Lagoon 46

Lagoon’s 46-footer replaces the hugely popular Lagoon 450, one of their best selling models of all time. So no pressure then! She’s off the drawing board of long term partners VPLP and Nauta Design.

For almost 10 years, the 450 raked in the sales for Lagoon across pretty much every continent except Antartica. The first splash was in 2010, and almost 750 were built. Those are big hulls to fill!

Just like its 40- and 50-foot sisters, the mast on the 46 has been stepped aft (a trick that has been used on all sorts of boats like the Prout Snowgoose 37 and even the Gunboat 68) to make give her a smaller mainsail relative to a larger and more powerful self-tacking jib up front- this makes her easier to sail single or short-handed.

Pros

• Very comfortable, especially down below with plenty of storage space. And that includes the forward cabin(s).
• They have really improved on the 450 with the hard top bimini on the fly bridge (no more smacking your head). They’ve solved some of those problems with low hanging corners that you get on the 450.
• She sails well in a decent breeze, especially with a Code 0
• The mainsail is pretty easy to manage for this size of boat with that stepped back mast and bigger headsail.
• The finish has improved compared to older models

Cons

• The Lagoon 46 is pretty heavy. In light winds you will need to turn the engines on.
• Visibility to the aft corners is not great from the flybridge. You might need to nip onto the side steps to see your sugar scoops when docking. Or install cameras
• The aft cockpit is modestly sized compared to some other 45 footers

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Sailing

Lagoon are not in the business of making  ultra high performance machines – their game is more about getting you from A to B comfortably and in style – a strong competitor to boats like the Leopard 50 and the FP Saba. Having said that, you should comfortably see 8 knots under the twin 57 HP engines and 9 knots with the sails up in a decent breeze. Head off the wind, and you could see speeds comfortably in the teens. When you’ve slung your hook, of course, the Lagoon 46 comes into its own.

Like most cruising cats with keels, she won’t point as high as a monohull or a dagger board cat into the wind- 60 degrees to true is probably your optimum for maximising speed over ground and minimising leeway. (Read our Outremer 51 review if you need a boat for punching upwind with on a regular basis). If you need to point higher on a Lagoon 46, you’ll need to stick the leeward engine on at low revs to keep on track and you should comfortable make 30 degrees to apparent. Off the wind, she moves very nicely, particularly when you unfurl the code 0 in the right conditions.

Like the 450, the Flybridge is going to prove popular on these boats, particularly at anchor and she will sell well into charter I am sure. I’ve chartered a 450F myself, and from a personal point of view I prefer a boom that tucks in close to the bimini so that you can easily get to the sail and reefing lines, and I like to keep an eye on the crew when under way- not always so easy when you are perched on top.

However, each to his or her own, and there’s no doubt that this is a great boat to manoeuvre around marinas- the visibility up top is fantastic, and it makes life easy when you are anchoring as you are so close to the person up front on the windlass.

Living Space

As with most Lagoons, the big story here is living space which is huge. In addition to the fly-bridge where there is lots of lounging space aft of the wheel, there’s a small forward cockpit for sun-downers on the hook and a spacious area aft, under the fly-bridge. We love the central window at the front of the saloon which opens right up so that the inside and outside forward cockpit are connected. Just make sure you close it when you are under way.

She has a sofa across the transom plus a folding a table and an L-shaped sofa. On the starboard side you’ll find a big sun-lounger.

Head into the saloon, and you’ll walk into the spacious galley (a big improvement on the 450 this) next to the door and sliding window. There’s a nav station port forward and another dining table which you can use in bad weather. The forward window which slides down onto the foredeck is a nice evolution from the older model.

Down below, VPLP’s chines help to maximise living space above the waterline. Even up ­forward, the forward berth is a full-size island queen, so no more fighting about the cabins when you board. The accommodation on these boats is hard to beat, whether you go for the 3 cabin Owners or 4 cabin version. The cabins are light and spacious, with nice big heads and showers.

Generally, the 46 has more room than her predecessor thanks to her extra beam and and those chines that we’ve talked about. The galley in particular is a real improvement and the big story is the forward cabins which have has the same size beds as the aft cabins- again thanks to those chines- all the beds are semi walk around like in the aft cabin.

Lagoon 46 Brochure

View the Lagoon 46 Brochure

FAQs

What is the price of a Lagoon 46? How much does this catamaran cost?
That will depend on the kind of options you go for, but to give you an idea, the base price starts around €450k. Once you have added on the options, a typical price might be somewhere around €650k.

Summary

The 46 is a fine evolution from the 450 and I am sure that this is going to be another top seller for Lagoon. For comfort at this size it has few rivals except perhaps the Leopard 50 and the Fountaine Pajot range.

If you are going to get the most out of the 46, then you’ll want to at least go for a bit of solar , electric winches, water-maker, air conditioning, genset and the code zero. There’s also an option for a diving platform aft instead of davits. She’s a smart cruiser alright.

Technical Specification