She belongs firmly to the heavy, seakindly motorsailer tradition rather than the cruiser-racer world. At 45 feet 8 inches overall, with a 40-foot 4-inch waterline and a 15-foot beam, she displaces 56,009 pounds over a long iron keel.
Design and Construction
The hull is a hand-laid, solid-fiberglass laminate. It carries 22,399 pounds of iron ballast encapsulated in the long keel, giving a ballast ratio of 40 percent. The deck is also solid fiberglass, and the keel itself is iron.
A length-to-beam ratio of 3.04 and a displacement-to-length figure near 391 confirm that this is a beamy, heavy hull rather than a fine-lined one. The wetted surface measures about 624 square feet, while 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 boat intended to stay upright and absorb weather rather than sprint.
Rig, Engine, and Handling
The Fisher 46 is ketch-rigged. Ten years after the design’s 1977 launch, the rig gained a bowsprit and staysail, a change that greatly improved performance.
The original sail plan carries 1,335 square feet of sail. The mainsheet is 114 feet long, while the genoa and jib sheets are each 45.6 feet; all are sized at 5/8 inch diameter.
Her long-keel profile and draft—6 feet 6 inches, varying with load between 6.5 and 6.8 feet—restrict her to major marinas. She trades close-quarters agility for directional stability.
A shaft-drive transmission connects the single diesel to the propeller. Reported engine options range from 117 to 120 horsepower, ample for light-air motoring in a hull of this mass.
Accommodations
Each interior was custom built around a basic arrangement of three double cabins and three heads, centered on a circular saloon. The listed berth count is six to eight.
Rather than a conventional cockpit, the 46 MS has a large afterdeck with seating, moving the social center aft and under cover. Because every fit-out was customized, no two interiors are identical, but the three-cabin, three-head arrangement and round saloon define the type.
Known Issues
Fisher hulls built before 1990 occasionally suffer from corrosion in the wheelhouse window frames. Treadmaster decking can also peel where it was bonded without epoxy. Both problems were resolved in later Northshore production.
The 46 MS was launched in 1977 and built by Fisher Yachts International before the 1988 receivership, placing it within the at-risk period for window-frame corrosion and deck-surface bonding problems. 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 occasional later examples still completed—the 46 MS is rare. Owners tend to invest in custom accommodations and rig updates. The addition of the bowsprit and staysail shows that the type was still being refined a decade after its launch, while the shaft-drive diesel installation is straightforward for service.
Ownership means caring for a 56,000-pound vessel. She rewards careful husbandry of the 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. Its unusual interior combines three cabins and three heads with a circular saloon, while the sheltered afterdeck provides a substantial social space.
She is stable, voluminous, and built to a serious offshore brief. Her draft and mass, however, limit where she can go and how quickly she gets there.
Pros
- Long iron-keel hull, 40 percent ballast ratio, and a capsize screening value of 1.58 provide reassuring stability
- Three double cabins and three heads arranged around a circular saloon, with six to eight berths
- Later bowsprit-and-staysail rig greatly improved performance
- Shaft-drive diesel of up to 120 hp suits light-air motoring
Cons
- Pre-1990 hulls are at risk of wheelhouse window-frame corrosion and Treadmaster peeling caused by non-epoxy bonding
- Draft of 6.5 to 6.8 feet restricts access to major marinas
- Only around fifteen were built, so spares and comparable sales are scarce
