Cardinal 46 Buyer's Guide
Shopping a used Cardinal 46 on the brokerage market means looking at a mid-1980s Alan Warwick design built by Sen Koh Shipbuilding Co. in Taiwan — a 46-foot masthead sloop with a fin keel, skeg-hung rudder, and a lead-ballasted hull around 27,500 pounds. She is a serious cruiser rather than a weekend racer, and the right buyer is one who can live with her draft and core-deck care needs.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Cardinal 46 carries her volume in a beamy 13-foot hull with a 38-foot waterline and a fin keel drawing about six feet loaded. Her 110-gallon diesel and 125-gallon water capacities are part of the original specification, so survivors show cruising-minded internal arrangements built around those tanks.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Buyers should verify the original specification: the 55-horsepower Pathfinder diesel, the masthead sloop rig with 935 square feet of sail, and the balsa-cored deck structure. Any generator, watermaker, or nav suite present is a per-boat addition rather than a production standard, and should be assessed on its own installation quality.
What to Inspect
The balsa-cored deck is the first place a buyer should spend time, since moisture in the core at through-deck fittings is the failure mode to guard against; probe around winches, chainplates, and stanchion bases for softness and check for staining below. The six-foot-plus draft is load-sensitive at 1,746 pounds per inch of immersion, so confirm the stated draft against the boat's actual loaded condition and note that major-marina access is limited by the fin keel. The 548 square foot wetted surface is normal for the design but means antifouling and bottom condition matter more than on a lighter hull, so inspect the full underwater plane for blisters or repair history.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Used Cardinal 46s are most typically found in Malaysia and Spain. Before committing, walk through this short checklist:
- Probe the balsa deck core at every penetration for softness.
- Confirm loaded draft against the 6.0–6.3 ft range and marina plans.
- Inspect the full wetted bottom for osmotic or repair history.
- Verify the Pathfinder diesel and original rigging sizes.
- Check tankage integrity for the 110 gal fuel and 125 gal water.
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
5 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hylas 46 | 46.25' | $ 420,000 | 48 | 7 |
| Hallberg-Rassy 46 | 48.5' | $ 395,000 | 33 | 6 |
| Peterson 46 | 45' | $ 69,900 | 10 | 5 |
| Oyster Yachts 46 | 46' | $ 600,917 | 8 | 1 |
| Moody 46 | 46.13' | $ 261,721 | 6 | 1 |