Wauquiez’s new, sculpted superstructure encloses a remarkable amount of well-organized volume within its aft-cockpit configuration. Large windows (with opening ports discreetly fitted behind exterior louvered trim) offer panoramic views from the key functional areas of nav desk, galley, and dining saloon. This arrangement requires a few steps to be negotiated, but they’re logically placed so as not to interfere with movement through the boat.
The owner’s aft stateroom, with its en-suite head and stall shower, has space rivaling that found in a center-cockpit design. The guest cabin forward is almost as generous in size, lacking only the stall shower. Abundant stowage areas will accommodate provisions, stores, and all the accoutrements of cruising, and the bilges and machinery spaces are readily accessed.
Lee cloths under the saloon settee cushion and under the split mattress on the master berth mark the Pilot Saloon 41 as a seagoing vessel, a purpose backed up by harness and jackline padeyes installed on deck.
The cockpit is laid out for convenience and comfort, and the bridgedeck offers a secure, sheltered perch for the watchkeeper or her companions.
Under power in flat water, the boat made about 8.5 knots at 3,100 rpm and 7.4 knots at a quiet cruising 2,300 rpm. The same flat water meant an absence of wind-under 5 knots and dying to nothing-so meaningful numbers weren’t to be obtained on our test. I trust the designer, Berret Racoupeau, to have endowed the boat with sailing performance that measures up to its swiftness under power.
Wauquiez Pilot Saloon 41
LOA: 41′ 0″
LWL: 36′ 1″
Beam: 13′ 3″
Draft (standard): 5′ 11″
Sail Area: 687 sq. ft.
Displacement: 22,050 lb.
Water: 116 gal.
Fuel: 58 gal.
Engine: 54-hp. Yanmar
Designer: Berret Racoupeau
Price: $325,000
Wauquiez International, (410) 267-8181, www.wauquiez.com
