Lafitte Yachts 44

BoatsLafitte Yachts 44

See her sail

The Lafitte Yachts 44, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Footage from Lady K Sailing

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

LivelySea-kindly

Her heavy displacement on a narrow beam gives 39 — a sea-kindly motion in a seaway.

Comfort ratio 39

CoastalBluewater

At 1.67 she sits well under the 2.0 line — a solidly ocean-capable hull for her size.

Capsize screening 1.67

LightHeavy

279 — heavy for her waterline, built to carry stores and ride steadily.

Displacement / length 279

EasygoingPowered-up

16.8 — moderate power for her weight; steady, all-round performance.

Sail area / displacement 16.8

TenderStiff

40% of her weight is ballast — moderately stiff, a middle-of-the-road stability.

Ballast 40%

Built heavy and sea-kindly — a boat made to cross oceans and forgive a rough night.

Heavier than ~83% of boats her size on file

Compared with 2399 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The Lafitte Yachts 44, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Lafitte Yachts 44 is a cutter-rigged sailboat designed by Robert H. Perry, built from 1978 to 1989 by Lafitte Yachts and Chung Hwa Boatworks in Taiwan. It features a fin keel with a rudder on a skeg, measures 13.5 meters LOA, has a 3.9-meter beam, a 1.9-meter draft, and displaces 12,700 kg.1:54 Mike Lewis of Pacific Far East Industries commissioned the design, and George Olivet supervised all construction, ensuring consistent build quality despite changes in parent company ownership. A Lafitte 44 named *Oceanbound* disappeared in April 2023 during a passage from Mazatlan, Mexico, to San Diego, California, with its three-person crew.7:01 The vessel lacked trackable satellite communication or an EPIRB, complicating search efforts by the U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican Navy after weather deteriorated with 30-knot winds and 20-foot swells.5:28

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen once across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions

Weights

Ballast / displacement

40.4%

Rig & sail area

Rig

Cutter

Ratios

SA / displacement

16.8

Displacement / length

279.4

Comfort ratio

38.5

Capsize screening

1.67

Hull speed

8.0 kn

Pounds / inch immersion

1607

Hull

Hull type

Fin with rudder on skeg

Construction

Fiberglass

Production

Years built

1978–1989

Units built

56

Designer

Robert H. Perry

Builder

Lafitte Yachts, Chung Hwa Boatworks (TAIWAN)

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Moody 44-113.41 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 1973-1975 masthead sloop with a fin keel and skeg-mounted rudder, built for offshore stability

Episode #82 Sea Trial Preparations!2:52 from Sailing Nervous- Starting Over!

Norseman 44713.59 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA Robert Perry-designed cutter with a skeg-mounted rudder, built for offshore stability and comfortable blue-water cruising

Decision time, Aluminium Project boat or Keep our Catamaran? (ep 286)9:31 from Sailing Learning By Doing

Pacific Seacraft 4413.44 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA William Crealock-designed cutter with a 40% ballast ratio and a fin keel, built for offshore stability and performance

EP51 - Sailing 854nm of EAST COAST from FLORIDA to VIRGINIA1:46 from Sailing Solé

Najad Yachts 44113.50 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA heavy-displacement masthead sloop with a high comfort ratio, designed for stable, long-distance blue water cruising

PERFECT Bluewater Cruising Sailboat9:15 from Be The Captain

Contest Yachts 44CS13.50 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA masthead sloop with a skeg-mounted rudder and a 36% ballast ratio, built for stable and capable offshore cruising

[OFF MARKET] Contest 44CS, TRUMPETER | ARC Bluewater Cockpit Conversations '21 (4/5)from Berthon International

Swan 44 MK II (Frers)13.44 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 13.44-metre cruiser featuring a bulb-fin keel and spade rudder, produced by Swan from 1996 to 2002

Nautor Swan 44 MkII “THEA” Yacht for Sale | Pinnacle of Performance | Tour with Sophie Kemp from Berthon International

The family

Related models

The designs closest to hers — usually the rest of the builder's range, sometimes the same hull sold under another name.

Cheoy Lee 44A versatile cutter available in aft or midship cockpit configurations, offering a balanced fin-keel hull for offshore work Liberty 458An extended iteration of the Peterson 44 hull featuring a unique deck and coach roof configuration on a cutter rig TA Yang Yacht Building Co. Ltd. Ct-37A Robert Perry-designed long-keel cutter built for heavy-displacement comfort and offshore stability TA Chaio Shipbuilding Co. (Taiwan) Ct-48A Robert Perry-designed staysail ketch built for offshore comfort with a heavy displacement and skeg-mounted rudder Cheoy Lee 48A Robert Perry-designed cutter with a skeg-mounted rudder, built for blue-water stability and comfortable passage making

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