Hallberg-Rassy 46

There’s no better production cruising sailboat for exploring the world’s oceans, hot or cold, than the Hallberg-Rassy 46. PRESENT MOMENT is a great example of this very popular blue water cruiser with many desirable features including: factory hard dodger, extra fuel tank, hydraulic furling, easy chairs in the main salon, Spectra watermaker, and a recently installed Northern Lights genset. She has a nice level of powered systems providing comfort and ease of operation without being overly complex. PRESENT MOMENT has just been broken in with 1565 engine hours and 10 genset hours. Between her Monitor windvane, Whitlock, and Robertson autopilot drives, there’s no reason to worry about steering. She’s well prepared for heavy winds with staysail and storm jib or light winds with her furling cruising gennaker and bowsprit. Her teak decks show minimal wear and tear. A maintenance log documents the care she’s received. The South Pacific beacons and to those who hear its call, PRESENT MOMENT remains a first class and ready means of voyaging there and beyond safely and comfortably.

PRESENT MOMENT was delivered to Seattle in early 2002 where her current and sole owner took delivery. In January of that year I joined him for a weekend trip to Victoria, BC and back. After an enjoyable and fast downwind sail up to Victoria we docked right in front of the Empress Hotel. The following day we got a late start and headed out into strong SE winds and freezing rain. Great protection was had under and behind the hard dodger and we were able to reef both the main and genoa from the cockpit with hydraulic furling and powered winches. The Webasto diesel furnaces kept the interior comfortable and dry allowing us to take turns sitting below in the easy chairs to warm-up. Without these features, we would have been absolutely frozen and miserable. For some reason there were no other boats out sailing that day. After a few hours of beating into these conditions we opted to fire up the 110hp Yanmar and motor directly into the wind; right for Pt. Wilson and Puget Sound. Few other cruising boats could have made headway into these conditions. With her powerful engine, high bow and well proportioned hull, the HR46 plowed on as I piloted using the cockpit mounted radar-chartplotter, while protected from the elements beneath the hard dodger with the autopilot steering. Arriving back in Seattle, the new owner stood in awe of how well his boat had come through these trying conditions. We’ve included a few photos of this first shakedown trip.

A few months later, in April, I assembled a crew of six to deliver PRESENT MOMENT from Seattle to San Francisco where her owner lives. With plans to show her at Pacific Sail Expo, we were unable to wait for an ideal weather window. Of the six days on passage, we spent two days beating into gale force winds off the Oregon and Washington Coasts. While uncomfortable, at no time did anyone feel unsafe. The boat had a very nice motion in the seaway, never slamming or pounding. We were able to make respectable progress to weather with a deeply reefed mainsail and staysail sheeted in hard. Going beyond sailing performance the boat proved amazingly comfortable for six of us offshore. With her proper seagoing galley, easy chairs, excellent sea berths and usable heads, we were all able to eat, sleep and relax while underway offshore.

Since 2002, I’ve stayed in touch with PRESENT MOMENT’s owner, providing input as he made outfitting decisions for his planned South Pacific cruise. Last week I visited the boat for the first time in many years and was very happy to see she’d been properly maintained. In 2007 she spent the winter in Mexico and then returned to Oakland, CA. In 2009 the owner completed the voyage he’d planned for many years by sailing from San Deigo to Australia via the South Pacific Islands. Last fall she was shipped via Dockwise Yacht Transport from Australia to Ensenada and returned up the coast to Oakland. PRESENT MOMENT performed flawlessly during this voyage; the only systems failure being the Fisher Panda genset which was replaced in Australia with a new, very reliable Northern Lights genset. As I inspected locker after locker of well organized and selected spare parts, safety equipment, and other gear I was impressed with the time and effort that had gone into preparing this boat for blue water cruising. To someone considering a new boat vs. a properly outfitted, tested, and ready to go used boat, I would say, “Choose the ready to go boat. It’s difficult to comprehend the amount of time and money it takes to fully outfit a cruising boat with spare parts, safety gear, sun shades, toys, communications gear, stowage containers, etc."