islander 44 sailboat data

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• Islander 44

The Islander 44 Sailboat Specs & Key Performance Indicators

The Islander 44, a masthead sloop, was designed by William Lapworth and built in the USA by Wayfarer Yacht Corp.

Published Specification for the Islander 44

Underwater Profile:  Fin keel with spade rudder;

Hull Material  GRP (Fiberglass);

Length Overall:  43'10" (13.36m);

Waterline Length:  32'6" (9.9m);

Beam:  11'0" (3.4m);

Draft:  5'10" (1.78m);

Rig Type:  Masthead Sloop;

Displacement:  22,500lb (10,206kg);

Designer:  William Lapworth;

Builder:    Wayfarer Yacht Corp (USA);

Year First Built:  1966;

Number Built:  10

Published Design Ratios for the Islander 44

Sail Area/Displacement Ratio:  16.4

Ballast/Displacement Ratio:  35.6

Displacement/Length Ratio:  293

Comfort Ratio:  39.7

Capsize Screening Formula:   1.6

read more about these Key Performance Indicators...

Summary Analysis of the Design Ratios for the Islander 44

1. A Sail Area/Displacement Ratio of 16.4 suggests that the Islander 44 will, in the right conditions, approach her maximum hull speed readily and satisfy the sailing performance expectations of most cruising sailors.

2. A Ballast/Displacement Ratio of 35.6 means that the Islander 44 will have a tendency to heel excessively in a gust, and she'll need to be reefed early to keep her sailing upright in a moderate breeze. 

3. A Displacement/Length Ratio of 293, tells us the Islander 44 is clearly a heavy displacement cruising boat. You can load her down with all your cruising gear and equipment and it will hardly affect her waterline. Not an ideal choice for coastal sailing, but she'll come into her own on an offshore passage in testing conditions.

4. Ted Brewer's Comfort Ratio of 39.7 suggests that crew comfort of a Islander 44 in a seaway is similar to what you would associate with the motion of a moderate bluewater cruising boat - a predictable and acceptable motion for most seasoned sailors.

5. The Capsize Screening Formula (CSF) of 1.6 tells us that a Islander 44 would be a safer choice of sailboat for an ocean passage than one with a CSF of more than 2.0. 

Article: Islander 44 Sailboat

The Islander 44 is a 13.4 m monohull sloop designed by C. William Lapworth and built by Islander/Tradewind Yachts starting in 1962.

Overview The Islander 44 is a moderate weight sailboat that is a reasonably good performer. It has a fin keel and a spade rudder, which give it good maneuverability and stability. It has a sloop rig with a reported sail area of 75.5 m², which allows it to sail well in light to moderate winds. It has a Universal Unimite diesel engine with 72 HP and a fuel capacity of 227 litres, which provides reliable auxiliary power when needed. The Islander 44 is best suited as a bluewater cruising boat, as it has an excellent righting capability if capsized and a comfortable interior layout.

Accommodation The Islander 44 can accommodate up to six people in three separate cabins. The forward cabin has a V-berth and a head with a shower. The main cabin has a U-shaped dinette to port and a settee to starboard, which can also be used as berths. The galley is located aft to port, and has a stove, an oven, a sink and ample storage space. The navigation station is opposite the galley, and has a chart table and an instrument panel. The aft cabin has two single berths and another head with a shower. The interior is spacious and well-ventilated, with plenty of natural light from the large windows and hatches.

Hull and Deck The hull of the Islander 44 is made of fiberglass, which makes it strong and durable. The hull mold for the Islander 44 was originally used for the Lapworth 44, but was modified by Islander to have a longer keel. Some of the boats were sold as kits by Yachtcraft, and have different deck and coach roof profiles. The deck of the Islander 44 is also made of fiberglass, and has a non-skid surface for safety. The deck has wide side decks and a spacious cockpit with a wheel steering system. 

Mast and Rigging The mast of the Islander 44 is deck-stepped, which means it is supported by a compression post inside the cabin. The mast is made of aluminum, which makes it light and strong. The mast has two sets of spreaders, which help to support the rigging and reduce mast bend. The rigging of the Islander 44 is conventional, with stainless steel wire shrouds and stays. The rigging also has turnbuckles for easy adjustment of tension. The sails of the Islander 44 are made of dacron, which is a synthetic fabric that is durable and resistant to UV damage. The sails include a mainsail, a genoa, a jib and a spinnaker. The mainsail has slab reefing, which means it can be reduced in size by folding or rolling up sections of the sail. The genoa and the jib have roller furling, which means they can be rolled up around the forestay when not in use.

Keel and Rudder The keel of the Islander 44 is a fin keel, which means it is narrow and deep. The fin keel gives the boat good performance upwind and reduces leeway. The keel also has a bulb at the bottom, which lowers the center of gravity and increases stability. The keel is made of lead, which makes it heavy and resistant to corrosion. The rudder of the Islander 44 is a spade rudder, which means it is attached to the hull by a single stock. The spade rudder gives the boat good responsiveness and control. The rudder is made of fiberglass, which makes it strong and lightweight.

This article was written with the assistance of Gemini, a large language model developed by Google. Gemini was used to gather information, summarize research findings, and provide suggestions for the content and structure of the article.

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Islander 44

The islander 44 is a 43.83ft masthead sloop designed by william lapworth and built in fiberglass by islander / tradewind yachts since 1962., 10 units have been built..

The Islander 44 is a moderate weight sailboat which is a reasonably good performer. It is stable / stiff and has an excellent righting capability if capsized. It is best suited as a bluewater cruising boat. The fuel capacity is average. There is a short water supply range.

Islander 44 for sale elsewhere on the web:

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1968 Islander 44 Technical Specs

General data about islander 44.

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Islander 44

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• Sailboat Guide

Islander 44

Islander 44 is a 43 ′ 9 ″ / 13.4 m monohull sailboat designed by C. William Lapworth and built by Islander / Tradewind Yachts starting in 1962.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

Hull mold for LAPWORTH 44 purchased by Islander (1965-original builder unknown) and name changed to ISLANDER 44. (The designer, Bill Lapworth, has said that his involvement with this boat ended here.) After purchasing, Islander reconfigured hull to a long keel. Some tooling later went to Yachtcraft which sold them principly as kits. These were known as the YACHTCRAFT 44, OR 41 (with a chopped stern - also sometimes called ISLANDER 41*). Deck, coach roof profile and other details vary between versions. (deck mold may have been adapted from an another Islander model) (*There are actually 2 different boats from Islander/Wayfarer called the ISLANDER 41. The other is designed by Gurney and both are rare.) (See ISLANDER 41.)

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Review of Islander 44

Basic specs..

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

The boat is equipped with 227.0 liter fresh water capacity.

The Islander 44 is equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.

The Islander 44 is equipped with a long keel. A full keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.78 - 1.88 meter (5.84 - 6.14 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Islander 44 may be equipped with an inboard Universal Unimite diesel engine at 72 hp (53 kW). Calculated max speed is about 7.6 knots

The fuel tank has a capacity of 227.0 liters (59 US gallons, 49 imperial gallons).

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Islander 44 is 1.56, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.6 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Islander 44 is about 222 kg/cm, alternatively 1245 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 222 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1245 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

What is a Ballast Ratio?

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

Maintenance

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 38m 2 (409 ft 2 ). Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

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Islander 44 low freeboard - wet or dry boat?

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Im finally in a position to fulfill a long held ambition of a circumnavigation. I am looking at a few options, one of them being an Islander 44. While its an older vessel, its a very pretty design. It appears to have only positive reviews about their general sea worthiness. However, they are narrow and appear to have quite low freeboard compared to other designs. Does this mean it can ship a lot of spray and water on ocean passages? Can anyone comment on the boat's directional stability when sailing downwind with large following seas? Any advice would be greatly appreciated on general blue water capabilities would be appreciated.  

Not the best choice for ocean passage. kind a cheaply built here is a resent thread Islander 44  

You also forgot to mention the really short waterline and long ends, as in small carrying capacity, rolly-pitchy motion, small interior for a 44 footer, tender, and slow. As to the answer to your question, think submarine with a mast. Jeff  

Jeff_H said: As to the answer to your question, think submarine with a mast. Jeff Click to expand...

I have a 44’er with the same LWL BUT substantially heavier and wider. It also has relatively low freeboard. She is noticeably wetter than our 33’er. BUT I dont think that is because of low freeboard, more bow design. The big boat throw water UP which then is blown back. The smaller boat just doesn't do that. That said we are happy with both boats. Dosent pay to focus too hard on any one feature.  

• That said, the Islander 44 is an absolutely fantastic design and handles like a dream. It's a very solid hull and I know mine will take me anywhere the wind blows.
• I owned one (Islander 44) for several years in New Zealand and cruised the Pacific Islands with it. Great boat that handled very well. We found ourselves in 50+ knots a few times, once for 72 hrs off the North Cape of NZ and never felt concerned. Sea Challenger always tracked true and was very easy on the helm.
• Back about '65 I crewed on one, which was purchased new by the owner. We raced out of Gulfstream in Ft. L for a couple of years, with some success. It also stood up to the snottiest weather I have ever been out in, handled it well & got us back home safe with no boat or equipment failure. Great accommodations and original equipment.
• In Seattle, in the Puget Sound, this boat will handle any weather thrown at you, and you can easily and comfortably head out the Straits of Juan De Fuca on this boat. I am from Everett, so trust me, this boat will keep you in good stead up there. Oh.......and the engineering guy I had go through this boat said the thickness of the fiberglass on this boat is like a Hans Christian. You could hit a rock and bounce off.

Liberty; I doubt you will get a meaningful answer not through evasion but because we all have glasses of different tints. Your quotes are all about handling heavy weather. Others may be evaluating the boat on other parameters or not counting the heavy weather performance as much as you do. I know many people would be deeply dissatisfied with our boat, she is slow and heavy, as a sailboat, but quite sprightly as a home. Very few folks are full time liveaboards and some of those that are are much more performance oriented than we are. Not right or wrong, just different. IMHO the hardest thing is to understand what you really want, and then map that to a boat design. It may simply be easier to learn n to love the one you are with, and adopt your life style around that. I would het that happens more than we like to admit, and I may well be exhibit 1.  

Thanks Hpeer (and others). My evolving plan is to sail from Asia, do the Indian Ocean, and then back through and over to the United States to sail the Inside Passage in Alaska, and then sail down the Pacific Coast of the US, and then across to New Zealand (NZ). The Islander Im looking at originates from Alaska, and a sister boat has sailed the Pacifc Islands to NZ with good reviews. Hence, my interest in the boat....and of course, budget!! Along the way, I anticipate some rough weather sailing, so looking for an affordable boat that will cope.  

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