Cal 2-46 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for a Cal 2-46 means looking at a Jensen Marine Lapworth design built as a purpose-built world cruiser. These are 45-foot boats with a three-cabin interior, a walk-in engine room, and a long shoal-draft keel — not nimble harbor boats, but steady passage-makers with a documented 1,200-mile powered range from the original 85-horsepower Perkins. The used fleet favors ex-charter and owner layouts, and the known weaknesses are about handling and a few exposed components rather than systemic structural failure.
Layouts on the Used Market
Owner three-cabin arrangements are the more common used-market configuration, though both owner and ex-charter layouts appear. The standard plan puts a double V-berth forward with an extra single, a huge amidships saloon with large windows, and an aft owner's stateroom with a double berth reachable from below. Two enclosed heads and a dedicated walk-in engine room with workspace complete the picture. Ex-charter examples are common, so expect some with simplified owner's touches and heavier wear in the saloon and heads.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market, solar, electric winches, radar, and circumnavigation-grade rigging are commonly fitted, marking these as boats already prepared for extended offshore use. Less universal but frequently added by owners are inverters, gennakers, spinnakers, bow thrusters, hot water, dinghy davits, autopilots, and chartplotters. For a buyer, the meaningful clusters are power and energy — solar with an inverter supports indefinite anchoring — and sail handling, where electric winches and a bow thruster offset the boat's documented difficulty maneuvering in tight quarters. Radar and a chartplotter round out navigation for distant cruising.
What to Inspect
The long-keel hull that gives the 2-46 her sea-kindly motion also makes her hard to maneuver and poor in reverse, so confirm at survey whether the specific hull shows rudder or prop scarring from tight-quarter handling. The rudder is an unprotected spade anchor, so inspect the blade and stock for impact damage or asymmetric play at the heel. The sloop version is reported as underpowered for the boat's size; if considering a sloop, assess sail area and engine reliance against your plans, and note the ketch version reduces that concern. High freeboard and the center-cockpit layout hinder mooring pickup — check lifeline and deck hardware near the bow for stress from repeated mooring attempts.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats turn up across the United States, Mexico, Canada, New Caledonia, Guatemala, and French Polynesia. For a viewing, keep a short list:
- Check the spade rudder for impact damage and free play.
- Confirm sloop versus ketch rig and judge power for your use.
- Inspect bow deck gear for mooring-related stress.
- Verify solar, electric winches, and radar are operational.
- Review engine-room access and Perkins service history.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Cal 2-46. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 8 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25 | 1 | $72,000 | — |
| Sep 25 | 1 | $128,211 | +78.1% |
| Nov 25 | 1 | $125,000 | -2.5% |
| Dec 25 | 1 | $40,000 | -68.0% |
| Jan 26 | 3 | $84,000 | +110.0% |
| Mar 26 | 2 | $57,920 | -31.0% |
| Apr 26 | 1 | $21,000 | -63.7% |
| Aug 26 | 3 | $119,500 | +469.0% |
Where they're listed
Cal 2-46 listings appear across 4 countries. United States has the most listings with 7 (63.6%), followed by Canada and Mexico.
Country view
11 listings · 4 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $119,500 | 7 | 2 | 63.6% |
| Canada | $57,920 | 2 | 0 | 18.2% |
| Mexico | $60,000 | 1 | 0 | 9.1% |
| French Polynesia | $128,211 | 1 | 0 | 9.1% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
8 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bavaria Yachts Cruiser 46 | 46.82' | $ 437,083 | 78 | 10 |
| Hylas 46 | 46.25' | $ 420,000 | 48 | 8 |
| Hallberg-Rassy 46 | 48.5' | $ 390,461 | 33 | 7 |
| Swan 46 | 47.08' | $ 147,264 | 24 | 6 |
| CAL 2-46You are here | — | $ 101,750 | 12 | 3 |
| Catalina 426 | 43.5' | $ 539,000 | 9 | 1 |
| Moody 46 | 46.13' | $ 263,111 | 6 | 2 |
| Oyster Yachts 46 | 46' | $ 603,655 | 6 | 1 |