J/46
TPI · Rod Johnstone · 1995
Updated
The J/46 is a 14.04 m displacement racing yacht designed by Rod Johnstone and built by TPI, first launched in 1995. It races in Class A.
Length
14.04 m
46′ 1″
Beam
4.23 m
Draft
2.35 m
Displacement
11.5 t
Sail area
126 m²
On the podium
Where a J/46 finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
0
Seconds
0
Thirds
1
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 1 start by 1 boat between 2015, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a J/46 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Hollænderseilasen2015
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: no races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: no races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a J/46 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Met too few times for a figure:
King 40 (1 meeting), Xp 44 (1 meeting), J/111 (1 meeting), J/122 (1 meeting), X-41 (1 meeting), Landmark 43 (1 meeting), HH 42 (1 meeting), Swan 48 (Frers) (1 meeting), First 45 (Briand) (1 meeting), Swan 56 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 42 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), ILC 40 (1 meeting), Arcona 430 (1 meeting), Sly 42 (1 meeting), Pogo 10.50 (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
6.07
37°
Beam reach
9.18
90°
Broad reach
9.89
135°
Downwind VMG
8.20
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.
It is an upwind boat first. Windward-leeward courses give it more of what it is good at than a coastal race does.
Where it gains
Its best ground is to windward in a strong breeze, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short off the wind 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 upwind.
How fast is a J/46
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.76 | 5.26 | 5.85 | 6.07 |
| 52° | 5.79 | 7.64 | 8.13 | 8.32 |
| 60° | 6.15 | 7.85 | 8.32 | 8.53 |
| 75° | 6.39 | 7.99 | 8.54 | 8.86 |
| 90° | 6.25 | 7.97 | 8.63 | 9.18 |
| 110° | 6.09 | 8.13 | 8.92 | 9.66 |
| 120° | 5.93 | 8.03 | 8.90 | 10.10 |
| 135° | 5.29 | 7.57 | 8.63 | 9.89 |
| 150° | 4.42 | 6.68 | 8.08 | 9.20 |
| Run VMG | 3.83 | 5.78 | 7.04 | 8.20 |
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 910 kg.
Rigging
J/46 rig and sail dimensions
A J/46 carries 16.31 m of mainsail hoist on a 6.07 m boom, a forestay 17.81 m above the deck and a 5.34 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 3 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 133 to 157 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.