| Mercer 44 | |
| Insignia: | M44 |
| Insignia Size: | 150px |
| Designer: | William H. Tripp Jr |
| Location: | United States |
| Year: | 1959 |
| No Built: | 14 |
| Builder: | Mercer Reinforced Plastics Cape Cod Shipbuilding |
| Role: | Cruiser |
| Draft: | 9feet with centerboard down |
| Displacement: | 270000NaN0 |
| Hull Type: | monohull |
| Construction: | fiberglass |
| Loa: | 44feet |
| Lwl: | 30feet |
| Beam: | 11.75feet |
| Engine: | inboard engine |
| Keel Type: | modified keel and centerboard |
| Ballast: | 86000NaN0 |
| Rudder Type: | keel-mounted rudder |
| Rig Type: | Bermuda rig |
| I: | 50.3feet |
| J: | 17.4feet |
| P: | 44.8feet |
| E: | 20feet |
| Sailplan: | masthead sloop |
| Sailarea Main: | 448square feet |
| Sailarea Headsail: | 437.61square feet |
| Sailarea Total: | 885.61square feet |
The Mercer 44 is an American sailboat that was designed by William H. Tripp Jr as a bluewater cruiser and first built in 1959.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
The design was designed for and initially built by Mercer Reinforced Plastics of Trenton, New Jersey, United States, who completed six boats between 1960 and 1962. Cape Cod Shipbuilding then acquired the design and built eight boats between 1965 and 1982. Production has ended but Cape Cod Shipbuilding notes that the molds are still available and that they will build more if a fleet order is received.[1] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
The Mercer 44 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a masthead sloop rig or optional yawl rig. The hull has a spooned raked stem, a raised counter, plumb transom; a keel-mounted rudder controlled by a wheel and a fixed, modified long keel with a cutaway forefoot and a retractable centerboard. It displaces 270000NaN0 and carries 86000NaN0 of ballast.[1] [4]
The boat has a draft of 9feet with the centerboard extended and 4.25feet with it retracted, allowing operation in shallow water.[1] [4]
The boat is fitted with a diesel inboard engine. The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of .[1] [4]
The design has sleeping accommodation for seven people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin, two straight settees in the main cabin that unfold into doubles and an aft cabin under the raised doghouse, with a single berth on the starboard side. The galley is located on the port side just forward of the companionway ladder under the raised doghouse. The galley is U-shaped and is equipped with a four-burner stove, an ice box and a sink. An optional navigation station can be fitted in place of the seventh bunk, on the starboard side aft. The head is located just aft of the bow cabin on the port side and includes a shower.[1] [4] [5]
For sailing downwind the design may be equipped with a symmetrical spinnaker.[5]
The boat has a hull speed of 7.34kn.[4]
The boat is supported by an active class club, Mercer 44 Sailboats.[9] [10]