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Review of Sun Magic 44


Sun Magic 44
Sun Magic 44 anno 1989. Norge sommer 2004

Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Sun Magic 44 is a large sailboat designed by the French maritime architect Daniel Andrieu in the late eighties. The Sun Magic 44 is built by the French yard Jeanneau.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Sun Magic 44 or similar boat for sale

Hull

The deck is made of fibreglass.


Interior

The interior is like most other boats made of teak. Teak has the advantage of being naturally very oily and therefore water-repellent, which is suitable on boats.
The boat is equipped with 0 cabins, 11 berths, a galley, 480.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.


Rig

The boat has more than one rig.

One option is 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

The Sun Magic 44 has been built with different keel alternatives.

Fin keel

One option is a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.

The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated. As the surface of a fin type keel is just a fraction of the total wet surface, the difference between an iron keel and a lead keel can in reality be ignored for cruising yachts.

Sun Magic 44 can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.13 - 2.23 meter (6.99 - 7.29 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

CentreBoard

Another option is a centreboard keel. A centreboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.

This keel is also made of iron.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.49 - 1.59 meter (4.89 - 5.19 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar Turbo JH-TE diesel engine at 55 hp (40 kW). The speed is 8.0 knots.

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

The fuel tank, which is made of stainless steel, has a capacity of 220.0 liters (58 US gallons, 48 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 Sun Magic 44 is 1.96, 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 7.9 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 Sun Magic 44 is about 302 kg/cm, alternatively 1694 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 302 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1694 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 Sun Magic 44 is 28.4.

Low High 38% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 38% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just below average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Sun Magic 44 is 3.07.

Slim Wide 79% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 79% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more spacy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Sun Magic 44 is 35%.

Low High 27% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 27% 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 Sun Magic 44 is 245 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

Heavy Light 46% 0 50 100
46% 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 Sun Magic 44 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 15.4, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 18.3.

Low High 12% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 12% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 38% 0 50 100
The Sun Magic 44 has more rig than 38% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly underrigged.


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 51m2 (548 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.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications

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
Masthead rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 35.4 m(116.2 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard35.4 m(116.2 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard35.4 m(116.2 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet 13.1 m(42.9 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet13.1 m(42.9 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet 32.7 m(107.4 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet28.8 m(94.5 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Cunningham4.8 m(15.7 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap9.6 m(31.5 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul9.6 m(31.5 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Masthead rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Jib sheet 13.1 m(42.9 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet13.1 m(42.9 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet 32.7 m(107.4 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet28.8 m(94.5 feet)16 mm(5/8 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 Sun Magic 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