E. G. van de Stadt, who shaped Trintella’s designs from 1959 until the shipyard was sold in 1992, drew the 44. Only 24 were built between 1979 and 1983, placing the model near the end of the yard’s solid-GRP era, before Trintella moved to aluminum hulls.
Design and Construction
The Trintella 44 measures 43.96 feet on the waterline-adjacent length overall, with a 35.4-foot waterline and a 13.45-foot beam. Its solid-fiberglass hull displaces 31,966 pounds. The fin keel carries 13,228 pounds of lead ballast, producing a ballast-to-displacement ratio of 41.4 percent, while draft is 7.22 feet. A skeg-hung rudder completes an underwater profile that marked a departure from Trintella’s earlier, heavier and narrower cruisers.
The deck is solid fiberglass topped with teak, and the interior joinery reflects the Dutch yard’s craft tradition. A comfort ratio of 40.8 and a capsize screening number of 1.7 suit the boat’s intended role as a serious passagemaker. The Trintella 44 was explicitly designed for long-distance cruising and offshore sailing.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The masthead sloop rig carries roughly 900 square feet of sail. With a moderate sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 14.3, the Trintella 44 was built to make passages rather than win inshore races. Cruising speed is near 6 knots, with a top end around 8 knots.
A period assessment found that the boat comes into her own on an offshore passage in testing conditions, rather than on coastal hops. Loading her with a full cruising inventory hardly dents the waterline—a useful quality in a boat intended to cross oceans with gear aboard.
She sails competently in light to moderate air but calls for reefing as the wind builds. Her motion is a notable strength: reviewers found that pitching and rolling were well damped, giving a cup of coffee on the saloon table a fair chance of staying put.
Accommodations and Tankage
Below, the three-cabin layout sleeps six in comfort and includes two heads, a proper galley, and a saloon. The same review that recorded the damped motion also described a spacious interior with three cabins. There’s enough room for a family or two couples to make a long passage without crowding.
The 13.45-foot beam gives the saloon and sleeping areas volume that earlier Trintellas lacked. The layout and equipment support self-sufficient cruising, with a watermaker, generator, and substantial tankage: 118 gallons of fuel and 211 gallons of water.
Equipment and Machinery
For its era, the Trintella 44 left the factory unusually well equipped. Listed equipment included a teak deck, bow thruster, generator, watermaker, windlass, autopilot, radar, GPS, and VHF. That factory fit means a prospective buyer isn’t necessarily starting with a bare hull in need of complete systems, although the age of those original components is a separate question after four decades.
A single 85-horsepower Perkins diesel drives one shaft. Together with the bow thruster, it provides close-quarters control.
Verdict
The Trintella 44 is a serious offshore cruiser from van de Stadt’s years with Trintella. It’s heavy enough to remain composed in a seaway, spacious enough for six, and was outfitted from launch for long passages.
This isn’t a coastal dayboat, and its moderate rig calls for reefing as the wind strengthens. For sailors who judge a boat by its behavior at sea rather than at the dock, however, the Trintella 44 has much to offer.
Pros
- Well-damped motion and good offshore stability
- Load-carrying hull that barely changes its waterline with cruising gear aboard
- Spacious three-cabin, two-head interior for six
- Factory-fitted passagemaking systems, including a watermaker and generator
Cons
- Not suited to coastal-sailing priorities
- Requires reefing in stronger winds
- Only 24 were built, limiting the pool of available boats and familiarity with parts
