Design and Construction
The Sun Magic 44 has a solid fiberglass hull and a fiberglass deck, with an interior finished in teak in the style of contemporary production cruisers. Jeanneau built its production hulls of this period using traditional hand-laid fiberglass. The deck is a straightforward fiberglass molding rather than a cored sandwich.
Displacement is 22,050 pounds, including roughly 8,155 pounds of ballast in an iron fin keel. That gives the boat a ballast ratio of 35 percent. Its displacement-length ratio of 246 places the hull among moderate racers, while the relatively low ballast percentage favors volume over ultimate stiffness.
Keel configuration wasn’t standardized. Buyers could choose a fin keel drawing about 6.99 to 7.29 feet, depending on load, or a stub/centreboard keel with a shallower draft of 4.89 to 5.19 feet. The centreboard version could reach minor coves and shallow marinas that were closed to its deep-fin sistership. The fin-keel boat retained a more conventional trade-wind profile.
A capsize screening value of 1.96 and a motion comfort ratio of 28.4 describe a hull that balances offshore credibility with a tolerable motion profile for a 44-foot cruiser.
Rig and Handling
Andrieu provided more than one rig configuration. A masthead sloop was standard, but an alternative masthead rig was also available.
The Sun Magic 44 carries more sail area than only 38 percent of comparable sailboats, a statistical quirk that leads the record to describe it as slightly underrigged. Using the ISO 8666 reference sail, its sail-area-to-displacement ratio is 15.4. A 135 percent genoa raises that figure to 18.3, a meaningful increase that suggests the boat benefits from an overlapping headsail in anything short of a breeze.
Under power, the Yanmar engine drives a conventional shaft and pushes the boat to 8.0 knots, just above its theoretical displacement hull speed of 7.9 knots. That marginal gain is consistent with the 34.75-foot waterline.
The hull has about 548 square feet of wetted surface and an immersion rate near 1,694 pounds per inch. Those figures describe a boat that responds slowly to added load but holds its lines when properly trimmed.
Accommodations and Capacity
Below, the Sun Magic 44 follows the teak-interior convention of late-1980s production cruisers. Its 43.75-foot length and 13.92-foot beam provide the volume that Andrieu’s generation of Jeanneau cruisers used for forward and aft cabins arranged around a central saloon.
Tankage suits extended cruising: water capacity is 127 gallons, while diesel capacity is 58 gallons. Those reserves reduce the need for frequent replenishment.
Refits and Ownership
Owning a Sun Magic 44 today means maintaining a Jeanneau built in the 1980s. Predictable cycles include corrosion around the iron fin or stub keel, shaft-drive seal life, and upkeep of the teak interior.
Because Jeanneau offered several rig and keel configurations, each boat needs to be assessed against its own specification sheet rather than assumed to match a sister hull. Enough examples remain for spares and knowledge to persist within the owner community.
The Verdict
The Sun Magic 44 is a thoughtfully proportioned Andrieu cruiser. Its choice of rig and keel configurations allows it to serve both deep-water passage makers and shallow-water cruisers. The slightly underrigged sail plan rewards the use of a genoa, while the shaft-drive Yanmar is a conservative choice. Its teak interior and iron keel are typical of the period rather than design flaws.
Pros
- Choice of fin or stub/centreboard keel for draft flexibility
- Two masthead rig options, with the sail plan benefiting from a 135 percent genoa
- Conservative shaft-drive diesel installation
- Solid fiberglass construction
- Teak interior consistent with period cruising comfort
Cons
- Slightly underrigged compared with similar sailboats when carrying the standard sail plan
- Iron keel requires vigilance for corrosion
- Deep-fin draft limits marina access unless the boat has the centreboard option
