X-46
X-Yachts · Niels Jeppesen · 2003
Updated
The X-46 is a 13.99 m displacement racing yacht designed by Niels Jeppesen and built by X-Yachts, first launched in 2003. It races in Class A. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 36% of the designs it races against. It is at its best in light air and struggles to hold that once it blows.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 36% of the boats it races against.
30th of 46 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 13 starts across 6 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
13.99 m
45′ 11″
Beam
4.09 m
Draft
2.38 m
Displacement
10.9 t
Sail area
118 m²
On the podium
Where a X-46 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
0%
of 13 starts by 5 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 13 starts by 5 boats between 2010 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a X-46 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
32nd Cyclades Regatta - '262026
Regata Brindisi-Corfù2026
Gotland Runt 2025 ORCi Full Crew2025- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2017
- 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: 7 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a X-46 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
X-55 (6 meetings), Xp 44 (6 meetings), JPK 10.30 (5 meetings), First 40 (5 meetings), JPK 10.80 (5 meetings), Linjett 33 (5 meetings), Dehler 32 (5 meetings), Sun Fast 3200 (5 meetings), J/99 (4 meetings), First 40.7 (5 meetings), Comet 45 (6 meetings), Figaro 2 (3 meetings), First 45 (Briand) (3 meetings), Jv 44 (3 meetings), Bonin 358 (3 meetings), Rimar 36 (3 meetings), X-43 (3 meetings), Bh 36 (3 meetings), J/11 (3 meetings), IMX 38 (3 meetings), Finnflyer 34 (3 meetings), Grand Soleil 42 (Carkeek) (2 meetings), M 37 (2 meetings), X-442 (3 meetings), Cookson 50 (2 meetings), Latini 52 (3 meetings), Dufour 44 (3 meetings), J/133 (3 meetings), Comet 41 (3 meetings), Hanse 630e (3 meetings), Comet 38 (Vallicelli) (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 46 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), Swan 42 (1 meeting), Ker 40 (1 meeting), Swan 48 (Frers) (1 meeting), Elan 400 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the X-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
5.88
38°
Beam reach
9.29
90°
Broad reach
10.34
135°
Downwind VMG
8.79
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.
There is no obvious weak spot here. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is downwind in a working breeze, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, 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 on a broad reach 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 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a X-46
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.91 | 5.28 | 5.70 | 5.88 |
| 52° | 6.00 | 7.66 | 8.08 | 8.27 |
| 60° | 6.34 | 7.92 | 8.30 | 8.50 |
| 75° | 6.61 | 8.11 | 8.59 | 8.90 |
| 90° | 6.50 | 8.11 | 8.73 | 9.29 |
| 110° | 6.36 | 8.32 | 9.09 | 9.81 |
| 120° | 6.21 | 8.24 | 9.14 | 10.29 |
| 135° | 5.57 | 7.83 | 8.86 | 10.34 |
| 150° | 4.67 | 6.96 | 8.34 | 9.66 |
| Run VMG | 4.04 | 6.02 | 7.44 | 8.79 |
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 690 kg.
Rigging
X-46 rig and sail dimensions
A X-46 carries 17.52 m of mainsail hoist on a 6.25 m boom, a forestay 18.37 m above the deck and a 5.42 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 10 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 114 to 191 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.