Design and Construction
Voyage Yachts built the 440 in Cape Town, South Africa, using bagged core construction with a double redundancy in the hull/deck joint that testers noted as a deliberate answer to the torsional loads a multihull absorbs when tacking through the wind. One Cruising World judge described the structure as tight as a good guitar body, and the glass work earned praise for its strong execution; every panel seemed to have not too extensive a span before it was reinforced with a gusset or a bulkhead. The forward fuel tank installation was called as fine an execution as that judge had ever seen, and the fuel system itself carried valving and filters labeled on the bulkhead — a small but telling detail about a builder who expected owners to service systems at sea.
Rig and Handling
The deck layout is designed for shorthanded sailing, with all controls led aft to the coach roof winches and a traveler arch with a step-through to the dive platform. The fractional rig driven by a fathead main demands a bunch of headsails, yet the working jib can be furled down to a storm jib, and the boat carries a genoa and an asymmetric spinnaker. Judges praised the sailplan for covering a variety of wind ranges in a very safe way, and the numbers back the calm: testers saw 9-plus knots upwind in 12 knots of breeze and 9.6 knots on a spinnaker run. The motion was called the nicest of anything the panel sailed, and one judge stated without hesitation that the boat was seriously made for going to sea and could hang the word passagemaker on it.
Accommodations
The 440 was offered in an Owners version with three queen-size cabins and a choice of two or three heads/showers, and a Charter version with four queen-size cabins and four heads/showers — the latter matching the up galley and four double cabins in the hulls that testers documented. A Daycruiser version with no coachroof was built for the day-charter trade with seating for 32. Below, handholds were fitted where one judge was impressed to find them, and the cockpit is shaded by a Bimini with a hard top walkway aft. A judge said the deck layout gave a feeling of being the most appropriate pathway wherever one walked, and the electrical panel was rated absolutely 4.0.
Known Issues
The published records note no structural or systems defects for the 440; the documented commentary runs the other way, from the reinforced panels to the labeled fuel valving. The only operational note is that the fathead-main fractional rig necessitates a quiver of headsails, which is a stowage and trimming consideration rather than a fault.
Refits and Ownership
Owners taking on a 440 inherit a boat whose builder expected self-sufficient cruising: the labeled fuel system, the redundant hull/deck joint, and the shorthanded control layout all point to a vessel meant to be lived with and repaired by its crew. The 150-gallon water and 106-gallon fuel capacities support that extended-range intent, and the 62-foot mast height off the designed waterline sets the vertical envelope for any rig or electronics refit.
The Verdict
The Voyage 440 is a rare thing: a multihull that a Cruising World judge called the first they considered a prime yacht and a functional cruiser, backed by a Boat of the Year sweep that no catamaran had achieved in nine editions. Its construction discipline, shorthanded rig logic, and genuine passagemaking speed make it a benchmark used cruiser rather than a charter castoff with a sailplan.
Pros
- First multihull to win Cruising World Overall Boat of the Year (2002)
- Double-redundant hull/deck joint and gusset-reinforced panels
- Shorthanded deck layout with all controls led aft
- 9+ knots upwind in 12 knots; 9.6 knots spinnaker run
- Owners, Charter, and Daycruiser layouts available
Cons
- Fractional fathead rig requires multiple headsails
