Centurion sailboats for sale

Buying a used Centurion: pick the generation before the boat

Every used Centurion is a used Wauquiez - the name belongs to the yard's cruising-racing line, the counterpart to the pure-cruising boats that carry the Wauquiez badge itself, as Classic Boat's archive framed the split. That matters practically: the same boat may be listed as a Centurion or as a Wauquiez Centurion depending on the broker, so search under both names, and treat either badge as pointing at the same French-built stock. Because the line spans nearly five decades under three different design offices, deciding which generation fits your sailing is the real first step; the model number is secondary.

Which era to target

The generations sort cleanly by designer. Holman & Pye's Centurion 32, dated by Wauquiez to 1968 and by Yachting Monthly to 1969, is the classic-era choice - a compact boat produced in large numbers. The broad middle of the used market is Ed Dubois's work, from the Centurion 47 of 1984 through the S-suffix boats around 2002, covering everything from the 36 up to rare flagships like the 59 and 61S; the S models mark the sportier end of that run. The youngest boats are Berret & Racoupeau designs from the 2010s, ending with the award-winning Centurion 57. One caution at the era boundary: Wauquiez's timeline credits the 2002-vintage 40S to Dubois while Practical Sailor and SAIL Magazine credit the production 40S to Berret/Racoupeau, so verify the design pedigree of any 40S against its own documentation.

What to inspect across the range

Teak deserves first attention on older boats. Teak decks and toerails were fitted on boats like the 45S, and OceanWaveSail's profile of a Centurion 42 found its teak deck and interior timbers needing significant work - budget accordingly wherever original teak survives. Confirm keel configuration too: models including the 38 and 49 were built with different keel alternatives, all in lead, so establish which version a candidate boat carries. The underlying structures have a strong record - Yachting Monthly credited the 32's heavy build and finish for its longevity, and Good Old Boat notes the era's overbuilt reputation - which shifts the survey emphasis toward maintenance history rather than the hulls themselves. On late S-generation boats, Boatsales, the Australian review outlet, flagged only fitting-level niggles in its 45S test, such as a folding propeller that whirred under sail and steps and lids without hold-open provisions.

Navigating the lineup

The range divides less by type than by size and era: one classic 32-footer, a deep bench of Dubois performance cruisers from the mid-30s to over 60 feet, and a handful of modern Berret & Racoupeau boats at the top. Settle on a generation and a size band first, then use the full model directory on this page to compare the specific Centurions within it.