Hallberg-Rassy 46 vs 48

Owning a Hallberg-Rassy 46 has caused me to become fascinated with the Frers design elements and that era of boats built from the late 1990’s through the 2000’s. I am always wondering why Hallberg-Rassy stopped making the 46 and then built the 48. I’m also wondering why they don’t have anything between 44 and 50 nowadays. If you have ever been aboard one, the 46 is such a nice platform.

I have read all of the material on the Hallberg-Rassy website for each model. There is also a comparison of the HR46 and HR48 on the HR website. I’ve seen HR48’s sitting on land, but the numbers and bottom view didn’t quite help me sort out the subtle differences.

I had the opportunity to crew aboard a Hallberg-Rassy 48 named “Astra” in the 2024 Salty Dawg Rally to Antigua. This is my assessment comparing this HR8 to Skyward an HR46. Of note, we have sailed Skyward about 3700 miles with a few coastal trips up and down the New Jersey coast as well as out to Block Island. My time aboard Astra included a total of 1599 miles and all of them were offshore.

The Hallberg-Rassy 46 was built in 132 units between 1995 and 2005. It was based on the Hallberg-Rassy 45 but substantially upgraded. 90 Hallberg-Rassy 48’s were built between 2005 and 2020 in a Mark I and later, a Mark II version. The HR48 was a fresh design based on many years of experience and learnings with Frers and also the HR46 platform. In these side-by-side pictures, the HR46 is on the left and the HR48 is on the right.

The anchor locker door is much larger on the HR46, but the toe rails on the HR48 seem a bit taller. I didn’t feel like there were any major differences up front.

There is no question that the HR48 aft deck is wider. The HR48 locker doors are massive and the storage below is spacious. Even though the difference in width is so tangible, the length of the HR46 deck is noticably longer. I enjoy having a large aft deck like on a HR46 or HR48, and I think I would have a tough time adjusting to a modern HR with very little aft deck.

These two boats are very similar. Check out how much deck there is on the HR46 in the aft but in front of the locker doors. I don’t really like the HR48 aft hatch design as described later. Notice also that the HR48 does not have the outer footblock/turning blocks like the HR46.

The genoa sheets on the HR46 are lead to an outer footblock and then forward to the Lewmar 66ST winch on the gunwale. The genoa sheets on the HR48 are lead directly to the Lewmar 64ST sitting outside the cockpit. As a result, the side decks of the HR48 are a bit cleaner. However, the HR48 has slightly less flexibility than the HR46 the way that the sheets are set up. Considering all factors, all of the differences negate each other.

The companionway door on the HR46 is much shorter than on the HR48. It makes it a little more of a stretch to open the center window on the sprayhood. The sprayhood is also a little wider on the HR48.

Let me get into some additional comparisons. Skyward has a 135% genoa, and Astra had about a 125% genoa. Sailing observations are with the genoa and main sails being used. Here are some notable observations between the two basic platforms that aren’t included in the marketing literature:

1. The HR48 was at least 0.5 knot faster than the HR46 in similar sea and wind conditions. The response to course changes and sea state is about the same between the boats.
2. Both the HR46 and HR48 could benefit from larger deck scuppers. Green water sits on the leeward deck for a while. With slightly taller toe rails as mentioned, the HR48 deck had more volume of water on it for a longer period of time.
3. Both the HR46 and HR48 have a traveler system that causes your knuckles to be busted when trying to move the traveler car. It just seems like a bit of a design flaw even when you try to adjust the car off the wind.
4. The H48 has a wider center window on the windshield. I don’t think it adds any value to make this wider. I personally like the more narrow window as it usually takes two hands to properly open and close the window. The wider window is just slightly more challenging to deal with at sea.
5. The chart tables in the cockpit of the HR46 have a sleek curved design that you snuggle up to. The chart tables on the HR48 are flat. I kinda like the curvy / bent wood feeling.
6. Visibility at the helm is about the same between the HR46 and HR48 subtracting out the differences for location of the liferaft, stowage design for the dinghy on the foredeck, and the number of winches on the mast
7. The aft hatch on the HR48 is somewhat flush, but the design around making it flush is not smooth. In my opinion, this adds very little value.
8. The headsail and mainsheet winches on the HR46 are slightly bigger than on the HR48. Literature suggests that pushing the headsail winch outboard on the HR48 reduces friction by eliminating the need for a footblock. This might have been the reason to reduce the size of the winch on the HR48 due to lower force requirements. I do like having the winch out of the cockpit as it makes the cockpit feel more spacey.
9. The refridgerator on the HR48 is much larger than on the HR46
10. The location of the electrical panel on the HR48 is across from the nav station which I like rather than locating the panel outboard on the port side of the nav station. If you are working on the wiring in the HR46, the nav station is totally unusable. Putting it across from the nav station is sensible.
11. I think the steering wheel is slightly larger on the HR48 which made it perceivably more difficult to physically move around the wheel with the sprayhood extension installed.
12. The cockpit drain on the HR48 is like a small tub which I really like. If water fills the cockpit on the HR48 it will flow into the tub below the teak grate and then drain out through the same cockpit drains as found on the HR46. The HR46 doesn’t have a tub or catch basin design in the cockpit.
13. Webasto heaters are installed outboard on the starboard side in the engine compartment on the HR48 whereas they are installed and suspended directly above the engine on the HR46. I don’t know if I have a preference either way. I can see benefits for either design.
14. The engine raw water seacock on the HR48 requires that you lean all the way across the engine compartment and down low (of course) to throw it. The strainer on the HR48 is on the starboard aft corner up high. I just don’t like that design because I may want to access that seacock quickly. On the HR46, the engine raw water seacock and strainer are just about accessible from the doorway on the port side of the engine compartment.
15. The Volvo Penta D3-110 (110 hp) raw water impeller is very difficult compartively to access and remove without a tool. The Volvo Penta TMD31L-A (100 hp) raw water impeller is easily accessible from the front of the engine and is not blocked or otherwise obstructed.
16. The HR48 bilge is huge and easy to access in front of the companionway stairs. The HR46 bilge is slightly smaller with access under the companionway stairs.

Comparing Skyward vs. Astra:

1. Astra: Hydraulic Furlers. Having the ability to press a button from the cockpit to furler or reef is much safer under sail. Skyward is 100% manual. One of the priority upgrades on Skyward is an electric genoa furler.
2. Astra: 4 electric winches in the cockpit. Skyward has 1 electric winch and 4 manual winches. I like the electric winches especially for the headsail control lines. this would be a substantial upgrade and refit for Skyward. As such, this is much farther down the list.
3. Astra: Chartplotter at the nav station down below to plan and see what is happening on deck. I love that and it will be an upgrade for Skyward.
4. Astra: A high capacity emergency bilge pump provides additional safety and comfort when at sea. This will be added to Skyward.
5. Skyward: Solent rig. I love having the versatility of the Solent for downwind or heavy upwind sailing.
6. Skyward: Granny bars. I’ve mentioned these before on Skyward, but in my opinion, these are a huge benefit offshore to improve safety at the mast. Aboard Astra, I found myself trying to figure out what to grab onto as I transitioned off the sidedeck jackline to do work at the mast.
7. Skyward: Lots of winches and cleats on the mast. Once we started to configure the pole on Astra, it got harder to sort out what lines could be secured to what points on the mast. Skyward has 5 winches at the mast; 3 of them are Lewmar 44ST for halyards and other lines.
8. Skyward: Garmin equipment. I like the look of Garmin charts compared to Raymarine found on Astra. We all had issues with the Raymarine graphics on the trip.
9. Skyward: Winches on the aft cabintop. The 2x Lewmar 40ST on the cabintopare used for preventer and spinnaker/furler lines. I love having this flexibility, which we struggled with aboard Astra when offshore and having to set up a new sail confguration

I want to thank Greg for inviting me to join him and the rest of the crew on the trip to Antigua. We had a great time and enjoyed many days of sailing together.