The Kelly Peterson 46 Sailboat
Specs & Key Performance Indicators

The Kelly Peterson 46, a masthead sloop, was designed by Doug Peterson and built in Taiwan by Queen Long Marine.

The Kelly Peterson 46

Published Specification for the Kelly Peterson 46

Underwater Profile: Fin keel & skeg-hung rudder

Hull Material: GRP (Fibreglass)

Length Overall: 46'3" (14.1m)

Waterline Length: 40'10" (12.4m)

Beam: 13'4" (4.1m)

Draft: 6'8" (2.0m)

Rig Type: Masthead sloop, but also available as a cutter

Displacement: 33,300lb (15,105kg)

Ballast: 11,330lb (5,139kg)

Designer: Doug Peterson

Builder: Queen Long Marine (Taiwan)

Year First Built: 1980

Year Last Built: 1990

Number Built: 30

Published Design Ratios for the Kelly Peterson 46

Sail Area/Displacement Ratio: 17.1

Ballast/Displacement Ratio: 34.0

Displacement/Length Ratio: 218

Comfort Ratio: 38.5

Capsize Screening Formula: 1.7

Summary Analysis of the Design Ratios for the Kelly Peterson 46

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1. A Sail Area/Displacement Ratio of 17.1 suggests that the Kelly Peterson 46 will, in the right conditions, approach her maximum hull speed readily and satisfy the sailing performance expectations of most cruising sailors.

2. A Ballast/Displacement Ratio of 34.0 means that a sailboat like the Kelly Peterson 46 (which doesn't have a stiffness-enhancing bulb keel), is likely to benefit from being reefed early to keep her sailing upright in a moderate breeze.

3. A Displacement/Length Ratio of 218 tells us the Kelly Peterson 46 is a moderate displacement cruiser, which means she'll carry all your cruising gear without it having a dramatic effect on her performance. Most of today's sailboats intended for offshore cruising fall into this displacement category.

4. Ted Brewer's Comfort Ratio of 38.4 suggests that crew comfort of a Kelly Peterson 46 in a seaway is similar to what you would associate with the motion of a moderate bluewater cruising boat - a predictable and acceptable motion for most seasoned sailors.

5. The Capsize Screening Formula (CSF) of 1.7 indicates that a Kelly Peterson 46 would be a safer choice of sailboat for an ocean passage than one with a CSF of more than 2.0.

More about the Kelly Peterson 46...

The Kelly Peterson 46 was conceived by yacht broker Jack Kelly, who wanted to build the kind of boats his clients were always dreaming about but couldn’t find. He hired Doug Peterson, a California yacht designer who had gained fame for his innovative fin keel and spade rudder designs for racing boats, to design the Kelly Peterson 44 in 1976. The KP44 was a success, but Kelly wanted to improve on it by lengthening the hull and making some other changes. He commissioned Peterson to design the KP46 in 1980 and had it built in Taiwan by the Queen Long Marine shipyard under his close supervision.

Accommodation
The Kelly Peterson 46 has a spacious and comfortable interior that can accommodate up to six people in three separate cabins. The layout is as follows:

The forward cabin has a V-berth with storage underneath, a hanging locker, shelves and drawers, an overhead hatch and two opening ports;

The forward head is located to port, next to the forward cabin. It has a marine toilet, a sink with hot and cold water, a shower with sump pump, storage cabinets and an opening port;

The main saloon is located amidships, with a U-shaped dinette to port that can seat six people and convert into a double berth. There is also a settee to starboard that can serve as a single berth. There are storage lockers behind and under the seats, bookshelves, cabinets and drawers along the hull sides, an overhead hatch and four opening ports;

The navigation station is located to starboard, aft of the main saloon. It has a large chart table with storage underneath, an instrument panel with electrical switches and gauges, a swivel seat with storage under it, an overhead light and an opening port;

The galley is located to port, aft of the main saloon. It has an L-shaped counter with a double stainless steel sink with hot and cold water, a three-burner propane stove with oven and broiler, a large top-loading refrigerator/freezer with engine-driven compressor, ample storage cabinets and drawers for dishes and utensils, an overhead hatch and two opening ports;

The aft cabin is accessed from either side of the companionway ladder. It has an athwartships queen-sized berth with storage underneath, two hanging lockers, shelves and drawers along the hull sides;

a vanity with mirror and sink with hot and cold water to starboard;

a private head with marine toilet, sink and shower with sump pump to port, an overhead hatch and four opening ports;

The engine room is located under the cockpit sole and accessed from the aft cabin or the cockpit. It has a sound-insulated enclosure for the engine, a generator, a water heater, a battery bank, a fuel tank, a water tank and various pumps and filters.

The interior of the Kelly Peterson 46 is finished in teak veneer plywood and solid teak, giving it a warm and classic look. The cabin sole is teak and holly. The upholstery is fabric or leather. The headroom is generous throughout, ranging from 1.9 m (6.25 ft) in the forward cabin to 1.8 m (5.9 ft) in the aft cabin.

The above text was drafted by sailboat-cruising.com using GPT-4 (OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model) as a research assistant to develop source material; we believe it to be accurate to the best of our knowledge.