Yachting Monthly - April 2016

88 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com APRIL 2016

Key cruising features

An excellent

1.45m (4ft 9in)

deep deck locker

at the bow

Stainless

steel dorades

add style and

ventilation

Large deck saloon windows and smaller

opening windows below for ventilation

All lines are brought back to

the helm position on each side

The fold-down transom

hides a small tender garage

The high cockpit coaming

protects the crew

Handrails go well forward

onto the foredeck and can

be used to securely hold

foredeck cushions in place

NEW boat tEst

Chart table

The forward-facing chart table is well

forward in the saloon, not the best place

for popping below to check the chart, but

it does give the navigator or watchkeeper

a good view out. Electronics are controlled

by a Scheiber CAN bus with a touch-

screen display, or alternatively by switches

hidden behind in the cupboard just

outboard of the 67cm x 62cm chart table

(2ft 3in x 2ft). The table is surrounded by

a good, 3cm deep fiddle, but chart stowage

inside is also only 3cm deep.

Galley

With more than 2.23m (7ft 3in) of

headroom, it’s good to see a small, fold-

down step to access the overhead hatch

and top cupboard stowage high above the

L-shaped galley, but a handle above the

step would have been handy.

There’s a good spread of

worktop space forward (next

to a top-opening fridge and

above a front-opening one),

enabling the chef to keep in

contact with the goings-on

in the saloon, rather than

being tucked away around

a corner. The double sink

is deep and made from

moulded synthetic marble.

There’s pegged stowage in

cupboards outboard for the

length of the galley with cut-

outs made to measure for

Wauquiez’ own crockery set.

Maintenance

The engine is under the

cabin sole and access is via two hinged

sole boards, one wide and one narrow. The

narrow board gives access to the starboard

side of the engine including the dipstick –

sadly it can’t be opened without opening

the wider board, which is quite heavy, so

it’s good that there’s a sturdy, lockable

strut to hold it in place. The oil filter on the

110hp Yanmar diesel is low down and not

the easiest to access, but I’ve seen much

worse. The raw water strainer is under the

lift-up base of the hanging locker by the

companionway steps. Stern gland access

is again not the easiest, via a locker in the

owner’s heads.

The tolerances around the cabin sole

boards are small, some were tight and

I feared I might take chunks out of the

surrounding woodwork if the correct edge

wasn’t lifted first.

berth. Forward, down three
steps, was an optional top-
opening washing machine.
Also against the bulkhead is
the drinks cabinet, accessible
from the saloon seating.
To port is the heads, where
entry to the shower is a bit
tight when trying to close
the door. The toilet faces
the shower and offers good
bracing for use at sea.
Opposite (to starboard) is
a Pullman cabin with twin
berths, both are 2.0m (6ft
7in) long. The forecabin is
good, although the 1.48m
(4ft 10in) wide bed is a bit
high and could benefit from
a step up. Stowage is in four
decent drawers beneath the bunk, hanging
and shelved lockers, and top-opening
lockers under the teak units either side.
The white hull panels and teak forward
bulkhead are attractive, as are the teak
sliding blinds for the hull windows.
The aft cabin is a nice one. It spans
the full width of the hull, with hatches
opening into the cockpit above for light
and ventilation. There is a fiddled shelf on
either side, to port it’s the length of the bed
with four bottom-hinged lockers beneath.
Like most of the woodwork, the grain
matches, but the shutlines aren’t the most
accurate. There’s a good dressing table to
starboard, but the cheap-looking veneer on
the interior dividers lets it down a little.
The owner’s heads is to starboard with
a separate shower stall and a synthetic
marble sink.

The saloon is bright, with great views thanks to those large windows