Review of Swan 46
Basic specs.
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The Swan 46 has been built with more than one type of keel.
One option is a long keel. A long 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.
Another option is 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.
Another option is a centerboard keel. A centerboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.
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.
Swan 46 is typically equipped with an inboard Perkins 4.154 diesel engine at 60.0 hp (44 kW), which gives a max speed about 6.3 knots.
The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenence 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 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 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 is 33.7.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Swan 46 is 3.26.
The ballast ratio for Swan 46 is 36%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Swan 46 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 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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