Hylas 54 vs Wauquiez 47

[Northwind]

GOING TO BUY ONE OF THE TWO AFTER THE OAKLAND BOAT SHOW... BOTH ARE NEWER BOATS 01 HYLAS 54' AND 05 WAUQUIEZ 47. BOTH ARE BEAUTIFUL SIMILARLY EQUIPPED, WILL NEED TO UPFIT THE WAUQUIEZ WITH A FEW GOODIES FOR THE OUR EXTENDED CRUISE. ANY THOUGHTS? PRICES ARE SIMILAR THE 54 IS SLIGHTLY MORE, BUT AS YOU CAN SEE IS NEWER. BOTH HAVE SUPER LOW TIME ENIGINES.

[shadow]

I saw the Wauquiez 47 as well as the 41 and LOVED them!! But the Hylas are gorgeous yachts as well!! I love the fact that the Wauquiez has a raised saloon so you are fully able to view the seas while at the table.

But, both yachts are gorgeous and either choice would make me very jealous!! Good luck with your choice.

[camaraderie]

My BIL has had a Hylas54 for about half a dozen years now. Gorgeous, seaworthy and put together in a top notch manner. I don't think the Wauquiez is in the same class of workmanship though a fine vessel in its' own right.

[Northwind]

The 54 we are considering is the Raised Salon model, though the outside visibility is not as good as the Wauguiez especially out the forward windows, she is still bright and airy inside. Just a tough call between the two, for me. The Hylas is larger without question, but the Wauquiez is equally beautiful in form and craftmanship and less money allthough not by a large amount.

Ryan

[john540]

I'm a biased Hylas owner, but if you think the Wauquiez is equally beautiful in form and craftsmanship, then I would seriously question your judgement. No insult intended, just an observation that maybe you should do some more research before you purchase a boat.

[bstreep]

Wow. Tough choice. Both are very, very nice boats.

[Northwind]

We looked at the Oyster 53 as well, she's beautiful, but I can't see the extra money, she's very similar to the Hylas. Really do not see the $$. Can't speak to the construction of the Wauquiez, except from personal inspection. I went over the 05 Wauquiez Pilot Salon with a fine tooth comb, sure appears to be a fine boat to me, not as heavy as the Hylas, not as much ballast, but the detail was excellent, fit and finish was superb and I have been on both boats personally. I am well aware that the Hylas is more boat, and that it is significantly bigger, it is also more money for a four year older boat. I mentioned that the boats are similarly equipped, but the Hylas will require some upfit. Still kicking it around.. I will likely buy the Hylas. I strongly considered the 49, but my wife fell in love with the Wauquiez's huge windows and visibily out to sea from the salon, and the 49 does not compare in that regard to the 54 RS. Just have to have enough money left over to actually sail the boat.

[Joli]

I would think that the Oyster 53 is substantially more boat. I do not know how well the new Wauquiez's are built since they are now part of Beneteau, the older ones were very well built.

Regardless, have fun!

[Paragon01]

Wauquiez is not owned by Beneteau Group anymore -- the company was sold last summer. BTW - the build on the Wauquiez is still excellent.

[David M]

Just to make light of the visibility out the windows of a monohull... You will be looking at either sky or water.

My overall preference would be the Hylas. Its a beautiful boat and well designed. I think more so than the other.

[Richard Jordan]

I am curious what Northwind chose between the Hylas 54 RS and Wauquiez 47. There are pretty sharp differences between these two yachts, and I expect he probably went with the Hylas. This would would be a more logical choice considering Northwind's previous interest in the Hylas 49 and interest in an Oyster 53 which is more similiar to the Hylas. The Wauquiez 47 is comparable to other French designs such as Beneteau and Jeanneou more so than Hylas or Oyster. Some main differences are the the build techniques and cockpit arrangement.

The comments by john540 and Joli hint that real or perceived Wauquiez has a lower build quality reputation than Hylas. You often hear such comments about Wauquiez. The root of it seems to be a worry that Wauquiez has been Beneteau'd - i.e. has been corrupted by Beneteau's mass production build techniques. And Wauquiez does seem to be using new age techniques these days. For instance, Wauquiez inserts a one-piece molded liner with lateral and longitudinal frames to stiffen the inside of the hull. While the quality effects are debatable, generally mass production builders favor composite construction while the semi-custom higher quality builders like Hylas favor grid networks - stringers, frames, and floors. Composite construction lowers the cost of mass production. If done right it is not a problem. But the technique has been executed improperly so many times that people have become suspicious. Hylas' build is unquestioned in quality because of the uncompromising techniques used by Queen Long Marine, their yard in Taiwan. They stick to the proven techniques. I would not say that a Wauquiez is of lower quality than Hylas. Paragon01 is right that their build quality is still excellent. But, I definately can guarentee Hylases are as high quality as you will find.

The cockpit arrangement is different between the Wauquiez 47 and Hylas 54. The Wauquiez has an aft cockpit while the Hylas has a center cockpit. They both have a center companionway. The aft cockpit improves visibiliy, but while preserving the aft stateroom, the center companionway introduces some nuances. The Wauqiuez companionway is pretty far from her twin helms. A standard dodger and bimini setup is difficult. This is a design difference and personal preference not an inherently good or bad feature. The cockpit is a significant difference and basis on which people might choose.

So these two aspects, the build techniques and cockpit arrangement are two of many features that differentiate between the Wauquiez 47 and Hylas 54. Other differences that come to mind are style and price. The large Wauquiez windows make a bold statement that is not for everyone while a comparable Hylas 54 RS will be more expensive.