Choate 44 Information, Review, Specs

The Choate 44 began production in 1980, emerging from the workshops of Dencho Marine, a company founded by Dennis Choate in 1973. Dencho Marine quickly established a reputation for collaborating with leading naval architects, including Doug Peterson, to produce yachts optimized for competitive racing, often tailored for specific racing rulesets. Peterson's design for the Choate 44 in the early 1980s aimed to create a large sailboat that, in addition to its performance aspirations, also offered a notably spacious hull design compared to many contemporary designs. While the primary rig type is a masthead sloop, known for its simplicity, anecdotal evidence suggests that individual vessels may have undergone modifications to their rigging over time.

Sailing Performance and Handling

The Choate 44 is recognized as a moderate-weight sailboat that delivers very high performance. With a reported sail area of 1120 square feet and a displacement of 19,800 pounds, its Sail Area to Displacement ratio calculates to approximately 24.66, indicating strong performance potential, particularly in lighter air. The boat's substantial ballast of 10,000 pounds relative to its displacement results in a Ballast to Displacement ratio of roughly 0.505, contributing to its excellent stiffness and stability, enabling it to stand up well to strong winds and maintain a good righting capability. Its Displacement to Length ratio of approximately 211 suggests a design that balances performance with comfort, positioning it as a capable offshore or coastal performance cruiser. Owners and reviewers often describe the Choate 44 as very stable and stiff, handling well in various sea states.

Accommodations and Layout

While specific details of the Choate 44's interior layout are not widely documented, the design is noted for being comparatively spacious, offering more volume than over half of similar sailboats. This suggests a comfortable interior arrangement typical of performance cruisers of its era, likely featuring a V-berth forward, a main salon with settees, a galley, and a head. The emphasis on a "spacy hull design" indicates that Peterson and Dencho Marine paid attention to providing a livable interior, leveraging the boat's 13.1-foot beam.