Grand Soleil 46.3
Cantiere del Pardo · J&J Design · 1998
Updated
The Grand Soleil 46.3 is a 13.98 m displacement racing yacht designed by J&J Design and built by Cantiere del Pardo, first launched in 1998. It races in Class B.
Length
13.98 m
45′ 10″
Beam
4.40 m
Draft
2.23 m
Displacement
11.4 t
Sail area
113 m²
On the podium
Where a Grand Soleil 46.3 finishes when she goes racing.
1
Wins
0
Seconds
1
Thirds
9
Starts
Not enough races yet for a percentage — these are the counts so far. We keep collecting results, so this will fill in.
Read from 9 starts by 4 boats between 2018 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Grand Soleil 46.3 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2026- Campionato Invernale West Liguria2024
- GdPCup2023
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2021
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2019
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
—
Not enough data yet: 3 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: 6 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Grand Soleil 46.3 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Met too few times for a figure:
Dufour 44 (4 meetings), Grand Soleil 45 (Judel/Vrolijk) (3 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Maletto) (4 meetings), First 40.7 (4 meetings), X-41 (5 meetings), Grand Soleil 37 (Carkeek) (3 meetings), First 34.7 (4 meetings), IMX 40 (4 meetings), Dufour 350 (2 meetings), Farr 30 (2 meetings), First 44.7 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) (2 meetings), Comet 38 (Vallicelli) (2 meetings), Comet 41 (3 meetings), Pogo 12.50 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 47 (2 meetings), Sun Fast 3600 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 39 (Maletto) (4 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (3 meetings), Genesi 43 (3 meetings), Archambault 40 (2 meetings), Sun Odyssey 37 (1 meeting), Este 24 (1 meeting), Hanse 470 (1 meeting), J/112 (1 meeting), Sinergia 40 (1 meeting), Swan 57 (1 meeting), First 36.7 (1 meeting), X-34 (1 meeting), Comet 38 (Finot) (1 meeting), Rodman 42 (1 meeting), Cookson 50 (1 meeting), J/122 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 34 (Skyron) (1 meeting), J/111 (1 meeting), Swan 48 (Frers) (1 meeting), Hanse 630e (2 meetings), X-332 (1 meeting), Dufour 34 (1 meeting), Solaris 47 (1 meeting)
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
5.93
38°
Beam reach
9.02
90°
Broad reach
9.64
135°
Downwind VMG
8.02
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
This one is at home going to windward. Windward-leeward courses give it more of what it is good at than a coastal race does.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on the beat when it blows, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short cracked off once it pipes up, giving away time it never gets back. That is a displacement hull working to its designed speed.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 0.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Grand Soleil 46.3
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.51 | 4.92 | 5.66 | 5.93 |
| 52° | 5.44 | 7.22 | 7.93 | 8.21 |
| 60° | 5.77 | 7.46 | 8.11 | 8.43 |
| 75° | 6.01 | 7.63 | 8.27 | 8.77 |
| 90° | 5.88 | 7.71 | 8.47 | 9.02 |
| 110° | 5.84 | 7.87 | 8.73 | 9.69 |
| 120° | 5.69 | 7.75 | 8.66 | 9.93 |
| 135° | 5.10 | 7.32 | 8.38 | 9.64 |
| 150° | 4.29 | 6.52 | 7.88 | 8.96 |
| Run VMG | 3.72 | 5.64 | 6.90 | 8.02 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 820 kg.
Rigging
Grand Soleil 46.3 rig and sail dimensions
A Grand Soleil 46.3 carries 15.82 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.15 m boom, a forestay 17.39 m above the deck and a 6.40 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 6 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 118 to 170 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.