Late 80's to 90's Wauquiez Centurion- Quality Boat?

[Cheechako]

These are generally great boats... some of the best ever built IMHO.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by Jon Eisberg

I ran a 47 up the Chesapeake a couple of years ago, unfortunately only had the opportunity to do a bit of sailing... Very nice boat, overall I was quite impressed with what I saw...

Too much boat for me, however... That's a very powerful rig, and you'd definitely have your work cut out for you handling her conventional main, it's big... But I'm a wimp, anyway, boats of that size and power scare me :-)

My biggest gripe was the cockpit on this particular boat... The wheel was massive, spanning the entire width of the cockpit, and the primary winches were mounted well forward of the helm... Made it virtually impossible for a helmsman to do any trimming. Of course, you could attempt a fix with a smaller wheel, or re-locating the winches perhaps, but as I recall that cockpit was not very well set up for shorthanded sailing...

Finally, I could never live with that high bridgedeck/companionway... Even after a mere 30 hours on the thing, I couldn't wait to crawl out from under the dodger for the last time, and get off the boat once and for all... But, perhaps that's just me...

I pulled this pic off a listing from YW... Try to imagine the contortions one might have to go thru simply to get a hot drink or some food up to the person at the helm in some sporty weather offshore? Do you really want live with such a 'Front Door' to your house on a daily basis? Many people do, I realize, but that sort of companionway would quickly drive me insane... Additionally, due to the length of the 'walkway' under the dodger to the companionway ladder, the dodger affords negligible protection for anyone seated in the cockpit. The only way to huddle beneath it, would be to sit at the top of the companionway ladder...


Finally, if your aim is to do primarily coastal cruising on the East coast, are you sure you want a boat that will always have to go outside Hatteras, and have the ICW off limits?

Again, a beautiful boat, no question... But I wouldn't want one :-)

Once again, Jon has made some excellent points above (I bolded).

Some boats are optimized for a full crew of strong and usually "athletic" crew people who like to race (club racing) with occasional cruises and some entertaining at a dock. The owner/skipper may be old and barely moving, but if they have a bunch of nimble, strong, crew working the boat at their command, they can manage it easily (e.g. sail changes, tacking, docking, anchoring, etc.).

Those same boats really could be more difficult to manage or less comfortable for a mature cruising couple.

Here is a photo of another boat, Beneteau First 44 (about that same size, 44 LOA) with another huge wheel dominating the aft cockpit and the primary winches up forward where a dedicated sail trimmer would be stationed in a large crew. This boat is aimed (or rigged) for someone who wants to race in club races. I would not choose it for single or double handed crewing (by me).

Could someone (or a couple) double hand or single hand a boat like this? Sure, anything is possible, and I don't doubt the owners of boats like that will say they do it all the time. They might have to, as that is their boat.

But, would it be as convenient, or as comfortable as a boat that is better designed/rigged or "optimized" for shorthanded or singlehanded operation?

[JulieMac]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

Once again, Jon has made some excellent points above (I bolded).

Some boats are optimized for a full crew of strong and usually "athletic" crew people who like to race (club racing) with occasional cruises and some entertaining at a dock. The owner/skipper may be old and barely moving, but if they have a bunch of nimble, strong, crew working the boat at their command, they can manage it easily (e.g. sail changes, tacking, docking, anchoring, etc.).

Those same boats really could be more difficult to manage or less comfortable for a mature cruising couple.

Here is a photo of another boat, Beneteau First 44 (about that same size, 44 LOA) with another huge wheel dominating the aft cockpit and the primary winches up forward where a dedicated sail trimmer would be stationed in a large crew. This boat is aimed (or rigged) for someone who wants to race in club races. I would not choose it for single or double handed crewing (by me).

Could someone (or a couple) double hand or single hand a boat like this? Sure, anything is possible, and I don't doubt the owners of boats like that will say they do it all the time. They might have to, as that is their boat.

But, would it be as convenient, or as comfortable as a boat that is better designed/rigged or "optimized" for shorthanded or singlehanded operation?

Some very valid points. As has been mentioned, should one of the couple become incapacitated, the other should be able to sail her alone.

[cpa]

Originally Posted by Jon Eisberg

Finally, I could never live with that high bridgedeck/companionway... Even after a mere 30 hours on the thing, I couldn't wait to crawl out from under the dodger for the last time, and get off the boat once and for all... But, perhaps that's just me...

Good point about the bridgedeck and mast height/ICW issues. We had a small pram dodger that really didn't get in the way. I could see a full dodger being a pain. Stuff like that does not really bother me, but I could see it being an issue.

The draft and rig height of our old 49 made the ICW impossible. We sailed the boat mostly in RI and Miami/Fort Lauderdale. No issues up north but with 8'6 draft we were severely limited in FL.