Review of Formosa 46
Basic specs.
If you have a photo you would like to share: Upload Image
Looking for a new boat? Find a Formosa 46 or similar boat for sale
The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
Full keel
The Formosa 46 is equipped with 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 only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.97 - 2.07 meter (6.46 - 6.76 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
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 Formosa 46 is 1.63, 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 8.4 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 Formosa 46 is about 318 kg/cm, alternatively 1782 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 318 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1782 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 Formosa 46 is 39.1.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Formosa 46 is 3.56.
The ballast ratio for Formosa 46 is 30%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Formosa 46 is 230 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.
SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)
Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind:
- Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15
- Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20
- Racers have ratios above 20
- High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24
Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 15.90
Maintenance
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 53m2 (570 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.
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 | ||
| Jib sheet | 14.0 m | (46.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 14.0 m | (46.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 35.0 m | (115.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 30.8 m | (101.2 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
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.
We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Formosa 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.