Detailed sailboat specifications and datasheets since 2015
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Bénéteau 461 Classic

Sailboat specifications

The Bénéteau 461 is a 45’1” (13.76m) cruising sailboat designed by Farr Yacht Design (United States). She was built between 1995 and 2000 by Bénéteau (France) with 210 hulls completed. The Classic version is offered with a classic masthead Marconi sloop rig. She has been awarded "1997 - Cruising World - Boat of the Year: Full-Size Cruiser".

The Bénéteau 461 has also been marketed as Océanis 461 and she is as well listed, on Boat-Specs.com, in Furling mainsail version (see all the versions compared).

Bénéteau 461's main features

Model
Bénéteau 461
Version
Classic
Hull type
Monohull
Category
Offshore cruising sailboat
Sailboat builder
Sailboat designer
Country
France
Construction
GRP (glass reinforced polyester):
- Hull: Single skin fiberglass polyester
- Deck: Sandwich balsa fiberglass polyester
Number of hulls built
210
First built hull
1995
Last built hull
2000
Award(s)
  • 1997: Cruising World - Boat of the Year: Full-Size Cruiser
    Appendages
    Keel : L-shaped keel (with bulb)
    Helm
    Single helm wheel
    Rudder
    Single spade rudder
    Unsinkable
    No
    Trailerable
    No
    EC design category
     iThe CE design category indicates the ability to cope with certain weather conditions (the sailboat is designed for these conditions)

    A: Wind < force 9, Waves < 10m
    B: Wind < force 8, Waves < 8m
    C: Wind < force 6, Waves < 4m
    D: Wind < force 4, Waves < 0,5m
    A
    Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only)
    N/A

    Bénéteau 461's main dimensions

    Overall length
    45’ 11”14 m
    Hull length
    45’ 1”13.76 m
    Waterline length
    39’11.9 m
    Beam (width)
    13’ 6”4.12 m
    Draft
    5’ 8”1.75 m
    Mast height from DWL
    59’ 1”18 m
    Light displacement (MLC)
    20944 lb9500 kg
    Ballast weight
    7496 lb3400 kg
    Ballast type
    Cast iron
    French customs tonnage
    20.02 Tx

    Bénéteau 461's rig and sails

    Upwind sail area
    1089 ft²101.2 m²
    Mainsail area
    473 ft²43.9 m²
    Genoa area
    617 ft²57.3 m²
    I
     iFore triangle height (from mast foot to fore stay top attachment)
    54’ 6”16.62 m
    J
     iFore triangle base (from mast foot to bottom of forestay)
    15’ 11”4.86 m
    P
     iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head)
    46’ 11”14.3 m
    E
     iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew)
    17’ 1”5.2 m
    Rigging type
    Sloop Marconi masthead
    Mast configuration
    Keel stepped mast
    Rotating spars
    No
    Number of levels of spreaders
    2
    Spreaders angle
    Swept-back
    Spars construction
    Aluminum spars
    Standing rigging
    1x19 strand wire discontinuous

    Bénéteau 461's performances

    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.
    243 ft²/T22.56 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.
    160
    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.
    36 %
    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.
    8.37 knots

    Bénéteau 461's auxiliary engine

    Engine(s)
    1 inboard engine
    Engine(s) power (min./max.)
    48 HP / 85 HP
    Fuel type
    Diesel
    Fuel tank capacity
    52.8 gal200 liters

    Bénéteau 461's accommodations and layout

    Cockpit
    Closed aft cockpit
    Cabin(s) (min./max.)
    2 / 4
    Berth(s) (min./max.)
    4 / 10
    Head(s) (min./max.)
    2 / 3
    Freshwater tank capacity
    217.9 gal825 liters
    Holding tank capacity
    29.1 gal110 liters
    Boiler capacity
    11.1 gal42 liters
    Maximum headroom
    6’ 6”1.97 m

    Bénéteau 461's saloon

    Maximum headroom
    6’ 5”1.96 m

    Bénéteau 461's fore cabin

    Berth length
    6’ 7”2 m
    Berth width
    4’ 7”1.4 m

    Bénéteau 461's aft cabin

    Berth length
    6’ 7”2 m
    Berth width (head/feet)
    4’ 10”1.45 m / 3’ 7”1.1 m
    Have you spotted incorrect data?  You can report it in the forum or contact the webmaster

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