Design and Construction
The hull is a hand-laid solid fiberglass laminate with 22,399 pounds of iron ballast encapsulated in the long keel, giving a ballast ratio of 40 percent. The deck is solid fiberglass, and the keel itself is iron. With a length-to-beam ratio of 3.04 and a displacement-to-length figure near 391, the hull is beamy and heavy rather than fine-lined. The wetted surface measures about 624 square feet, and the immersion rate is roughly 2,383 pounds per inch, so she sits deep and moves reluctantly when loaded. A capsize screening value of 1.58 and a comfort ratio above 54 describe a vessel built to stay upright and absorb weather rather than to sprint.
Rig and Handling
The Fisher 46 is built as a ketch, and ten years after her 1977 launch the rig gained a bowsprit and staysail, a change that greatly improved performance. The original sail plan carries a 1,335-square-foot area driven through a mainsheet of 114 feet and genoa and jib sheets of 45.6 feet, all sized at 5/8 inch diameter. The long-keel profile and 6 foot 6 inch draft — varying with load between 6.5 and 6.8 feet — mean she enters only major marinas, trading close-quarters agility for directional stability. A shaft-drive transmission links the single diesel to the propeller, and the reported engine options run from 117 to 120 horsepower, ample for light-air motoring in a hull of this mass.
Accommodations
The interior is custom built around a basic layout of three double cabins and three heads, arranged around a circular saloon. Berth count is listed at six to eight. Rather than a conventional cockpit, the 46 MS has a large afterdeck with seating, shifting the social center aft and under cover. The custom nature of each fit-out means no two interiors are identical, but the three-cabin, three-head skeleton and the round saloon define the type.
Known Issues
Fisher hulls produced before 1990 occasionally suffer from wheelhouse window frame corrosion and Treadmaster deck peeling where bonding was done without epoxy; these were resolved in later Northshore production. The 46 MS, launched in 1977 and built by Fisher Yachts International before the 1988 receivership, falls within that at-risk window for window-frame corrosion and deck-surface bonding. A buyer should treat any pre-1990 hull as potentially carrying both faults regardless of apparent presentation.
Refits and Ownership
With only about fifteen built and the occasional later model still completed, the 46 MS is a rare boat whose owners tend to invest in custom accommodation and rig updates. The bowsprit-and-staysail evolution shows the type was still being refined a decade on, and the shaft-drive diesel installation is straightforward for service. Ownership means living with a 56,000-pound vessel that rewards careful husbandry of her deck bonding and window frames more than constant sail-handling speed.
The Verdict
The Fisher 46 MS is a heavily built, long-keel motorsailer ketch with a rare three-cabin, three-head interior wrapped around a circular saloon and a sheltered afterdeck. She is stable, voluminous, and built to a serious offshore brief, but her draft and mass limit where she can go and how quickly she gets there.
Pros
- Long iron-keel hull with 40 percent ballast ratio and capsize screening of 1.58 for reassuring stability
- Three double cabins and three heads around a circular saloon with six to eight berths
- Rig evolved with bowsprit and staysail that greatly improved performance
- Shaft-drive diesel up to 120 hp suited to light-air motoring
Cons
- Pre-1990 hulls at risk for wheelhouse window corrosion and Treadmaster peeling from non-epoxy bonding
- 6.5 to 6.8 foot draft restricts her to major marinas
- Only around fifteen built, so spares and comparable sales are scarce
