Fountaine Pajot Orana 44 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

The Orana 44 was offered in two distinct accommodation plans, and both are well represented in the brokerage pool. The four-cabin version divides both hulls symmetrically into two double cabins each — a layout purpose-built for charter operations, where equal cabin quality across the boat keeps charterers happy. The three-cabin version dedicates the entire starboard hull to an owner's suite, creating a generously proportioned private domain with good headroom and a full beam to work with. Ex-charter examples are common on the used market, and they typically carry heavy-use interiors: the joinery holds up, but soft furnishings, mattresses, upholstery, and sanitation systems will often have seen intensive use. Private-ownership boats in the three-cabin configuration tend to show a more considered refit history — owners who have lived aboard frequently upgrade systems to suit long-range passage-making. The saloon is bright and open in either layout, with large windows that suit the forward nav station well; the cockpit connects to the cabin through double sliding doors at the same level, a design feature that makes the Orana feel unusually integrated for a production catamaran of its generation.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

The Orana 44 commonly arrives at the brokerage market fitted with the essentials for extended offshore use. Solar panels, a watermaker, an inverter, electric winches, a chartplotter, life raft, autopilot, and dinghy davits are broadly found across listings, reflecting the boat's strong association with blue-water cruising. Radar, AIS, an EPIRB, a freezer, hot water, and a cockpit bimini are often fitted as well, and it is not unusual to find a short-handed sail plan already configured — single-line reefing or a furling main — reflecting the realistic crew sizes of private passagemakers. Lithium battery banks are a frequent owner upgrade, often added as part of a broader electrical refit that takes advantage of the hardtop as a solar platform. Air conditioning, a cockpit shower, a washing machine, and a spinnaker or gennaker appear occasionally, more often on boats that spent time in charter or in warm-water cruising grounds. A trampoline in good condition is worth confirming, as replacements are a meaningful expense and they wear from UV and heavy foot traffic over time.

What to Inspect

Construction quality on the Orana 44 is generally solid. The hull is solid-glass below the waterline and foam-cored above it, vacuum-bagged throughout, and the deck is balsa-cored with a dry-layup injection process — a more controlled method than typical wet layup. That said, balsa cores require close attention: probe the deck around the chainplates, stanchion bases, and any penetrations for soft spots that indicate water intrusion, which degrades the core over time and is expensive to repair properly. The hull-to-deck joint is bolted and adhered, so check that bond carefully, particularly on boats with hard charter histories where stress cycling accumulates. The interior furniture is plywood with a sycamore veneer; the bilge floorboards are noted to creak underfoot — they lift for easy bilge access, so confirm they seat properly and check the bilge beneath for moisture accumulation. The Volvo saildrive units deserve careful scrutiny: saildrives are known for bellows deterioration, and replacement is a haulout-intensive job; confirm the bellows condition and service history. A slight springiness in the steering cables was noted even on early examples, so check cable tension and sheave condition throughout the steering system. Both rudders should be inspected for bearing play, and the saildrive leg seals should be on any surveyor's checklist. On ex-charter boats, the sanitation system hoses, through-hull fittings, and seacocks are high-priority items — check for odor saturation in hoses and verify all seacocks move freely.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

The Orana 44 circulates widely across the English-speaking brokerage world and into the Mediterranean charter markets. Boats surface regularly in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, as well as in Greece and among Caribbean listings — a geographic spread that reflects the model's popularity as a passage-making platform and a charter asset. The prevalence of ex-charter inventory means buyers who invest time in finding a privately-owned, owner-maintained example often come out ahead on overall condition, even if those boats carry fewer fitted extras.

Before committing, work through this checklist:

• Confirm charter versus private history and request full maintenance records
• Inspect deck core for moisture, especially around chainplates, stanchion bases, and fittings
• Survey saildrive bellows condition and replacement history on both engines
• Check steering cable tension and rudder bearing play
• Examine all through-hulls and seacocks for ease of operation
• Assess bilge floorboard condition and bilge for moisture accumulation
• Verify watermaker, autopilot, and electrical system (including solar and inverter) are functional
• Confirm life raft service date and dinghy davit load-bearing condition
• Check trampoline condition and age
• Review the hull-to-deck joint for delamination or cracking, particularly at the bow