1972 Dufour 35 Ocean-crossing Liveaboard

We purchased Champagne in Miami in 2015 with the intention of sailing her to Australia. To make her ‘Pacific Ready’ we upgraded every system and secured all the essentials for living aboard full time. Life happened along the way and instead of cruising to the Panama Canal via the Caribbean chain, we instead found ourselves crossing the Atlantic to the Mediterranean (2017), where we’ve been based since. 

Champagne currently resides in the charming seaside town of Kas, Turkey and comes with a highly-prized annual Setur Marina contract (the waiting list is long). If we don’t sell her by April then we’re off to retrace our steps back to the Caribbean.   

While there’s no such thing as the perfect boat, Champagne is an ideal candidate for any K.I.S.S. subscriber. Roomy enough for a couple (along with 2 guests for 4 nights), yet small enough to safely single-hand, and simple enough to maintain on a budget. She has everything you want, without all the clutter you don’t need.  

Hull Fundamentals

Champagne is built of solid fiberglass (no core), including a fully encapsulated deep fin keel (no keel bots). Her rudder is steered by a tiller (no quadrant, cable, or chain failures as per many wheel designs), and is hung on a full-length skeg (extra protection and stability). Her swooping curved lines and narrow overhanging ends result in a smooth and comfortable motion when the sea-state gets rough.

• LOA: 35-ft (10.74-m)

• Beam: 11.3-ft (3.45-m)

• Displacement: 14,000 lbs (6.4 metric tons)

• Ballast: 5,800 lbs (2.6 metric tons), 41% bal/disp ratio.     

• Draft: 6-ft (1.9 m)

Engine

• 27 HP Yanmar 3GM30F. Professional rebuild from the head up, including new cylinders and rings (2019). Less than 300 hours since.  

• Fixed two-blade bronze prop (less drag when sailing) with a three-blade spare.

• All new running gear (prop shaft, stuffing box, coupler) from 2016. 

• 120-liter (32-gal) diesel bladder, with backup fuel pump and secondary fuel filter. At cruising speeds, fuel consumption is 1.5-liter (0.4-gal) per hour.  

• Lots of spares, including starter motor and alternator.

Sails & Rig

• 3-reef dacron partial-batten mainsail. Aged but still works. 

• New Selden Furlex 204s roller-furler installed with a new 8mm forestay in 2021.

• 135% Genoa with fresh reinforcements and sunbrella sacrificial.

• 110% Jib with fresh reinforcements and sacrificial x2. These twin jibs can be loaded into the dual luff tracks of the roller furler for efficient and easily reefable downwind sailing.         

• Full-sized symmetrical spinnaker with pole, plus a smaller asymmetrical spinnaker. 

• Storm jib. Hank-on sail to be used on a removable inner forestay (yet to be installed).    

• All new standing and running rigging in 2016, and kept in good order. 

• Primary cockpit winches (self-tailing Lewmar 45s) and halyard winches at the mast (self-tailing Lewmar 30s) were replaced in 2016. All other winches are non-tailing Lewmar and have been recently serviced (2022).    

• Keel stepped mast has steps straight to the top.  

Electrical 

• Three 100 amp-hour gel cell batteries (2016), for a total of 300 amp-hours. Regularly tested. Spare 80 amp-hour wet cell starting battery for emergencies.   

• 345-watt rigid monocrystalline solar panel with 30-amp MPPT charge controller from 2016. This typically provides 100% of our daily electrical needs.

• 400-watt wind generator with charge controller from 2016. Rarely used except for on longer passages with lots of night sailing. Can be easily switched on/off. 

• 2000-watt inverter. Wired for 120V (USA), but easy to swap for 240V (EU) version. 

• Entire boat was rewired in 2015, with new red/white LED lights installed throughout, as well as 12v and USB sockets, and plenty of fans. 

• Isotherm refrigeration powered by a Danfoss DB50 compressor (2015). 

• Full suite of B&G electronics, including touchscreen chartplotter, wind/depth displays, and a VHF radio all with AIS (2016). 

• Legendary ICOM SSB radio, with tuner, backstay antenna, and packet modem.

Plumbing

• Twin 190-liter (50-gal) bladders, total water capacity of 380-liters (100-gal).

• 12-liter (3-gal) hot water tank with engine and electrical connections.

• Pressurized hot/cold water at galley and head (with spare pump). 

• Manual saltwater foot pump at the twin galley sink.  

• Two primary bilge pumps w/ float switches, and separate pump to drain the shower.    

• One manual bilge pump operated from the cockpit.  

• All thru-hull fittings and seacocks are Groco solid bronze and were replaced in 2016. They have been well maintained, and include attached emergency bungs.

• Full sized Jabsco electric flush toilet (2022).  

• 90-liter (24-gal) holding tank, with macerator pump and all the valves necessary to pump out or dump overboard.    

Ground Tackle

• Primary anchor 20-kg (44 lbs) Rocna, attached to 80-meters (260-ft) galvanized 10mm (⅜) chain. All in good condition. 

• Lofrans 1000-watt Kobra windlass (2016), with both gypsy and drum, operated via a corded remote at the bow or via a rocker switch from the cockpit. 

• Spare anchors: 1) 33-lbs Delta stowed in deck locker, 2) 12-lbs Hi-tensile Danforth, and 3) FX-23 Fortress stowed below with various spare chain/rode. 

Decks & Hardware

• Custom robust anodized aluminum arch.  

• New bimini with removable side shades. 

• New mainsail stackpack with lazyjacks. 

• Summer tent for extended shading, can be left up in nearly all weather. 

• Large overhead hatches with covers and bug screens. 

• Oversized mooring, midship, and towing cleats.  

• Deep, comfortable cockpit with high seatbacks.  

• Bulletproof swim platform and ladder, with new folding passerella (2021). 

• 60m of stern-tie webbing on a spool (2021). 

• LifeSling 3 stowed in a fiberglass box (2016). 

• Powerful 6-to-1 lifting davit for the outboard. 

Dinghy

• 2.6m (8.5-ft) AB inflatable with fiberglass bottom and oversized tubes. Fits perfectly on deck below the boom for safe, trouble-free passage making.  

• Yamaha 9.9 HP four-stroke outboard (2017), can get the two of us with shopping on plane and back to the boat in a jiffy.  

• 22-liter (6-gal) V fuel tank with external spin-on fuel filter. 

• 2.5-kg Bruce anchor with 30-meter (100-ft) rode. 

• Towing bridle, and loads of other spares. 

Extras

• CapeHorn windvane self-steering. This ‘extra’ crewmember is indispensable for anyone looking to do long passages. ‘Horny’ steers 99% of the time we’re under sail, in all weather conditions and on all points of sail. Windvanes work best on old-fashioned, well-balanced boats, which is why he performs so well on Champagne.

• Simrad TP30 tiller(auto)pilot. A simple and efficient autopilot to keep the boat on course when motoring or day sailing. Spare included!  

• Jordan Series Drogue (JSD). If you’re keen to cross oceans, then you want to be prepared for the worst. Our research convinced us that using a drogue is the best way to weather a storm, and numerous USCG trials confirm that the JSD is the most effective system. We bought a kit from Sailrite and built the drogue to our boat’s specifications. We’ve yet to deploy it, but having it aboard feels like an ace up the sleeve. 

• EPIRB. When all else fails, push the red button to call the cavalry. 

• Honda 2000-watt generator. Carry-over from our previous boat, not much occasion to use it, but a welcome backup should something fail. Recently serviced. 

• MaxAir 35 GH dive compressor. Uninhabited pacific islands can’t offer tank refills, so we thought it best to bring our own. Not heavily used but regularly maintained, kept protected in a custom fiberglass deck box. Four aluminum tanks. 

• Three-person high-pressure inflatable kayak (2021). 

Painting

• Decks were repainted white/gray in 2018.  

• Slight osmosis was repaired and protected with an epoxy barrier coat (May 2021). 

• Topsides sprayed with TeknoMarin two-part polyurethane (Turkish Awlgrip) May 2021.  

• Old teak skirting boards (covering hull/deck joint) replaced with new (May 2021). 

• Floorboards refinished with two-part polyurethane varnish (Dec 2022).  

• Seajet antifouling below the waterline (May 2021), and just renewed in Dec 2022! 

Champagne’s never looked better, and is ready to go wherever you desire. We keep an out-of-date blogsite of our travels, and here’s an article of a family that has heavily cruised another Dufour 35. Please contact us with any questions: pophercork@gmail.com