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Review of Nauticat 44


Nauticat 44
Nauticat 44.


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Nauticat 44 is a large motorsailer designed by the Finnish maritime architect P. Siltala in the late seventies. The Nauticat 44 is built by the Finnish yard Siltala Yachts Oy.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Nauticat 44 or similar boat for sale

Hull
The hull is made of hand laid fibreglass while the deck is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of hand laid fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
The hull is a double hull which improves the indoor climate. Especially when the water is colder than the air in the cabin, then the double hull insulates against cold water and reduce the condense water in the cabin.
The deck is a double deck which improves the indoor climate.

Interior
The boat is equipped with 0 cabins, 4-10 berths, a galley and toilet facility.

Rig
The boat has more than one rig.

One option is a ketch rig.

Keel

The Nauticat 44 is equipped with a long keel. A long keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.

The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated.

Nauticat 44 can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.80 - 1.90 meter (5.91 - 6.21 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Ford diesel engine at 130.0 hp (96 kW), which gives a max speed about 9.2 knots.

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenence than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

The fuel tank which is made of stainless steel has a capacity of 1000.0 liters (264 US gallons, 219 imperial gallons).


Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Nauticat 44 is 1.53, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.


Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 8.2 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.


Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Nauticat 44 is about 285 kg/cm, alternatively 1596 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 285 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1596 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.


Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Nauticat 44 is 44.7.

Low High 96% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 96% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Nauticat 44 is 3.59.

Wide Slim 76% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 76% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Nauticat 44 is 38%.

Low High 50% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 50% of all similar sailboat designs. This righting moment (ability to resist heeling) is spot on average!


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Nauticat 44 is 265 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

Heavy Light 38% 0 50 100
38% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.


Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 47m2 (505 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.


Rig

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.



Guiding dimensions of running rig
Ketch rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Jib sheet 13.3 m(43.6 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet13.3 m(43.6 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet 33.2 m(109.1 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet29.3 m(96.0 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Ketch rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Jib sheet 13.3 m(43.6 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet13.3 m(43.6 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet 33.2 m(109.1 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet29.3 m(96.0 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.



Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Nauticat 44 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.



References