Review of Swan 46 Mk I
Basic specs.
Looking for a new boat? Find a Swan 46 Mk I or similar boat for sale
Both the hull and the deck is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
The boat is equipped with 8 berths and 480.0 liter fresh water capacity.
The Swan 46 Mk I is equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.
The Swan 46 Mk I has been built with different keel alternatives.
Fin keel
One option is a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.
The keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.
The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.50 - 2.60 meter (8.20 - 8.50 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
CentreBoard
Another option is a centreboard keel. A centreboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.
Swan 46 Mk I can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.68 - 1.78 meter (5.51 - 5.81 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
Full keel
Another option is a long keel. A full keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.
The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.71 - 1.81 meter (5.61 - 5.91 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
The boat may be equipped with an inboard Perkins 4.154 diesel engine at 60 hp (44 kW). Calculated max speed is about 6.3 knots
The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.
The fuel tank has a capacity of 375.0 liters (99 US gallons, 82 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.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for Swan 46 Mk I is 1.83, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.
What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?
The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 8.2 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.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Swan 46 Mk I is about 340 kg/cm, alternatively 1906 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 340 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1906 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.
What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Swan 46 Mk I is 33.7.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Swan 46 Mk I is 3.26.
The ballast ratio for Swan 46 Mk I is 36%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Swan 46 Mk I is 256 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.
What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?
The SA/D for Swan 46 Mk I with ISO 8666 reference sail is 15.8, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 18.8.
Maintenance
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 60m2 (645 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.
Dimensions of sail for masthead 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.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Mainsail halyard | 40.5 m | (133.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 40.5 m | (133.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 40.5 m | (133.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 14.3 m | (47.1 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 14.3 m | (47.1 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 35.9 m | (117.7 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 31.6 m | (103.6 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Cunningham | 5.2 m | (16.9 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 10.3 m | (33.8 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 10.3 m | (33.8 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
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