Elite 446 Shoal draft

Sailboat specifications

The Elite 446 is a 43’7” (13.29m) cruising sailboat designed by Harlé-Mortain (France). She was built since 1988 (and now discontinued) by Kirié (France) with 110 hulls completed. The Shoal draft version features a shorter keel to grant access to shallow areas.

The Elite 446 has also been marketed as Feeling 446 and she is as well listed, on Boat-Specs.com, in Deep draft version (see all the versions compared).

Elite 446's main features

Model: Elite 446
Version: Shoal draft
Hull type: Monohull
Category: Offshore cruising sailboat
Sailboat builder: Kirié
Sailboat designer: Harlé-Mortain
Sailboat range: Elite
Country: France
Construction: GRP (glass reinforced polyester):
- Hull: Single skin fiberglass polyester
- Deck: Sandwich balsa fiberglass polyester
Number of hulls built: 110
First built hull: 1988
Last built hull: Discontinued
Appendages: Keel : fin without bulb
Helm: Single helm wheel
Rudder: Single spade rudder
Unsinkable: No
Trailerable: No
Former French navigation category: 1
Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only): N/A €

Elite 446's main dimensions

Overall length: 45’ 4”13.8 m
Hull length: 43’ 7”13.29 m
Waterline length: 35’ 4”10.77 m
Beam (width): 14’ 7”4.46 m
Draft: 5’ 2”1.6 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 21164 lb9600 kg
Ballast weight: 5952 lb2700 kg
Ballast type: Cast iron
French customs tonnage: 19.26 Tx

Elite 446's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 1018 ft²94.6 m²
Downwind sail area: 1729 ft²160.6 m²
Mainsail area: 372 ft²34.6 m²
Genoa area: 646 ft²60 m²
Stormjib area: 125 ft²11.62 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area: 1356 ft²126 m²
I iFore triangle height (from mast foot to fore stay top attachment): 52’ 2”15.9 m
J iFore triangle base (from mast foot to bottom of forestay): 16’ 2”4.93 m
P iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head): 46’ 4”14.1 m
E iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew): 14’ 5”4.38 m
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi masthead
Mast configuration: Deck stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 2
Spreaders angle: 0 °
Spars construction: Aluminum spars

Elite 446's performances

HN (French rating) iHN or "Handicap Nationale" is an empirical rating system used in France allowing various monohulls, of different sizes and designs, to race each other fairly. It is particularly suitable for cruiser and cruiser-racer. Therefore, by comparing these values, we can have an indication of the relative speed of 2 boats.: 24.0
Upwind sail area to displacement iThe ratio sail area to displacement is obtained by dividing the sail area by the boat's displaced volume to the power two-thirds. The ratio sail area to displacement can be used to compare the relative sail plan of different sailboats no matter what their size. Upwind: under 18 the ratio indicates a cruise oriented sailboat with limited performances especially in light wind, while over 25 it indicates a fast sailboat.: 225 ft²/T20.94 m²/T
Downwind sail area to displacement iThe ratio sail area to displacement is obtained by dividing the sail area by the boat's displaced volume to the power two-thirds. The ratio sail area to displacement can be used to compare the relative sail plan of different sailboats no matter what their size.: 383 ft²/T35.55 m²/T
Displacement-length ratio (DLR) iThe Displacement Length Ratio (DLR) is a figure that points out the boat's weight compared to its waterline length. The DLR is obtained by dividing the boat's displacement in tons by the cube of one one-hundredth of the waterline length (in feet). The DLR can be used to compare the relative mass of different sailboats no matter what their length: a DLR less than 180 is indicative of a really light sailboat (race boat made for planning), while a DLR greater than 300 is indicative of a heavy cruising sailboat.: 218
Ballast ratio iThe Ballast ratio is an indicator of stability; it is obtained by dividing the boat's displacement by the mass of the ballast. Since the stability depends also of the hull shapes and the position of the center of gravity, only the boats with similar ballast arrangements and hull shapes should be compared. The higher the ballast ratio is, the greater is the stability.: 28 %
Critical hull speed iAs a ship moves in the water, it creates standing waves that oppose its movement. This effect increases dramatically the resistance when the boat reaches a speed-length ratio (speed-length ratio is the ratio between the speed in knots and the square root of the waterline length in feet) of about 1.2 (corresponding to a Froude Number of 0.35) . This very sharp rise in resistance, between speed-length ratio of 1.2 to 1.5, is insurmountable for heavy sailboats and so becomes an apparent barrier. This leads to the concept of "hull speed". The hull speed is obtained by multiplying the square root of the waterline length (in feet) by 1.34.: 7.97 knots