BP211 – GRAND SOLEIL 46

European Yacht of the Year 2010

Magazine Reviews:

Batnytt: Superior Italian elegance is what those sailors looking for performance meet in the Grand Soleil 46. Luxury look with the brand’s typical low, flat coachroof and stylish long black windows, speak of style and clever taste. In exterior design no other yard has matched del Pardo for some years and the 46 is again proof of how set goals are kept. Neat deck layout that makes her easy to control as a solo skipper or with a crew. Inside furnishings are best in class. Again Grand Soleil maintains their high ambitions with great sense of quality in the details.

Seilas: A stylish and fast cruiser with a bit of taste from bigger yachts. It’s very hard to point out the boat’s weak points, and the price makes it a good buy. Grand Soleil contemporary style is impressive.

Yachtrevue: A well done compromise between racing and cruising; one of the best cockpits I have seen; nice styling under deck; fantastic acceleration in light gusts; easy behaviour in rough seas.

Yacht&Sail: A good example of how a Grand Soleil is supposed to be, she showed a fantastic sailing ability even with her spacious and luxurious interior arrangements. Good results in high level racing confirmed the performance capability of the Botin design. The deck is a good compromise between racing ergonomics and cruising comfort, with some “maxi-yacht” items, such as flush hatches and the wide toerail. Last but not least, the interior style is in typical Italian, simple and linear but warm and cosy. At last Pardo is back!

Yachting World: Superb Botin hull form, spacious cockpit layout and modern, workable interior. Sexy in a way only Italians can do, with her grey caulked deck matched with light oak inside, she’s stable and easy to handle, in rough weather too. Her balance and response makes her a true delight to helm. An extremely tight category that’s been clinched by this dictionary definition of a modern performance cruiser.

Voile Magazine: Stunning look, impressive deck, wide cockpit, rather modern and well designed accommodations, and something more: it performs extremely well. For sure the quality of the mast and the good sails takes a good part in this judgement. But if you want to have the first boat on the finishing line, the boat everyone looks at in a marina, and you can afford the state of the art technology, then go for it! The Grand Soleil 46 is the performance cruiser of the year .

Yacht: Grand Soleil have found their tracks again. What started promisingly with the 43 in 2006 has turned into a really great overall package with this latest performance cruiser. A-best-of-both-worlds-boat: offering lots of cruising comfort as well as race-winning potential. And it comes with a distinctive look and feel as well.

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