Review of Bénéteau 46

Basic specs.

The Bénéteau 46 is a large sailboat designed by the French maritime architect Jean Berret together with Racoupeau also from France in the mid 2000. The Bénéteau 46 is built by the French yard Bénéteau.

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Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Interior

The boat is equipped with 568.0 liter fresh water capacity.

Rig

The Bénéteau 46 is equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a gennaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.

Keel

Fin keel

The Bénéteau 46 is equipped with a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.75 - 1.85 meter (5.74 - 6.04 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

Bénéteau 46 may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar 4JH4AE diesel engine at 54 hp (40 kW). Calculated max speed is about 7.2 knots

The fuel tank has a capacity of 201.0 liters (53 US gallons, 44 imperial gallons).

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Bénéteau 46 is 1.95, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 8.5 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Bénéteau 46 is about 346 kg/cm, alternatively 1939 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 346 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1939 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Bénéteau 46 is 25.4.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 18% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly below average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Bénéteau 46 is 3.40.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 54% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Bénéteau 46 is 31%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 27% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just below average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Bénéteau 46 is 162 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

79% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Bénéteau 46 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 17.2, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 20.3.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 27% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Over- / underrigged

The Bénéteau 46 has more rig than 88% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged.

Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 55m² (592 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

Rig

Dimensions of sail for fractional rig.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	39.4 m	(129.4 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	39.4 m	(129.4 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	39.4 m	(129.4 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet	14.4 m	(47.2 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	14.4 m	(47.2 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet	36.0 m	(118.1 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	31.7 m	(103.9 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Cunningham	5.3 m	(17.4 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap	10.6 m	(34.8 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul	10.6 m	(34.8 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Bénéteau 46 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.