Advanced 44 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

She won the Special Yacht category in the 2015 European Boat of the Year awards and sits alongside the A66 and A80 in the builder’s range. At just over seven tonnes lightship, and with a sail-area-to-displacement figure more like that of a lightweight multihull than a production monohull, she makes a bold statement. This brave, brazen example of contemporary design won its award by refusing to be compartmentalised.

Design and Construction

The hull and deck are built in a VTR sandwich using epoxy resin and a PVC core, with carbon reinforcements at high-load points. The deck is a sandwich with a balsa core, while the bulb is laid up on a female mold using infusion. The keel is steel, with a lead bulb containing 4% antimony. The composite rudder has a PVC core and steel shafts.

Biscontini approached the project with a raceboat mentality, running 25 CFD models to optimise drag and lift before the tooling was cut. That computational discipline shows in the figures: a displacement-to-LWL ratio near 97 and a sail-area-to-displacement ratio around 31 put her off the scale for a typical production yacht.

Rig, Handling, and Performance

The Advanced 44 has a carbon, fractional 9/10 mast with two orders of swept-back spreaders at 20°. The standing rigging is discontinuous stainless steel rod.

One tested boat carried a “domesticated” configuration requested by its owner, without a square-top mainsail or traveller. Even so, it retained the boat’s essential character. Test sailors found her an absolute pleasure to sail. Her speed and straightforward handling could make any helmsman selfish and happy, although she can be a little intimidating at first, particularly at high speed. She astonishes with her high speeds, excellent acceleration, surprising agility, and stability.

In 10 knots of true wind, she quickly reached up to 7.5 knots. With the Code 0, she touched 9.1 knots. In the same conditions, she made 6.6 knots close-hauled and 7.7 knots on a beam reach. The maximum logged under a gust was 11.1 knots.

During a sea trial in 18–20 knots, she held 7.8 knots at 30° apparent with one reef and tracked beautifully, remaining stable, direct, and responsive. Designer Roberto Biscontini claims she can make 14 knots in 20 knots on flat water.

The 40 HP engine, driving through an S-drive, produced a cruising speed of 7.2 knots at 2400 rpm and reached 8.7 knots at 3000 rpm.

Accommodations

Below deck, the Advanced 44 rejects the usual compartmentalised layout. The interior has a huge open-plan living area, with an elegant, welcoming appearance that always retains something of a racing boat’s character.

The aft cabin is large and traditionally laid out, while the owner’s cabin is a real suite, deliberately left open to the living area. The bathroom is huge, functional, and finished to a high standard.

One review described the interior as a “beach loft”: minimalist, pale, and full of light and sofas. It feels unusually spacious because the sightline continues through to the bow. A sliding panel was being designed to separate the saloon and forward berth at night, creating a spacious owner’s cabin.

Even so, the 14-metre hull doesn’t translate into maximum volume. Despite the boat’s length, the waterlines and deckhouse geometry work against the amount of interior space available.

Verdict

The Advanced 44 is a rare production monohull: engineered with raceboat tools, yet styled for couples who want to enjoy sailing without a full crew. She rewards a skilled helm with speed and poise but demands respect at the top of her range. A crew is needed to extract her best.

The open aft section and beamy cockpit are exhilarating but can feel slightly unnerving underway, while the interior makes a confident break from the conventional enclosed-saloon layout.

Pros