Design and Construction
Zaal drew the 46 in the late eighties as a round-bilged, dark-blue-hulled sloop with a standard keel and a Lloyd's certificate of hull construction, reflecting the builder's early adoption of Lloyd's certification across its range. The hull and superstructure are solid fibreglass, while the decks are laid with teak and the windows are Acrylaat safety glass set in Hydronalium frames. Her proportions tell the story: a length-to-beam ratio of 3.37 makes her beamier than 58% of comparable designs, and a ballast ratio of 40 percent sits above nearly three-quarters of similar designs, a measure of both stiffness and righting ability. With a capsize screening value of 1.70 and a motion comfort ratio of 38.5, she is more comfortable than 73% of similar sailboat designs, a meaningful claim for anyone weighing long passages.
Rig and Handling
The 46 is a masthead sloop with a cutter stay available, carrying a Selden aluminium mast and spinnaker boom on wire rigging, and she came from the factory with in-mast mainsail furling paired to a Furlex genoa furling system. The supplied sail wardrobe runs from the working mainsail and genoa through storm jib, cutter jib, trysail, and a blister. Lewmar self-tailing winches are distributed with purpose: two 64 electric sheet winches, two 40 main sheet, two 44 furling, and two 48 halyard units. OceanWaveSail.Com found she can be easily sailed single-handed from the cockpit, and a Whitlock pedestal with rod steering, mechanical wheel, and an emergency tiller round out the command chain. Her theoretical hull speed is 8.4 knots, and a displacement-length ratio of 258 puts her among moderate racers—heavier than 42 percent of her peers but hardly a slug.
Accommodations
Below, the Contest 46 is a three-cabin yacht with a teak interior and light-blue upholstery, arranged for six. The owner's double berth sits aft, a V-berth guest cabin and a twin guest cabin occupy the bow, and two WC/shower rooms serve the plan. Headroom is 2.00 m in the saloon and 1.90 m in the cabins. A wet clothes locker near the entryway carries its own heating unit, and the galley is fitted with a fridge, separate deep freezer, three-burner gas stove with oven, and extractor. A Webasto heating and hot water system, plus a pressurized water circuit and an 800-litre fresh-water capacity with a sump tank, support extended living aboard.
Equipment and Systems
The engine is a Volvo Penta TMD 31L four-cylinder diesel of 100 hp, built in 1996 and recorded with 960 hours as of July 2003, turning a Maxprop three-bladed propeller on a stainless shaft through a two-circuit cooling system. A Sleipner 10 hp bowthruster, deck wash pump, and both electric and manual bilge pumps speak to practical husbandry. The electrical plant is 12/220v with two 100 amp starter and five 88 amp service batteries, a Victron 130 amp charger, shore power, and an extra 130 amp Mastervolt alternator. Navigation is anchored by B&G cockpit instruments, a binnacle compass, Autohelm ST50 suite with interior repeater, Shipmate VHF, Raytheon radar, and an EPIRB.
The Verdict
The Contest 46 is a thoughtfully engineered Dutch cruiser with the ballast, certification, and accommodation scale to undertake serious voyaging—one example having crossed the Atlantic, transited the Panama Canal, and continued through the Pacific to Southeast Asia. Her single-handed-friendly cockpit and deep inventory suit a couple or family cruising long term, though her wing keel and moderate draft demand the usual grounding awareness.
Pros
- High ballast ratio and capsize screening suited to offshore work
- Three-cabin layout with six-berth capacity and generous headroom
- Single-handed sailing possible from the cockpit with electric winches
- Lloyd's-certified solid fibreglass hull with teak decks
Cons
- Wing keel limits shallow-water access compared with centerboard rivals
- Teak decks require ongoing maintenance to avoid degradation
