It simply came down to the final two. A classic blue ocean Swedish cruiser or a Chuck Paine-designed custom 50-footer that rolls 9 knots in light winds. We took some time to visit these two incredible boats to see how they meet our needs and compare to previous boats that we’ve seen.
Both boats were in the Chesapeake Bay and so the comparison would be perfect.
First up is a 1997 Hallberg-Rassy 46 – let’s call it King Kong. This is a well-maintained boat originally named Nike and sailed in Northern Europe. The boat was renamed in about 2006 and sailed in the Northwest region for a few years before transiting the Panama Canal and then sailed into Annapolis where the boat was put on the hard from 2011 to 2017. In October 2017, Litha was purchased by the current owner and docked in Herrington Harbour South.
We could sleep 9 people on this boat. It has a Windpilot Pacific Plus, solar, a relatively new Highfield dinghy, a generator and low engine hours. The teak decks are in decent shape, and the sails and canvas are either new or in tip top condition.
The HR46 feels completely different from the HR39 we saw a few weeks ago. The beam is obviously much wider, but it carries well astern. The HR46 is also rigged as a cutter whereas the HR39 would become a clutter.
As a side note, after not finding any good HR46s for sale for several months, Mahina Tiare III came for sale with a subtle announcement. I sprang into action and put in a notice of interest with the owner who is an incredible, kind and generous person. The boat was in Australia, and the Mahina owners already worked out transport to Florida. I started dreaming of how I would get the boat from Florida to New Jersey, how I would conduct the sea trial remotely, how to pay for it. And then you know what happened? I missed out being the first person in the queue by a couple of hours. I was 2nd in line for a world-recognized sailing vessel. Mahina Tiare III was put on the market and fully exchanged hands within a few weeks.
Funny thing occurred. At precisely the same time as I was chasing Mahine Tiare II, I found Litha through Facebook. All it took was a simple post requesting to purchase any HR46. The owner contacted me expressing an interest in selling.
Who’s Godzilla, you ask?
It is a 1987 Able Custom 50. Stunning. Georgous. Elegant lines. Extremely well-manicured. This boat had: B&G instruments, massive electric winches, cutter design, jaw-dropping Awl grip gloss, deep cockpit, davits, and the list goes on and on. I didn’t want to like this boat, but you have to understand, I couldn’t help but love it. Thought it was a long ways away on Solomon’s Island.
Well, as the story goes, this was a ketch that somone converted to a sloop. I was skeptical. Did they have a naval architect delete the mizzen and then reset the main mast in the right position? The mast was a 70ft tall carbon fiber beast. That got my attention; again, did a proper naval architect design this? The interior did not match the awesomeness on the top. It was in tip top condition, but highly dated. You couldn’t sleet together in the aft cabin – ever. And the salon area was not conducive to convert into temporary births like the HR46.
Ultimately, I didn’t like the raised deck windows. They seemed to let a lot of light in witout any curtains or shading which we would have had to add ourvselves. This boat had a lot of varnished teak on the deck which obviously required an immense amount of time to keep up with. We don’t have time for that. The interior was the main decision factor against this boat despite my concerns about the sail design. Not being able to sleep together in the aft cabin and the v-berth was a little short in length.
This able is something like 1 of 2 ever made. It sails 9 knots of speed without much effort. I love Chuck Paine’s design, but I don’t think we’re as good sailors to appreciate this yacht. The Able deserves to be around a lot of people in yacht clubs but perhaps not necessarily doing ocean crossings.
The Result?
Both boats had very good sail ability characteristics. The HR46 did well in almost all categories; most Hallberg-Rassy’s have a smaller galley. The Able didn’t really feel as live able for 2+2, and although the engine room was massive and exquisitely clean, being that the brand is no longer made, I ranked it slightly lower in Maintainability. (It turns out that one of the current owners of the Able is a very high caliber boat technician). The kitchen space was not bad, but oddly laid out from being an 80’s boat. Mostly though, the Albe is a niche boat that only sailing experts would recognize. That’s not enough of importance for us.
| (Scoring 1=poor, 5=great) | Sabre 426 | Taswell 50 | Caliber 47 | HR 39 | HR 46 | Able 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Looks/styling in and out | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Liveability for 2 adults and 2 kids | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Maintainability | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Kitchen space | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Safety at sea | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Condition in and out | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Strong owner following | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
Meanwhile, I have been working hard to get Skyward ready for the season. It is for sale, but we just sold it! Here you see the new bottom paint after a light sanding.
The Loxodograph 