By any measure, the Cal 44 is a large sailboat. Its numbers describe a heavily built cruiser rather than a lightweight racer.
Design and Construction
The Cal 44 has a solid-fiberglass hull and a lead fin keel. Two draft ranges were offered: a shoal-draft version drawing 5.41 to 5.71 feet, depending on load, and a deeper version drawing 6.50 to 6.80 feet. The latter restricts the boat to major marinas.
Displacement is 25,300 pounds, including 10,300 pounds of lead ballast, for a ballast ratio of 40 percent. A length-to-beam ratio of 3.23, combined with a 13.5-foot beam, produces a hull that is beamy without being slab-sided.
The displacement-length ratio of 234 puts the Cal 44 firmly in the heavy-cruiser category. Its immersion rate is about 1,703 pounds per inch, so it sits deep and moves slowly in the water when loaded. The bottom has approximately 516 square feet of wetted surface. Together with the 36.25-foot waterline, these figures support a theoretical displacement-hull speed of 8.1 knots.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The Cal 44 carries a cutter rig and more rig than 58 percent of similar sailboats. Sail area is 860 square feet, giving a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 16.1 using the ISO reference sail and 19.1 with a 135 percent genoa.
A Motion Comfort Ratio of 31.2 and a capsize screening value of 1.84 position the boat as a stable, seakindly vessel intended for loaded cruising rather than all-out performance.
Under power, the calculated maximum speed is about 6.8 knots with the 58-horsepower Westerbeke W58 diesel. The standing and running rigging dimensions are generous for a boat of this size. The mainsail, jib/genoa, and spinnaker halyards are each 124.3 feet long and 14 mm in diameter. The sheets and mainsheet are 16 mm in diameter, with the mainsheet running 108.8 feet.
Tankage and Accommodations
The Cal 44 carries 200 gallons of water and 80 gallons of diesel, capacities that support extended cruising for a couple or small family. Its cutter rig and deep ballast give it the profile of a serious voyager, although the authority documents don’t specify berth counts or the cabin arrangement beyond the principal tankage and dimensional data.
Refits and Ownership
Owning a Cal 44 means looking after a low-production, Hunt-designed cruiser with a straightforward solid-fiberglass hull and lead keel—construction that calls for little in the way of exotic repair.
The 58-horsepower Westerbeke diesel was an original-fit option. Any replacement running rigging must account for the boat’s full 124-foot halyard and 109-foot mainsheet runs rather than relying on typical midsize-cruiser stock.
The Verdict
The Cal 44 is a heavily built, stable offshore cutter from the Ray Hunt pen. It is rare enough to be a distinctive find, yet its conventional solid-fiberglass hull and lead-keel construction should be familiar to any competent yard.
This is a boat for the loaded cruiser rather than the regatta sailor. Its numbers describe a boat that is safe, roomy in tankage, and undemanding in structural prognosis.
Pros
- Lead fin keel with two draft options, providing some flexibility in marina access
- 40 percent ballast ratio and 1.84 capsize screening value for offshore stability
- Solid-fiberglass hull and lead keel, with no systemic defects reported
- Generous 200-gallon water and 80-gallon fuel capacities for extended cruising
Cons
- Heavy displacement-length ratio of 234 limits light-air performance
- Deep-draft version is restricted to major marinas
- Only 21 were built, complicating spares and class knowledge
