WAUQUIEZ sailboats for sale

All about Wauquiez brand

Wauquiez: "For all those who sail".
While it may be true that most shipyard founders feel a particular affinity for their products, not all of them are real yachting enthusiasts (far from it in fact), unlike Henri Wauquiez who changed up something about his yachts every year before they went to construction...
Henri Wauquiez ran his family's flourishing tannery and made soles for shoes there, before the advent of synthetic materials caused him to recycle the business into... a shipyard!
The Henri Wauquiez Shipyard was founded in 1965 and one year later the first Elizabethan 32 was delivered, which was nothing less than a licensed production of Henri Wauquiez's own yacht! The Elizabethan 35, the Chance, the Praetorians and the famous Centurions followed, and the brand went from strength to strength.
The "Wauquiez" have three characteristics in their genes stemming from the founder's personality. They are particularly seaworthy boats, they have well-designed living spaces (the very comfortable yet shipshape Amphitrite and Amphora and are a good example of this), they are elegant, (like the remarkable Centurion series, including the Centurion 32, with 380 units being built) and last but not least, they have an excellent finish. Henri Wauquiez was demanding and insisted that the level of finish on his boats rivalled the finish from the oldest English shipyards, which were benchmarks at the time.
Taken over by the Bénéteau shipyards in 1998, this period saw the emergence of the now famous Pilot Saloon, (deck saloon sailboats) including the Wauquiez Pilot Saloon 40 (120 units). Since 2011, the yard has belonged to the Experton Revollier group.