Sydney 46
Bashford · Ian Murray · 1997
Updated
The Sydney 46 is a 14.28 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Ian Murray and built by Bashford, first launched in 1997. It races in Class A.
Length
14.28 m
46′ 10″
Beam
4.05 m
Draft
3.04 m
Displacement
9.4 t
Sail area
117 m²
On the podium
Where a Sydney 46 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
73%
of 11 starts by 2 boats
Wins
9%
Read from 11 starts by 2 boats between 2011 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Sydney 46 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
North Sea Regatta2026
151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2011
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
—
Not enough data yet: 1 race over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Sydney 46 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
J/122 (4 meetings), Dehler 41 (Judel/Vrolijk) (4 meetings), Xp 44 (3 meetings), W 60 (2 meetings), J/121 (2 meetings), Latini 52 (1 meeting), Comet 45 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 56 (1 meeting), X-46 (1 meeting), J/133 (1 meeting), Swan 45 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 42 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), First 44.7 (2 meetings), X-55 (1 meeting), Comet 41 (1 meeting), Hanse 630e (1 meeting), Dufour 44 (1 meeting), Dufour 45 (1 meeting), Sly 42 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Sydney 46 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
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
6.27
37°
Beam reach
9.82
90°
Broad reach
10.98
135°
Downwind VMG
9.12
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 upwind when it blows, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage across the wind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short cracked off in light air, giving away time it never gets back.
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 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Sydney 46
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.12 | 5.58 | 6.04 | 6.27 |
| 52° | 6.32 | 8.04 | 8.41 | 8.63 |
| 60° | 6.70 | 8.29 | 8.64 | 8.88 |
| 75° | 7.00 | 8.50 | 8.98 | 9.32 |
| 90° | 6.91 | 8.52 | 9.24 | 9.82 |
| 110° | 6.44 | 8.48 | 9.29 | 10.28 |
| 120° | 6.14 | 8.37 | 9.39 | 10.70 |
| 135° | 5.44 | 7.90 | 9.09 | 10.98 |
| 150° | 4.55 | 6.99 | 8.54 | 10.17 |
| Run VMG | 3.95 | 6.05 | 7.62 | 9.12 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 940 kg.
Rigging
Sydney 46 rig and sail dimensions
A Sydney 46 carries 17.42 m of mainsail hoist on a 6.29 m boom, a forestay 18.45 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 2 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 139 to 155 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.