Design and Construction
Dromor Yachts built the Triton 48 in Greece beginning in 1990, with Iannis Triantafilopoulos signing the design Dromor Yachts in Greece. The hull is fiberglass with a fin keel and spade rudder configuration, and the keel itself carries lead ballast. The sheer scale of the boat is evident in her 47.64-foot length overall and 39.4-foot waterline, paired with a 4.46-meter beam and a displacement of 12,000 kg. Against that mass sits 4,599 kg of ballast, yielding a ballast-to-displacement ratio of 38.33 percent—a figure that places her firmly in the moderate-to-heavy cruising band rather than the featherweight racer category. Her displacement-length ratio of 193.06 and comfort ratio of 27.40 reinforce the picture of a voluminous, steady sea boat built to carry load and crew in reasonable quiet. A maximum draft of 2.29 meters was standard, though a wing keel or shoal draft option of 1.98 meters was offered for thinner water.
Rig and Handling
The Triton 48 carries a masthead sloop rig with a total sail area of 92.44 square meters, split between a 50.01-square-meter foretriangle and a 42.44-square-meter mainsail. The I measurement runs 18.12 meters with a J of 5.52 meters, while the P and E dimensions are 16.26 and 5.22 meters respectively, and the estimated forestay length is 18.94 meters. With a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 18.00 and an S# of 2.91, the boat sits in the moderate-performance cruiser range—capable of decent breeze-driven speed without demanding a racing crew. Her capsize screening formula result of 1.97 and a hull speed maximum of 8.41 knots further describe a vessel tuned for passagemaking: stable, not twitchy, and bounded by a predictable top end under canvas.
Accommodations and Tankage
The Triton 48 was laid out as a long-distance cruiser with generous fluid carrying capacity. She holds 360 liters of diesel and 908 liters of water, figures that support extended independent voyaging without frequent resupply. The 88-horsepower Yanmar diesel provides a sensible power margin for a 12,000 kg hull when maneuvering in harbor or motoring through calm stretches. Her pounds-per-inch immersion value of 2,060.13 lbs/inch speaks to a hull that resists squatting and trims gently under varying load—useful when water and fuel burn down over a passage.
The Verdict
The Triton 48 is a purpose-built Greek cruiser of the early 1990s, designed by Iannis Triantafilopoulos and manufactured by Dromor Yachts with a serious ballast ratio, substantial tankage, and a moderate-performance masthead rig. She is a boat for sailors who value payload, stability, and passagemaking range over raw speed or minimalist coastal sailing.
Pros
- Lead-ballasted fin keel with 38.33% ballast ratio for offshore stability
- 908 L water and 360 L fuel capacity for long self-sufficient voyages
- Shoal-draft wing keel option at 1.98 m for cruising shallow coasts
- 88 hp Yanmar diesel appropriate to her displacement
Cons
- Displacement-length ratio of 193.06 marks her as a heavy, load-carrying hull rather than a light responder
- Comfort ratio of 27.40 is modest for a boat her size
