Solaris 44 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

The boat’s standard plan is a three-cabin, two-head arrangement: an owner’s stateroom forward with a centerline double and en suite, plus port and starboard aft cabins. Owner three-cabin layouts are the more common on the used market, but both are available; the only factory interior variant gives up the starboard navigation station for a shower stall and loses the slightly larger galley with extra counter space that comes with the nav-station version. Ex-charter examples are common, so check cabin wear and charter-grade equipment carefully. A large stern cabin with wide twin beds is possible thanks to the 4.18-meter beam, and there is a sail stowage fo’c’sle forward for long passages.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

Most boats on the market carry a strong cruising inventory. Commonly fitted are autopilot, electric winches, chartplotter, AIS, teak decks, watermaker, inverter, bow thruster, life raft, bimini, and radar. For a buyer, the watermaker and inverter matter most for independent cruising, while the bow thruster eases tight-quarters handling given the 8-foot-6-inch draft. Often-seen upgrades include heating, solar, a code zero, self-tacking jib, gennaker, asymmetric spinnaker, hot water, air conditioning, swim platform, and cockpit shower — the code zero and asymmetrics exploit the fixed bowsprit for off-wind performance, and solar helps offset the house loads of an electric-winch boat. Less commonly, you will find lithium batteries, a spinnaker, Starlink, or an EPIRB as owner additions.

What to Inspect

The hull and deck are vacuum-bagged vinylester with Airex foam core, and the tabbed forward and main bulkheads are a composite sandwich anchor; look for any softness or delamination around those bulkhead tabs and the T-shaped keel joint where the cast-iron foil meets the lead bulb. The deck-edge bulwark replaced alloy extrusions, so check its bond line for cracks. Twin rudders and a recessed traveler under the cockpit sole are standard, and the running rigging is led mostly below deck — inspect the below-deck runs and the four coaming winches (plus any optional fifth) for chafe where lines exit the coaming. Teak decks are real unless a faux composite was specified, so gauge teak thickness and caulking. The 60 hp Volvo Penta with sail drive was the mid-range option, with 30 hp standard and 75 hp available, and the sail drive seal is a routine service item.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

These yachts typically turn up in France, Italy, Greece, Hong Kong, and the United States. For a shopper, the short list is: confirm whether the nav-station or shower-stall interior suits your plans; verify the keel version (deep 8'5" or shallow 7'10") against your cruising grounds; test the below-deck rigging and self-tacking jib for smooth short-handed use; and budget for teak-deck upkeep or a composite-deck boat if low maintenance matters.