Review of Varianta 44

Both the hull and the deck is made of fibreglass. A hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

The deck is a sandwich construction which improves the indoor climate. Especially when the water is colder than the air in the cabin, then the double hull insulates against cold water and reduce the condense water in the cabin. The core material in the sandwich construction is balsa.

The boat is equipped with 3/4 cabins, 6/8 berths, a galley, 280 liters (73 US gallons, 61 imperial gallons) fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

The Varianta 44 is built with a fractional rig. The sail area for the mailsail + jib is 105.5 m² (1,135.6 ft²). A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a gennaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.

The Varianta 44 has been built with different keel alternatives.

L-shape fin keel

One option is a L keel. An L-shape keel is a bulb keel with the shape as an L. This keel is less exposed to seaweed, fishing nets and lines.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.79 - 1.89 meter (5.87 - 6.17 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Torpedo keel

Another option is a torpedo keel keel. But be aware that even though a Torpedo keel is very good for speed racing, a fishing nets and the like in the water can easily make you into a troublesome situation.

Varianta 44 can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.23 - 2.33 meter (7.32 - 7.62 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 120 liters (31 US gallons, 26 imperial gallons).

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo D2-40 diesel engine at 38 hp (28 kW). Calculated max speed is about 6.0 knots

The transmission is a saildrive.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Varianta 44 is 1.93, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Varianta 44 holds a CE certification:

The boat is by European Union certified as Class A. OCEAN:

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 8.4 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 Varianta 44 is about 334 kg/cm, alternatively 1872 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 334 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1872 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Varianta 44 is 25.2 - 26.4.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 27% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just below average.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Varianta 44 is 3.17.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 73% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Varianta 44 is 33%.

This ballast ratio is higher than 21% of all similar sailboat designs. Since the ballast ratio and the righting moment (i.e. better ability to resist heeling) is strongly correlated, a ballast ratio significantly below average indicates a very low ability to resist heeling.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Varianta 44 is 162 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

85% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

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

The SA/D for Varianta 44 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 20.3, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 23.7.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 90% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

The Varianta 44 has more rig than 99% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged.

As balsa wood is used as sandwich core material special care must be taken in relation to work that require penetration of the sandwich construction in order to to prevent water to get in contact with the balsa wood. Otherwise the balsa wood will eventually rotten and be expensive/impossible to repair.

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 54m² (581 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.

Dimensions of sail for fractional 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.

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.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Varianta 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.

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