We review a used Beneteau GT46 to see if this popular sports cruiser is the wise choice for a family boat.
The 45-50ft sportscruiser market has long been one of the most hotly contested sectors in the motor boating world – and that’s great news for used boat buyers in search of a quality secondhand purchase. From high-spec kit like the Sunseeker Portofino 47, Princess V48 and Fairline 47 GT through to more modestly equipped and accessibly priced vessels, there’s something for everyone who’s serious about getting afloat in a fast and comfortable mid-size cruising boat.
A notch down from the premier league players are boats such as the subject of this report, the Beneteau GT46. Matched in the market against the likes of Bavaria’s Sport S45 and Jeanneau’s Leader 46, the GT46 more than holds its own in terms of performance, styling, comfort and family-friendliness.
The aft bench reclines at the touch of a button like a dentist’s chair
The example we tracked down is on the books of Swanwick-based Solent Motor Yachts with an asking price of £324,950, tax paid. While that’s pretty much in line with Bavaria and Jeanneau models of a similar vintage, it’s considerably less than the top-tier brands. A Princess V48 of the same age, for example, might easily set you back in excess of half a million, so the sheer value on offer looks very strong indeed.
As for the styling, the GT46 still looks very fresh with a sleek sporty profile, a pleasing mix of curves and angles and that all-important hard top providing year-round protection. And actually, as the eponymous brand of Groupe Beneteau, the world’s largest builder of leisure boats and a firm that has been around since 1884, the build quality here is very sound too.
The gap between the helm seats enables you to come and go as you please
Where you tend to save the money with a Beneteau is in the fixtures and fittings and, with due respect to its other qualities, you can see that here. Take the twin bi-fold doors, which seal off the wheelhouse from the cockpit. Rather than taking a straight line from A to B, they close by following a complex track, which is part straight and part curved.
When the two doors come together, they form three sides of a hexagon that projects out into the aft deck, leaving part of the track arrangement exposed. Nothing wrong with that in practical terms, but it is a bit fiddly to operate and it looks a bit odd. The reason the doors have to stick out is to accommodate a quirky pair of extension units that join the seats on either side of the saloon’s dining table.
Annual fuel burn: 3,350 litres (based on 25 hours at 26 knots and 25 hours at 9 knots)
The extensions can be swung in or out to either face the table or elongate the seating units. In fact, the one on the starboard side converts the seat into a chaise longue, which is great, but it doesn’t quite line up with the seat because the bi-fold doors get in the way!
The TV solution feels a shade rudimentary by modern standards
Used Beneteau GT46’s cockpit and saloon
The aft cockpit also features a second pair of seats. While they face forward in the normal way, they also recline at the touch of a button just like a dentist’s chair. Keep pressing and they eventually form a fully flat sunbathing area. It’s a really cool and unusual feature, which your kids are going to love.
Back inside the saloon, the dining table folds in half to create a passageway through the main deck. On our 2016 boat, this table was showing some signs of wear with its surface calling out for a coat of varnish. The degradation, however, was limited to the top surface of the table, because when we opened it up, the finish on the underside was as good as new.
The review boat trades the optional third cabin for a lower starboard dinette
Ahead of the table and seats is a fridge built into the side wall of the superstructure and a centrally mounted wet bar and grill. Having these units in such close proximity to the dining table sets the boat up for entertaining and adds considerable value to the saloon and aft cockpit as the social hub of the boat. The theme of sociability continues at the helm, where the starboard seat is complemented by a centrally mounted bench large enough for two.
Folding doors and seat extensions are a great way to join up the indoor and outdoor spaces
Both seats are bolstered and the views forward and to either side are largely unobstructed by virtue of the large side windows that wrap around the GT46’s wheelhouse. Two of these windows, located on either side at the rear of the saloon, also open. That’s great when things warm up on an imperfect day and you want to keep the saloon fresh without sacrificing the shelter and refinement. Combine them with the big overhead sunroof at the forward end of the saloon and you get a lovely through-flow of air without having to open the big aft doors.
Better still, in spite of its vintage and its price bracket, both the sunroof and the windows are operated electrically from the helm.
The owner’s bathroom is very much the more lavish of the two
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Down below
Below decks, the GT46 is cut from a slightly more standard cloth. The midships galley is perfectly functional and of a good size, with ample storage and worktop space, plus a full range of fitments, including an oven, a double hob, a one-and-a-half bowl sink and a fridge and freezer. Opposite the galley is a dinette with a table that drops down to form an occasional third berth. And that’s useful because, despite being 46ft in length, this particular GT46 is a two-cabin boat.
Given that there’s a wet bar up top, the lower galley is remarkably well specced
A third cabin was available as an option but it came at the expense of the lower dinette. While this boat’s two cabins are both doubles, the forward cabin features scissor beds, which can be prised apart to form two singles in the V of the forepeak. It doesn’t have an ensuite but the entrance to the day heads is just outside the door.
As for the master cabin, that’s located to the rear of the galley and dinette, and that does have its own bathroom, complete with a separate shower area, plus a toilet and washbasin. From the cabin doors to the wardrobes and locker doors, you would have to say that the joinery throughout the lower deck is more about function than form. It’s an area where building to a budget obviously plays its part, so don’t expect to see the kind of cabinetry the big British brands fitted to their boats of this era. Again though, you have to ask yourself whether you’re really willing to pay the premium these boats demand.
Playful mouldings and dynamic, asymmetrical hull windows make the GT46 look very cool
Owner testimony
Phil Sexton, the owner of our review boat, is clearly very conscious of this: “It’s not a full gin palace, but it’s pretty good,” he says. “We keep the boat on the Hamble and I go away with my wife, daughter and our two dogs quite a lot. We’ve cruised to Guernsey a few times and taken trips to the Scilly Isles, so we’ve travelled to some pretty far-flung places.
The owner’s cabin gets plenty of light and space plus decent headroom and its own ensuite
“It’s exactly what we need for these kinds of waters. Not too big. Easy to manage, easy to maintain, and so far, she has been an extraordinarily reliable boat. The seakeeping is brilliant too. We’ve been out in some challenging conditions and it’s pretty stable. In fact, one of the big things we noticed when we moved up from our previous boat, a Cranchi 39, is the stability and that goes for when you’re on the berth as well. It’s a very, very solid boat.”
“When it comes to manoeuvring, it’s a doddle too because we’ve got a Volvo Penta joystick. You can basically manoeuvre it any way you like. I do sometimes use the bow thruster to give it a little bit of a flick, but largely I don’t need to, because I’m just doing everything on the joystick, which really takes away the challenge of berthing.”
Volvo Penta’s sterndrive joystick makes close-quarters manoeuvring simple
His impressions are soundly backed up by our own 2016 sea trial. We noted that its ability to attack a head sea was excellent. A speed of 20-25 knots was easily maintained without overwhelming the hull or the passengers. And that was with the same 370hp Volvo Penta D6 engines that are fitted to this review boat, so with the 430hp IPS-600 units that were specced on a great many GT46s, the ride should be even more impressive.
Used Beneteau GT46 Verdict
The Beneteau GT46 is a fast and fun, family-friendly sportscruiser with plenty of appeal. If you want good looks, good performance and reliable seakeeping, this boat has it all. What it doesn’t have is the lush, plush touch and feel of a premium brand boat. But for those whose budget dictates that proven function trumps outright finesse, the GT46 is worthy of very serious consideration.
The forward guest cabin has a scissor action berth that opens up to become a V-shaped twin
Used Beneteau GT46 Specifications:
Designer: Nuvolari Lenard
Hull type: Planing
RCD: Category B (12 people)
LOA: 45ft 8in (13.92m)
Beam: 13ft 8in (4.16m)
Draft: 3ft 2in (0.96m)
Displacement: 10 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 900L
Water capacity: 400L
Top speed: 32 knots
Fuel consumption: 112.5l/nm @ 26.4 knots
Range: 169nm at 26.4 knots with 20% reserve
Price range: £320,000 – £450,000
In Build: 2016 – 2021
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