GRAND SOLEIL 46LC VIDEO TESTS

This is the third post about a boat that on the first post I said that i did not like very much LOL. At the time I had only seen the drawings and I presumed this was just a cheaper main market version of the Grand Soleil 47. Well I was wrong. I saw the boat in Dusseldorf and was impressed with the quality, interior space, design and rigging of the boat. The galley and saloon are particularly impressive.

I guess I was letting my personal preferences get in the way of objectivity: this is a very different boat from the 47, that is a performance cruiser with a great living interior. The 46LC points not to the same market but to the ones that like to cruise in an easy way, with the minimum fuss about the sails and sail trimming, with a maximized quality living interior on a boat that nevertheless is a fast boat for this type of yacht.

I would say that it was very indicated for living aboard if I didn't saw a problem with storage. I don't know if they will make a two cabin version. The only one I saw advertised is the three cabin that have beautiful huge aft cabins, at the cost of the two "normal" cockpit storage lockers. The boat has on the cockpit, besides the  one for gas, a deep narrow one (for fenders) and a big central one, that unfortunately has a somewhat narrow hatch.

Not very practical. A  big hatch or two smaller ones would make a lot more sense. On the interior of the boat you have also some spaces under the floor, on the bilges, that are deeper than on most modern boats, but what you can store there is limited in shape and type of things. That lack of useful storage in this type of boat is unfortunate.The boat has a very good tankage, with 600L of water and 300l of diesel...with a very small black water tank (30L). The engine is powerful for a 12T boat (75hp) and the boat has a very good stability not only due to a big hull form stability but also due to a considerable draft (2.3m), a modern keel, and considering all that, a high B/D (35%).
Taking in account the quality, the price is attractive and starts at 369 000 euros, VAT excluded and includes some equipment. Now, to be a perfect living aboard boat and join in that sector the Sense 46, all it would be needed is a two cabin version with a big locker with access from the interior and the outside, one with space for a wash machine, since the generator can perfectly be on the cockpit one. Maybe they come up with one ;-)

The tests from the British Yachtingw World magazine and the New Zealand boating magazine: And for comparison purposes here is the faster and more "complicated" to trim Grand Soleil 47, a performance cruiser with a good cruising interior, but not as good and spacious as the one from the GS 46LC: