French tennis star Yannick Noah was among its owners. He named his Kronos 45 Mamayamba and prepared to cross the Atlantic aboard her.
Design and Construction
The Kronos 45 is a solid-fiberglass, fractional-sloop-rigged, twin-keel catamaran. It measures 44.8 feet overall, with a 41.3-foot waterline, a broad 22.8-foot beam, and a 3.94-foot draft.
Displacement is 23,148 pounds. The manufacturer judged the boat too heavy for a multihull and cited that weight as the reason the design was not a great success. In a 45-foot twin-keel catamaran, the mass worked against the lively motion expected of the type and became the design’s defining shortcoming.
Rig, Machinery, and Handling
The 61.35-foot mast supports a 1,183-square-foot sail plan. The Kronos 45 has a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 23.3 and a displacement-to-length ratio of 146.27.
Its calculated hull speed is 8.62 knots, with a capsize ratio of 3.2 and a comfort ratio of 13.14. These figures describe a stable, volume-oriented cruising catamaran rather than a performance racer.
Power comes from twin 96-horsepower Yanmar diesels, for a combined 192 horsepower. The twin-engine arrangement also provides redundant propulsion.
Accommodations and Cruising Capacity
The Kronos 45’s 22.8-foot beam gives it the generous space associated with the catamaran form. Its substantial tankage—224 gallons of water and 90 gallons of fuel—supports extended independent cruising and long-term living aboard.
Together with the twin-engine layout, that capacity reinforces the boat’s role as a long-range liveaboard platform. The preparation of Yannick Noah’s Mamayamba for an Atlantic crossing also underscores the design’s offshore cruising intent.
Ownership and Support
With only thirteen hulls produced between 1991 and 1996, the Kronos 45 is a rare sight. Ownership brings the distinction of having Wauquiez’s only catamaran and the Henri Wauquiez yard’s first multihull.
The solid-fiberglass construction argues for straightforward structural longevity, while the twin Yanmar diesels provide redundancy. However, the small production run means spare parts and class knowledge reside within a tight owner community, limiting class support and parts commonality.
The Verdict
The Wauquiez Kronos 45 is a singular chapter in the history of a monohull-focused yard. It’s a heavy, well-built cruising catamaran with the space and tankage for serious living aboard, but its appeal is tempered by the excess weight the builder itself acknowledged.
Pros
- The only catamaran Wauquiez ever built, and the Henri Wauquiez yard’s first multihull
- Solid-fiberglass construction
- Broad beam and substantial tankage—224 gallons of water and 90 gallons of fuel—suited to long-range cruising
- Twin 96-horsepower Yanmar diesels provide propulsion redundancy
Cons
- Manufacturer-acknowledged excess weight undermined multihull performance
- Only thirteen were built, limiting class support and parts commonality
