At first glance at the 2D sailplan this 44-foot catamaran appears to be a stubby and kind of awkward looking cat. But don’t be fooled. Add the third dimension, the depth and the complex geometry of this cat is revealed and it is anything but stubby looking. But before I get into the meat and potatoes of this design I’d like to compliment and thank the builders who are also the designers for providing such a well-prepared package of design drawings. It’s very clear when you look at the drawings that those involved with this cat were really enjoying the design process. Unfortunately, to do this design justice I would need four pages. I’ll do my best with the space allotted.

This cat balances comfort against performance with an all carbon fiber build. The D/L at light ship displacement is 111. If you use the max load figure displacement this increases to 148. That’s quite a range. Using an individual hull the L/B is 9. The typical cruising cat today is designed for charter and tries to use the biggest rectangular footprint to cram as many accommodations in as possible. That’s fine if you are selling charter boats. But the downside is very moderate performance. This 44-foot cat has plenty of accommodation volume but it does not fill the entire footprint and that allows a much lower overall displacement translating to more boat speed.

The Achilles’ heel for a lot of cruising cats is the shoal-draft, low-aspect-ratio fixed keels. The HH44 attacks this with daggerboard fins built with pre-preg carbon that are arc shaped to provide both lift and extra righting moment. This is a huge advantage. The draft with boards down is 9 feet 10 inches and boards up is 4 feet 7 inches. The overall beam is 23 feet 5 inches.

There are numerous interior options and I get the idea that these boats are built with semicustom layouts. I will concentrate on the “August Release” layout. There are three double berth sleeping cabins. The forward cabin in the starboard hull is tight. The mirror image, aft double berths appear to be generous. The starboard cabin shares the head with the forward cabin. In the port hull the entire volume is used for sleeping cabin and head all the way forward with a large shower stall. On the main deck there is a galley aft to starboard. This galley has tons of counter space and will be a pleasant place to cook. To starboard there is an L-shaped dining area. Adjacent to the settee forward is a navigation station that will make any navigator happy. There is another L-shaped dinette aft on the “veranda.”

The deck is complex. That “stubby” house is faceted artfully to provide the headroom where needed while reducing overall bulk. It almost has the look of a stealth fighter jet. The wheels are pushed outboard and aft about as far as possible for great visibility forward. Lines are lead aft, under the deck, port and starboard to both wheels. Large bins are provided at each wheel for stowing the lines. There is a track for a self-tacking jib. There is a fixed sprit to get the downwind sails away from the headstay. The mainsheet traveller is on the cabinhouse top. 

Swim platforms hinge down from each transom. The dinghy  is carried on davits between the hulls. All deck hatches are flush type. There is room on the cabinhouse top for flexible solar panels that provide 3,190 watts. Another 550 watts of solar power is available from optional panels mounted on the davits. The solar panels will come in handy because this cat has a hybrid power system using twin Beta 30-horsepower engines located under the aft berths and lithium ion batteries with a Victron monitoring system.

As I anticipated I’m running out of “word count.” To quickly sum up, the rig is all carbon with a fixed mast and a square-topped mainsail for a SA/D of 28.62 if I use the Solent style overlapping jib as the working jib.

I would really love to have a ride on this exciting design.

LOA 49’9”; LWL 43’7”; Beam 23’5”; Draft board up 4’7”, board down 9’10”; Displ. 27,558 lb.; Sail area 1,349 sq. ft.; Fuel 146 gal.; Water 106 gal; Auxiliary twin 30-hp; SA/D 28.62; D/L 111; L/B 9

HH Catamarans

sales@hhcatamarans.com

386-414-6700

www.hhcatamarans.com