Review of Islander 44

Islander 44 anno 1976. S/V Fine Aft, currently berthed at Oyster Point Marina, South San Francisco Bay, California, USA. (Photo taken in Coyote Point Marina.)

Basic specs.

The Islander 44 is a large sailboat designed by the maritime architect C. William Lapworth in the mid sixties. The Islander 44 is built by the American yard Wayfarer Yacht Corp..

Looking for a new boat? Find an Islander 44 or similar boat for sale

Hull

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

Interior

The boat is equipped with 227.0 liter fresh water capacity.

Rig

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.

Keel

Full keel

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.

Engine

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.

Stability and Safety

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.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

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.

Immersion rate

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.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Islander 44 is 39.5.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 85% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Islander 44 is 3.99.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 97% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design. This type of design is also referred to as 'needle'.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Islander 44 is 36%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 42% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just below average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Islander 44 is 292 which categorizes this boat among 'medium weight cruisers'.

24% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

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

The SA/D for Islander 44 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.8, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 19.8.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 31% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Over- / underrigged

The Islander 44 has more rig than 76% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged.

Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 38m² (409 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

Rig

Dimensions of sail for masthead rig.

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.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	34.4 m	(112.8 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	34.4 m	(112.8 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	34.4 m	(112.8 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet	13.4 m	(43.8 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	13.4 m	(43.8 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet	33.4 m	(109.6 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	29.4 m	(96.4 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Cunningham	5.8 m	(19.2 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap	11.7 m	(38.4 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul	11.7 m	(38.4 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Islander 44 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.