Any experience with Dufour sailboats?

I was curious if anyone has had any experience either on or with Dufour sailboats? In the recent issue of Latitudes and Attitudes, there is an article about a 1974 Dufour, 35' long, that is sailed as a bluewater cruiser with great success. When looking at Dufour sailboats online that are for sale, the price is definately less than other bluewater cruisers in the same category, although there doesn't seem to be as much fancy woodwork inside the cabin. As long as the boat is still bluewater worthy, it's not a bad option if one doesn't need anything fancy. Just wanted to know if anyone has an opinion on this manufacture. Thanks in advance.|||here is an excellent article on the older dufour sailboats





from the article





"I confess that the Arpege 30, which was introduced in 1966 and had a fairly long production run of approximately 1,500 boats, had fallen off my personal radar screen of sailboats until two recent and far-flung trips. Last April I was in Oakland, California, attending the Pacific Sail Expo when, weary of the hype and hoopla of the show, I was out wandering, and I came across an Arpege 30 at a nearby dock, where it had been temporarily displaced from her usual berth by the show’s shiny new models. “I wouldn’t trade this boat for any one of those over there,” said a bearded man in the cockpit, sipping coffee and gesturing toward the flapping banners. “I’ve been out to Hawaii and down to Mexico more times than I can count. This boat never lets me down.” I pride myself on my knowledge of sailboats, and while I recognized the boat as an old Dufour, I couldn’t quite place the model. “It’s an Arpege 30,” the man said helpfully, “built in ‘68, and still going strong.”





i had a chance to inspect a dufour 34' sail boat about 14 years ago when i was looking for a live aboard sailboat, i was very impressed by the boat, it seemed very sea worthy with excellent sea births and crusing layout below, but we ended up purchasing a columbia 9.6 instead mainly because of lower price.





hope this helps





http://www.sailingmagazine.net/boats/6-u…