Udkik.dk

Review of Express 44


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Express 44 is a large sailboat designed by the French maritime architect Michel Joubert together with Bernard Nivelt also from France.

Here we would have liked to show you nice photos of the Express 44.
If you have a photo you would like to share: Upload Image

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

Interior
The boat is equipped with 8-10 berths.

Keel

The Express 44 is equipped with 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 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. As the surface of a fin type keel is just a fraction of the total wet surface, the difference between an iron keel and a lead keel can in reality be ignored for cruising yachts.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.00 - 2.10 meter (6.56 - 6.86 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

Express 44 is typically equipped with an inboard diesel engine at 59.0 kW (79 hp).

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.


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 Express 44 is 2.06, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.


Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Express 44 is about 387 kg/cm, alternatively 2170 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 387 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 2170 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.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Express 44 is 2.99.

Slim Wide 86% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 86% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more spacy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Express 44 is 38%.

Low High 46% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 46% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just below average.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)
Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind:
- Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15
- Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20
- Racers have ratios above 20
- High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24
Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 14.02


Maintenance

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
UsageLengthDiameter
Jib sheet 13.2 m(43.1 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet13.2 m(43.1 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet 32.9 m(107.9 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet28.9 m(94.9 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 Express 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