Wauquiez Amphora Buyer's Guide
The Wauquiez Amphora is a 37-foot French fiberglass cruising ketch designed by Holman & Pye and built by Chantiers Henri Wauquiez between 1976 and 1981, with 138 completed. On the used market she presents as a center-cockpit bluewater cruiser of solid GRP construction — a boat conceived for coastal and offshore passage making rather than harbor sailing, and one whose age now demands a careful look at original systems.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every Amphora shares the same center-cockpit, bluewater-oriented hull with generous interior volume: a roomy layout sleeping up to seven, interior height above 6 foot 2 inches everywhere and almost 7 feet in places, a full galley, a navigation station, and easy engine access. The 12.8-foot beam and 17,637-pound displacement on a 33.77-foot waterline give the accommodation its width and stability, while the 6-foot draft fin keel with skeg-hung rudder defines the underbody. Buyers should understand that no alternative layout series exists in the class — what varies boat to boat is equipment and owner care, not the plan itself.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Amphoras commonly carry heating, an inverter, hot water, radar, AIS, autopilot, a life raft, and solar panels — a cluster of power, navigation, and safety gear that speaks to the boat's offshore intent. For a shopper, the meaningful groupings are energy (inverter and solar supporting house loads away from shore power), navigation and safety (radar, AIS, autopilot, and life raft as passage-making essentials), and cabin comfort (heating and hot water extending liveaboard range into cold seasons). Beyond those, expect individual variation rather than a standard inventory.
What to Inspect
The Amphora's known construction is solid GRP with a fin keel and skeg-hung rudder, and the survey found easy engine access as a factory attribute worth confirming on any candidate — a previous owner's rebuild can obscure it. With production ended in 1981, the entire class is now decades old, so inspect original rigging dimensions against the standard ketch plan (45.25-foot foretriangle hoist, 38.50-foot main luff, 24.67-foot mizzen luff) for evidence of tired or substituted spars and running gear. The age of tanks, the single diesel, and the skeg-hung rudder attachment deserve close survey attention.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Amphoras typically appear in France and Greece. For a buyer, the short checklist is: confirm the center-cockpit layout and headroom match the standard plan; verify the ketch rig and easy engine access are intact; check that commonly fitted offshore gear (heating, inverter, hot water, radar, AIS, autopilot, life raft, solar) is present and serviced; and survey the solid GRP hull, fin keel, and skeg-hung rudder for age-related wear. She is a finite, well-conceived bluewater ketch — reward the cared-for example, walk away from the neglected one.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Wauquiez Amphora. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 5 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25 | 2 | $61,000 | — |
| Dec 25 | 1 | $62,685 | +2.8% |
| Apr 26 | 1 | $50,372 | -19.6% |
| May 26 | 1 | $47,013 | -6.7% |
| Sep 26 | 1 | $33,357 | -29.0% |
Where they're listed
Wauquiez Amphora listings appear across 2 countries. France has the most listings with 3 (75.0%), followed by Greece.
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
5 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wauquiez Amphitrite 43 | 42.75' | $ 88,726 | 34 | 11 |
| Gulfstar 44 Kth | 44.67' | $ 45,000 | 17 | 5 |
| Hughes 40 | 40' | $ 129,950 | 16 | 0 |
| Morgan 40 Cruising Ketch | 40.16' | $ 26,000 | 12 | 0 |
| Wauquiez AmphoraYou are here | — | $ 48,693 | 4 | 1 |