Home/ Boats/ Grampian/Us Yachts/ Us 46/ Performance
Performance & Speed

Us 46 Performance

How the Us 46 performs on the water — racing handicap, speed, sail-carrying power, stability and comfort.

+ Add to Compare

The Us 46 is designed for cruising comfort rather than racing.

Hull Speed

The theoretical displacement-mode speed limit — determined by waterline length, not engine or sail power.

7.7 kts
A displacement hull pushes a bow wave whose speed is limited by the waterline length. With a waterline of 33.0′, the Us 46 tops out around 7.7 knots in displacement mode — after that, the bow wave outruns the hull and resistance climbs steeply.
1.34 × √33.0′ LWL = 7.7 kts

Performance Ratios

Racing handicap, sail-carrying power, stability and comfort — and what each one actually tells you about a day on the water.

PHRF Rating
161s/nm
Typical cruiser — designed for comfort and ease, not podium finishes.
Ballast / Displacement
36.0%
Typical cruising ballast — balanced stability and motion underway.
Displacement / Length
311
Moderate-heavy — carries provisions well, deliberate in light air.
Hull Speed
7.7kts
Pounds/Inch Immersion
8lbs
Weight needed to sink the hull one inch — loading sensitivity.

PHRF Fleet Position

Where the Us 46 sits on the PHRF handicap spectrum — lower numbers mean faster boats.

Racer 0–90
Cruiser/Racer 90–150
Cruiser 150–210
Ericson 46 72s/nm
Tartan 4600 75s/nm
Us 46 161s/nm Typical cruiser — designed for comfort and ease, not podium finishes.

How It Compares

Side-by-side with the boats most often cross-shopped against the Us 46.

Us 46 Ericson 46 Grampian 46 Morgan 46 Scheel Seafarer 46 Tartan 4600
Dimensions
LOA 46.0 45.8 46.0 46.0 46.0 46.2
LWL 33.0 35.0 33.0 39.3 31.0 39.6
Beam 12.0 13.3 12.0 13.5 11.0 14.3
Displacement 25 31 25 30 27 28
Ballast 9 16 9 3 11 8
Sail Area 1 881 876 938
Performance
PHRF 161 72 75
SA/Disp 17.1 16.6 14.6 16.7
Bal/Disp 36.0 52.4 36.0 30.4
Comfort 40.8 38.3 35.1 48.2
Capsize 1.68 1.64 1.74 1.47
Hull Speed 7.9 7.7 8.4 7.5