dufour 455 or Jeanneau 45.2 what would you choose?

[Izikalvo]

Hello all
we came to the final stage of choosing our live aboard sail boat for the Mediterranean for the next 5 years.

we need to choose between dufour 455 built around 2008 and Jeanneau 45.2 built around 2002.

what would you choose?

thank you

[SailAllDay]

I own a Dufour 44 so i'm a bit biased. But here are my thoughts:

Dufour will be faster due to more sail area and better hull shape. IMO the build quality is better and in your case it will be 6 years newer than the Jeanneau. Also, i'm not sure how it is in the Med, but in the States, there are very few Dufours but a ton of Jeanneau's, so you also get that novelty factor.

The only thing i dislike are the Sail Drives on our Dufours are the older 120 model, and they are a pain in the ass to maintain. They are designed to be hauled out for oil change and zinc replacements, though its possible to do it underwater, it's just a big hassle. And there's also the big hole in the hull separated by a big rubber seal that Volvo recommends is replaced every 7 years. However you gain the fuel and power efficiency, more space in the engine room, and lower noise and vibrations that a Sail Drives offer. Versus that Jeanneau, the Sail Drive would not affect my decision at all

Good luck!

[Izikalvo]

thank you

also, how hard it is to take off the bulkhead dividing the 2 front cabins and make them as one, including the door dividing the cabins from the head and shower section.
i know that with Jeanneau it is very easy to do it at the aft cabins section.

i had been tolled it can be done.

[carstenb]

A question like yours will draw many conflicting answers. Personally I think Jeanneau's are a better build than the Dufours I've seen.

Discalimer - I own a Jeanneau and although I've maybe 4-5 dufours I've never owned one so my opinion is based strictly on looking closely at dufours (and not liking what I've seen)

[hoppy]

As a jeanneau owner I am also biased, especially if the boats are the same age and condition the 100% the jeanneau.

The Dufour is at an age where it could be original from the factory with things like sails and other stuff needing replacement. The Jeanneau is the same age as mine and my sails were nearly dead 5 years ago and they were replaced along with many other things.

If I assume that both boats are similarly priced, then I will also assume that the Jeanneau has already been upgraded to result in a higher asking price for the age.

On that basis, if you are buying and want to keep the after purchase costs down, then the Jeanneau might be a better buy.




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