Wauquiez puts owners’ feedback in new design

by Cruising Editor on 23 Nov 2005 Have you ever wanted to get hold of your yacht designer (maybe by the neck) and tell him what he SHOULD have done when designing your boat? If you had owned a Pilot Saloon 40, then you could have done just that. When Wauquiez were designing the new Pilot Saloon 41, they asked the opinion of 140 Pilot Saloon 40 owners round the world, and they have used this information for the brand new Pilot Saloon 41. Maybe it’s attitudes like this that help to keep the Beneteau Group growing and thriving.

While this still family owned company has been building boats for more than a century, it shows no sign of reaching maturity, as the brand names of Beneteau, Juneau and Wauquiez (among many others), just continue to strengthen.

With new boats being introduced every year and a capitalisation of over a billion euro, the company is not taking it easy. In 2004, the company celebrated it 120th year of operation, and in 2005 it changed its corporate structure so that there is both a management board and a supervisory board. In July it also introduced a new marketing and Sales manager for the Group, Henri Brisse, who came over from Nissan to join Beneteau. Brisse gave ‘strong company values, culture and spirit’ among his reasons for making the change.

But back to the new Wauquiez – the Pilot Saloon 41:

The first thing I have always noticed aboard a Wauquiez Yacht in particular is the plentiful natural light in the saloon, and the sleek pilot house is also a great boon for leisure cruisers seeking more hedonism than adventurism. Not only does the skipper benefit from feeling like the true gentleman skipper that he knows he is, but rest of the crew also enjoy not getting salt water in the eyes when going to windward. Non-sailing guests are easier to have aboard as well.

Following hard on the heels of the introduction of the Pilot Saloon 47 at the Autumn boat shows in Europe, Wauquiez is planning this new offering at the coming Paris Boat Show. Attendees will be able to observe that the boat has benefited from the advice of Wauquiez’s 140 Pilot Saloon 40 owners in many different areas – from ergonomics and interior layout to deck organisation and sail plan. The new yacht is also the true little sister of the Pilot Saloon 47, with many of its best features, including its very sweet lines (difficult to achieve in a pilot house boat) the tilting aft platform, and the flawless finish work for which the brand is well known.

Principal specifications of the new Pilot Saloon 41

L.O.A. 12.95 m/42’3’’
Hull length : 12,50 m /41’
L.W.L. : 11.00 m/36’2’’
Max. Beam : 4.04 m/13’3’’
Draft (Standard-iron): 1.80 m/5’7’’
Draft (Shoal -lead): 1.65m/5’5’’
Draft (deep-lead): 2,00 m / 6’6'
Displacement: 10 t/22 075 Ibs approx.
Weight of std keel: 3.4 t/7 065 lbs approx.
Weight of shoal draft keel: 3.6 t/7 950 lbs approx.
Weight of deep draft keel: 3.2 t/7 065 lbs approx.

Sail area
Main (conventional or full batten): 39.50 m²/ 425 sq.ft
150% Genoa (furling): 44,00 m²/ 473 sq.ft
Self tacking furling jib (optional): 22.00 m²/ 237 sq.ft

Design
Berret/Racoupeau Yacht Design

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