Dufour 32

Peter Poland reports on the new 32-footer that reflects the many changes made down the years in the designs and dimensions of production cruising yachts

- Peter K Poland

When Michel Dufour set up as a designer and builder of GRP yachts back in the 1960s, the Arpege 30 (introduced in 1966) was only his second production yacht. In those days a 30-footer was one of the largest GRP cruisers to be built for the fast-growing market in GRP yachts. And an impressive 1,500 of this great Michel Dufour design were sold before production ceased in 1976.

Yet today, buyers looking for new cruisers around the 30ft size will be hard-pressed to find anything on the market. Beneteau, Jeanneau, Dufour, Bavaria, Hanse et al are all producing ever bigger cruisers; and GRP 60-footers are now commonplace. New smaller yachts like the recent Beneteau Oceanis 30.1 (2019), Hanse 315 (2016) and Dufour 32 (2022) are rare. The smallest Jeanneau, Hallberg-Rassy and Bavaria are all 34-footers.

Big yacht surge

There are many reasons for the increasing number of large, high-value yachts. The most interesting of these relates to what is known in the USA as 'The Great Wealth Transfer. As ageing 'baby boomers' sadly begin to depart in increasing numbers, they leave their substantial assets to their children. A 2019 study by American real estate specialists Coldwell Banker suggests that US millennials stand to inherit in excess of US$68 trillion from their baby boomer parents by 2030.

Millions of young US consumers are therefore likely to become buyers of high-value goods. UK figures will of course be smaller; but they will have much the same effect. UK dealers tell me that this surge is already being seen in yacht purchases. More people are buying bigger yachts.