Davidson 44
Description
The Davidson 44 (also listed as Laurie Davidson 44 or simply Davidson 44) is a high-performance custom racing/cruising sailboat designed by renowned New Zealand naval architect Laurie Davidson. It's best known for its racing pedigree (influenced by IOR and early IMS rules) and offshore capability — several examples (e.g., Pendragon series) were built for serious ocean racing and have completed circumnavigations or long passages. The design features a narrow, deep hull for speed, a powerful sail plan, and a modern (for its time) underbody with fin keel and spade rudder, but with enough volume and tankage for comfortable cruising when modified. Most Davidson 44s were custom or semi-custom builds in the US (Southern California), often based on lines from Davidson's successful boats like Shockwave (a custom NZ 44-footer). They were not a mass-production model but a limited series (estimates suggest 4–6 hulls built in SoCal by builders like Capital Yachts in Costa Mesa or Steve Austin-related yards, plus originals in New Zealand).
Construction Details
| Designer | Laurie Davidson |
|---|---|
| Builder | Capital Yachts |
| Length | 44.000 ft |
| LOA | 44.000 ft |
| LWL | 38.000 ft |
| Beam | 13.500 ft |
| Displacement | 22000 lb |
| Ballast | 9000 lb |
| Max Draft | 7.500 ft |
| Year Built | 1980 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 63.10 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 15.40 ft |
| p | 57 ft |
| e | 20.60 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63.10 ft | 15.40 ft | 57 ft | 20.60 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Davidson 44 - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 57 ft - (17374 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 20.6 ft - (6279 mm) |
| Leech | * 59.76 ft - (18215 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 59.93 ft - (18267 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 6 in - (152 mm) |
| Area | 586.54 ft² |
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Davidson 44 - JIBSAIL
| Luff | * 51.96 ft - (15837 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 19.66 ft - (5992 mm) |
| Leech | * 46.9 ft - (14295 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 17.71 ft - (5398 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12 ° |
| Area | 460.15 ft² |
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Davidson 44 - GENOA
| Luff | * 61.7 ft - (18806 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 24.25 ft - (7391 mm) |
| Leech | * 59.03 ft - (17992 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 23.1 ft - (7041 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4 ° |
| Area | 712.65 ft² |
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Davidson 44 - SPINNAKER
| Stays | * 61.7 ft - (18806 mm) |
|---|---|
| MidGirth | * 27.72 ft - (8449 mm) |
| Foot | * 27.72 ft - (8449 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 180 % |
| Area | 1453.78 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.
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