Big, bigger, biggest: The world’s superyachts lie side by side at the Palma Boat Show. Easily 30 meters long or even more, the toys of the rich and famous are moored here at the pier, impressive, exciting and polished to a high gloss. You are allowed to look and marvel, but only from a distance. An unapproachable splendor.

And in the middle of it all, a ship that almost drowns in the lavish, luxurious splendor. The new Wauquiez Pilot Saloon 42, which is now celebrating its trade fair debut in the water after its world premiere in Düsseldorf, is lying modestly and easily overlooked at the very outside of the jetty with the supposedly “smaller” sailing yachts. Yet the cruising yacht from France is neither small nor particularly inconspicuous – quite the opposite.

The Wauquiez brand is a true veteran of the yacht building industry. Founded over 50 years ago by Henri Wauquiez, the company still produces in Neuville-en-Ferrain near Lille on the French-Belgian border. The shipyard has made a name for itself primarily with its elegant yachts in the Centurion series – and since 1997 also with the voluminous tourers from the Pilot Saloon range.

The new 42 now comes as a late successor to the Pilot Saloon 40 (built until 2005) and 41 (until 2007). The latter in particular polarized the market with its massive appearance. The high hull and the almost colossal-looking cabin superstructure ensured independence, albeit a visually questionable one. The boat was withdrawn from the market after two years. In the meantime, Wauquiez no longer served the length segment between 12 and 13 meters.

Until now – now the Pilot Saloon 42 is here. And it sets freshly defined guidelines for the shipyard program. The new boat is significantly wider at the back than her predecessors, even in comparison with her larger sisters Pilot Saloon 48 and 58, which is why the designers from the Berret/Racoupeau office have now also built double rudder blades under the new boat and fitted the hull with chines for greater dimensional stability. In addition, the cabin superstructure is much flatter and the black window strip is now all-round, which stretches the look and interrupts the striking surfaces. To the eye, this appears prettier, more elegant and more modern.

With a freeboard of 1.40 meters (at the shrouds), the hull of the Pilot Saloon 42 is still surprisingly high, even for a voluminous touring boat with a hull length of just under 12.50 meters. This is due to Wauquiez’s concept of combining the aft cockpit with a large master cabin underneath, which is very unusual for a boat of this size. This is a real challenge for the developers because the combination only knows one direction: upwards. However, the opulent shapes of the hull and deck allow the designers to design the central interior as a pilot saloon with a raised seating area.

The compromise is notoriously difficult and all the more challenging the smaller the ship is. This is why the Wauquiez PS 42 has few truly comparable competitors on the market. The only series manufacturer that also combines an aft cockpit yacht with a master cabin and deck saloon in the same length segment is Jeanneau with the Sun Odyssey 41 DS.

To date, Wauquiez has only completed one Pilot Saloon 42. Four more have been ordered and are now going into production, all as two-cabin vessels with the large master cabin at the rear. The shipyard offers an alternative – the boat can also be ordered with three separate cabins. With a not insignificant advantage: with a split aft cabin, the shipyard can cut away the high bridge deck in front of the companionway. This would make access to the interior easier and without any obstacles. In the standard boat, the bridge deck is indispensable for the continuous headroom in the owner’s cabin, the companionway is correspondingly small and the stairs down are steep.

The cockpit is clearly divided into two sections. At the front, fellow sailors can relax on the large and long thwarts. Thanks to the beautifully crafted cushions, you can also sunbathe here while underway. A protective sprayhood is available as an option, and a larger, fixed windshield is also in preparation. However, the YACHT test in moderately high swell showed that although the PS 42 with its fairly flat underwater hull enters the waves hard, it still sails dry; spray water rarely reaches the cockpit. This is also due to the high freeboard and the high cockpit.

The sails are steered and trimmed at the back. Because the distances are short, this works well both in one-handed mode and as teamwork. Two large and powerful Andersen winches (standard) are available on each side for this purpose. Nevertheless, the electric drives available as an extra for all winches are recommended. Despite the short overlapping genoa, the loads on the sheets are high. And the mainsail can only be hoisted tightly with a lot of force in windy conditions, because the sheet runs over a cap shroud on the coachroof and therefore only starts in the middle of the main boom. There is no traveler, but the powerful boom vang with multiple transmission is all the more important for trimming the mainsail.

As an alternative to the genoa, Wauquiez can also equip the boat with a self-tacking jib. The foundation for this is already provided in the deck mold, which makes it easy to retrofit the track later. A gennaker or a furling code zero is available on request for light winds, room sheet and downwind courses. A short stainless steel bowsprit is permanently attached to the boat for this purpose. The trunk extends about 50 centimetres in front of the forestay and can also serve as an anchor holder. To stow away the additional sails, there is a fairly large and deep sail locker in the foredeck, which is absolutely essential, as the amount of storage space worth mentioning in the cockpit is modest. To allow the owners to move around in the master cabin with standing height, there are no forecastle boxes under the thwarts. Storage space for fenders and mooring lines is only available in the aft peak.

In the YACHT test off Palma de Mallorca, the Wauquiez Pilot Saloon 42 demonstrates solid sailing performance. In winds of up to 15 knots, the yacht, which weighs over 12 tons, marches hard upwind at 6.6 knots and performs surprisingly well upwind. The turning angle is around 80 degrees. The smooth and very well-tuned steering makes it easier for the helmsman to steer the boat cleanly and sensitively upwind, despite the double rudders. When there is little heel, the helmsman can sit on the seats at the stern. If there is more heel, he can work more relaxed on the side of the coaming. There he has a good view forwards and into the sails, but the backstay is uncomfortable in the back. For the series, the shipyard wants to move the steering columns slightly forward.

In terms of the quality of the interior fittings, Wauquiez does not need to shy away from comparison with Scandinavian standards. The workmanship is flawless and consistent down to the smallest detail. The very robust joinery work, which Wauquiez produces by hand with a high proportion of solid wood, is particularly pleasing. Most of the edgings and edge strips are also glued. Many beautifully crafted leather covers add to the look below deck.

In the foredeck, the bunk is built as an island bed far into the bow. Here you sleep with your head forward. However, with a width of just 1.40 meters at shoulder height, the berth is not large enough for two people. A conventional triangular berth, on which you sleep with your feet forward, would allow much more generous dimensions; however, there are no plans for a corresponding extension alternative. On the other hand, all Wauquiez berths are fitted with slatted frames and leeches are attached as standard.

Incidentally, the large table in the raised saloon can also be lowered and the area used as an additional double bed.

There is an abundance of storage space, be it under the berths forward or aft, in the spacious wardrobes or in the many shelves and drawers scattered throughout the yacht. The challenge is not to find suitable storage options for this and that, but rather to actually find the items again later.

Air and light are also important issues on board the Wauquiez. There are at least two – or more – ventilation options (windows or hatches) in all areas of the ship, which means you can ventilate everywhere and at any time – exemplary. From the elevated seating area, you also have a clear view of the water or the harbor. To reduce solar radiation or maintain privacy, the large superstructure windows can be darkened electrically at the touch of a button from the shipyard.

It is precisely these many beautiful little details that make the boat a joy to use and make it easier to understand Wauquiez’s self-confident pricing policy. The shipyard charges 452,200 euros for a Pilot Saloon 42, without sails. This is not cheap, even compared to the competition.

All in all, the Wauquiez Pilot Saloon 42 is a ship with numerous unique selling points, both visually and conceptually. The charming Frenchwoman boldly gives the mainstream and the competition the cold shoulder and unconditionally acknowledges her outsider role.

• Designer: Berret/Racoupeau
• CE design category: A
• Hull length: 12,42 m
• Total length: 12,99 m
• Waterline length: 11,79 m
• Width: 4,34 m
• Draught/alternative: 1,65/2,15 m
• Mast height above waterline: 19,44 m
• Theor. hull speed: 8.3 kn
• Weight: 12,1 t
• Ballast/proportion: 3,4 t/28 %
• Mainsail: 47,8 m2
• Furling genoa (105 %): 42,5 m2
• machine (Yanmar): 42 kW/57 HP
• Fuel tank (plastic): 415 l
• Fresh water tank (plastic): 415 l
• Holding tank (plastic): 2 x 50 l

• GRP sandwich construction with balsa wood core. Built using the vacuum infusion process. Aramid reinforcements in the bow area as collision protection

• Base price ex shipyard: 929,590 Euro gross incl. 19% VAT.
• Standard equipment included: Engine, sheets, railing, navigation lights, battery, compass, cushions, galley/cooker, bilge pump, toilet, sailcloth, anchor/chain, fenders, mooring lines, fire extinguisher, electric cooler, holding tank with suction system
• Warranty/against osmosis: 1/1 year

As of September 2024, how the prices shown are defined can be found here!

Wauquiez Boats, 59960 Neuville-en-Ferrain, Cedex (FRA); www.wauquiez.com

The new tourer from Wauquiez is unique and almost unrivaled. The focus is on maximum volume for the greatest possible comfort on board. The build quality and workmanship are well above average

• + Individual, outstanding boat
• + Robust construction, high quality
• – Relatively expensive in comparison

• + Sensitive steering
• + One-handed handling
• – High loads on the mainsheet

• + Comfortable interior fittings for owners
• + Enormous storage space
• – Narrow forward berth at shoulder height

• + High-quality basic equipment
• + Dimmable surface-mounted windows
• + Impeccably installed on-board technology

The test first appeared in YACHT issue 13/2018 and was revised for the online version.