Review of Cal 44

Basic specs.

The Cal 44 is a large sailboat designed by the maritime architect Raymond Hunt in the early eighties.

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

Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Keel

The Cal 44 has been built with more than one type of keel.

One option is a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.65 - 1.75 meter (5.41 - 5.71 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The boat is typically equipped with a Westerbeke W58 diesel engine at 58.0 hp (43 kW), which gives a max speed about 6.8 knots.

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 Cal 44 is 1.84, 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 8.1 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 Cal 44 is about 304 kg/cm, alternatively 1703 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 304 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1703 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 Cal 44 is 31.2.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 50% of all similar sailboat designs. This is an average comfort value!

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Cal 44 is 3.23.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 66% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Cal 44 is 40%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 62% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just above average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Cal 44 is 234 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

50% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. This boat has a precise average ratio between displacement and length!

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Cal 44 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.1, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 19.1.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 21% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Over- / underrigged

The Cal 44 has more rig than 58% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly overrigged.

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 48m² (516 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

Dimensions of sail.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

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**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	37.9 m	(124.3 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	37.9 m	(124.3 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	37.9 m	(124.3 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet	13.3 m	(43.5 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	13.3 m	(43.5 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet	33.1 m	(108.8 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	29.2 m	(95.7 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Cunningham	5.2 m	(17.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap	10.4 m	(34.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul	10.4 m	(34.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 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 Cal 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

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.