knots at 2,000, 9.4 knots at a 2,200 rpm cruise and 10 knots flat out at 2,950. It turned within its own length and backed predictably in either direction. Cruising World, with no wind at all on its test day, recorded 8.7 knots at the suggested cruise and about a knot more wide open.

Tankage is generous: 780 liters of fuel and 880 of water, about 206 and 232 gallons. With a 9 ft 2 in standard keel and 7 ft 2 in shoal option, the 61 is a deep-water boat; plan US cruising grounds and slips accordingly.

How it is built, and a note on cores

SAIL's 2022 test described a hull laminate solid below the waterline with topsides and deck cored in end-grain balsa, an internal aluminum grid carrying the keel and lead ballast in the bulb. SAIL's 2021 launch preview, based on builder information, spoke of an infused polyester hull and deck with PVC and polyurethane foam core. Either way, ask the seller for the build specification of the actual hull and have the surveyor take moisture readings around deck fittings.

Doane rated the finish better than average for a mass-production boat. The rig is a 9/10 fractional, keel-stepped anodized aluminum mast with three sets of spreaders, visible through centerline hatches over the saloon.

What a 61 costs to keep

A 63-foot boat with a 9-foot draft, generator, watermaker, air conditioning and four electric winches is a different ownership proposition from a 50-footer. Budget roughly $70,000 to $130,000 a year in the US for a deep-water slip, insurance, haul-out, systems service, sails and routine work, more with a full-time captain. Used asking prices start around $850,000 and reach about $1.2 million for late, well-equipped boats.

Against its rivals, the 61 was priced competitively when new, and that holds on the used market. The catch is a small US fleet, which makes comparisons hard and can lengthen the time to sell.