Grand Soleil 44 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The 44’s structure reflects a modern performance-cruiser philosophy rather than a stripped racer. The hull and deck are vacuum-infused with vinylester resin, with the hull solid glass below the waterline and foam coring in the topsides and deck anchor. Grand Soleil bonds a composite grid to the hull to carry loads from the keel, engine, and keel-stepped mast, and a look under the cabin sole reveals beefy backing plates and double nuts securing all stainless-steel keel bolts. A 2-inch toe rail surrounds the side decks, and hull ports and hatches let in lots of daylight. Polli modeled the hull using CFD software, and the resulting waterlines give a reduced wetted surface with a stern that widens toward the deck for crew and family space.

Rig and Handling

Four keel profiles let an owner tune the 44 to a rule or a cruising ground: a standard steel-and-lead torpedo keel at 8-foot-6-inch draft, a 6-foot-6-inch shoal version, a 7-foot-10-inch ORC-optimized foil, and a 9-foot-6-inch IRC-favored keel anchor. The Performance version carries a tall 72-foot aluminum Sparcraft racing mast, with a carbon-fiber rig available; the mast is set back to enlarge the J measurement for sail area. Two carbon-fiber bowsprits are offered — a 3-foot-2-inch standard and a 5-foot-3-inch racing sprit — and coachroof tracks accept genoas of various sizes. Lines lead aft under the coachroof, a cockpit-wide traveler sits recessed in the sole, and the boat uses a single rudder with twin helms and Jefa steering. Writing in the Boat of the Year judging, Gerry Douglas described the helm as lovely and requiring only one finger on the wheel on all points of sail. Under sail in 12–16 knots the 44 logged 8.5 knots closehauled and 8.4 reaching, with SOG hovering around 8.5 and bumps over 9 in puffs.

Accommodations

Nauta’s interior gives the 44 the amenities of a full-on cruising boat. An owner’s stateroom forward includes a head and shower compartment; aft, a pair of double staterooms for guests or racing mates share a head and shower to starboard at the foot of the companionway anchor. Opposite that head is an L-shaped galley with a couple of fridges, supply space, and fiddled counters. The U-shaped dinette seats eight and the table drops to form an extra berth, while a settee opposite can serve as another bunk with a nav station at its forward end. Light oak is standard, teak optional. The wide cockpit carries beam aft, and the belowdecks jib furler sits forward of the chain locker.

Known Issues

Two handling-adjacent details drew comment in the review. The furler drum will be hard to reach if there’s a problem because the locker opening is tight. And the bobstay supporting the bowsprit tends to get in the way when anchoring.

Refits and Ownership

The standard engine is a 50 hp Volvo Penta, while the reviewed boat carried a 60 hp Volvo Penta diesel with saildrive that pushed 8.7 knots at 2,800 rpm and cruised at 7 knots at 2,000 rpm anchor. A 75 hp Volvo Penta D2-75 is also listed for the Performance version. The Racing deck layout moves one winch at each helm forward to the coamings and adds two cabin-top winches, versus the Performance setup’s self-tacking jib, double-ended German-style mainsheet, and pair of electric winches just forward of each helm.

The Verdict

The Grand Soleil 44 is a genuinely dual-personality 44-footer: a CFD-developed hull with ORC/IRC pedigree and multiple keels that still shelters a bright, eight-berth Nauta interior. Judge Ed Sherman called it a very well-built boat, and the helm feedback backs the racing intent without sacrificing the cruising layout.

Pros