Yachting Monthly - April 2016

APRIL 2016 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 87

T

he moniker ‘deck saloon’ is so

overused that it’s come to just

mean bigger coachroof windows.

Really, it should only be used to

describe boats with their saloons

at deck level – with a view, not just more

light. On the whole deck saloons are great:

with the saloon and chart table raised up,

they allow crew to take shelter or relax

and still see what’s going on. But raising

the coachroof to a height so the saloon is

usable can sometimes leave yachts with

the flowing deck lines of a brick. Of course

on larger yachts this job is easier, and at

47ft Wauquiez really had no excuses not

to make their Pilot Saloon 48 ooze with

style and sweet flowing lines. Looks are

also subjective, but I’ll stick my neck out

and say I like what Wauquiez has done

with its new deck saloon, even if they do

call her a ‘pilot saloon’.

Performance

With a bitingly cold Force 4-5 blowing

against the tide streaming out of Poole

harbour, we had excellent conditions to

test how she performs in a decent sea.

It would have been unfair to measure

her sailing performance figures in such

conditions, so we headed back inside

Poole harbour and tried in vain to find

somewhere without tide. Without a

working log, I took the average in both

directions of the speed over ground figures

to calculate speed through the water.

She handled the 1.5m waves outside

the entrance to Poole Harbour admirably.

Yes, there was the occasional slam, but

when wave action lifts the front half of a

14-tonne yacht clear of the water, it’s not

really a surprise. This was the shoal keel

version, with a 1.85m draught, and while

she pointed high, I felt she lost a little

ground to leeway, but this might also have

been the tide.

At the helm

Forward of the twin wheels are two

Andersen 46ST winches: electric on this

yacht, but standard-spec is manual. These

two winches control all the lines led aft,

including the mainsheet (to port) and

self-tacking jib (to starboard). The system

works well. Larger Andersen 52ST winches

are on the coaming are for use with

spinnaker or genoa. There’s a wide, raised

seating aft and outboard of each wheel.

The outboard-hinged pop-up footrests

are good when she heels over and you’re

sitting or standing to windward, but you

do need to remember to lower the leeward

one. Otherwise, when you tack you’ll find a

large part of the cockpit sole is very steep!

In front of both wheels is space for

instruments, on the starboard wheel this

is also where the engine throttle control is

mounted, it’s not the ideal place for shorter

crew – if you can’t reach over the wheel,

you’d have to run the gauntlet of operating

the throttle through its spokes, which I

wouldn’t recommend.

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genoa tracks, cars and winches, and an

asymmetric spinnaker can be flown from

the bow roller. There’s an Andersen 46ST

winch on the mast for use with halyards.

Deck layout

There’s no clutter of lines and winches in

the forward half of the cockpit. The high

coaming affords the crew excellent shelter:

she was burying her bows in the waves and

the only water that landed in the cockpit

came from the rainwater released by the

mainsail as it was hoisted!

The downside to this great shelter is that

the only easy entry and exit to the cockpit

is via the helm. It is possible to step over

the coaming, but the further forward you

go the more of a stretch it becomes.

There’s a large lazarette locker between the

wheels, which opens into the small tender

garage. Going forward, the handrails are

good, the walk-through is clear.

Living aboard

You really need to step inside this boat

to appreciate the views from, and light

through, the 46cm (1ft 6in) high windows.

The view forward isn’t as good, but it

still beats many pseudo-deck saloons.

Overhead and in the coachroof windows

are opening hatches. Beneath the saloon is

a vast stowage space – our test yacht had

a generator installed and there was still an

abundance of space.

There’s a draining hanging locker to

starboard of the companionway steps, so

wet weather gear never need make it any

further into the saloon. Ahead, a neat,

suede-covered stainless steel grabrail at

the end of the saloon seating prevents the

cushions being used as grab handles.

The saloon seating comprises a U-shape

and a straight seat opposite, which, with

the removable armrest lifted out,

would make an excellent passage

Design & Construction

The hull was designed by Berret/

Racoupeau as the Wauquiez Pilot Saloon

47, in 2005. The interior is similar, with

refinements, but the deck is new, as are the

sleeker hull windows in the forward and

aft cabins. The hull and deck have a balsa

core, a GRP inner frame is glassed and

bonded to the hull. The cabinetry and floor

supports are then bonded to this using

the ubiquitous grey composite paste that

seems to hold the world’s yachts together.

There’s a shallow (7cm deep) bilge sump

that helps the bilge pump collect water.

Sailplan

She has a triple-spreader rig with

discontinuous rigging and shrouds swept

aft. Our test boat had a self-tacking

jib and fully battened mainsail, both

Elvstrøm Epex and very nice too, Facnor

electric furling is optional. She also has

We met some 1.5m

waves outside Poole

Harbour, but none

of them made it

into the cockpit

All the lines are led well aft to

consoles in front of the helm