Mystery and other owners,
Thanks. Is there a washer/dryer or a place for one? And seems like the 44 has a larger flybridge overhang for possible kayaks, etc.
And the 44 does not have a port door across from the lower helm, but the 42 does. Seems that would be awful handy for solo docking.
And do these boats really to 25 knots at 1 mpg like the brochure says? That would sure be nice when someone's chasing me.
Washer/dryer is an option. Typically goes in the guest stateroom and eats up most of the drawers. I did not care for having one even though I was on the boat for most of the past year because I had enough clothes to last a few weeks and would just do one big trip to whatever marina I was at laundry room. I heard the combo washer/dryers are not that great and can't handle large loads. I also have a dog that sheds and like to keep hair minimal so I prefer a regular dryer to collect the dog hair especially from bedding.
I have seen people get brackets for hanging kayaks off the fly bridge on either side. I have to look into that as we plan to get two kayaks next season. I don't know if they would mount on the over hang, side bridge side, or rail (if rail, I dont know if they can support the weight). I have also seen them laid on the port walk way and even strapped down on the bow either side. I like to try to distribute the weight because more of the storage is on the port side including the dinghy, cabinets in salon, cockpit under seat storage, and galley. I was carrying a large amount of spare tools, parts, and supplies that ended up on the port side, causing a slight list but that was because I was doing 4,000 miles of travel and wanted to be very prepared. It was mostly resolved when I removed the extra items and re-organized. I really did have a ton of stuff including barrels of oil, extra fluids for transmission, coolant, etc, the list goes on.
I solo docked many times on the ST44. I usually requested a dock stern-in starboard side tie. Some times I have had to do bow-in to keep access to the side door. Rare I had to do stern-in port side tie but its happened a couple times and I required docking assistance in those cases.
25-26 knots is top-end, depending on conditions (wind, currents, seas, etc), load, and whether bimini top is deployed. You will probably see .9mpg maybe 1mpg if you are lucky. I would not run at that speed often. I think Volvo says 1 hour every 8 is fine. I tend to exercise her by going up to WOT (3630 rpm) for a minute, then running 5 minutes at 3500 rpm (what engine is rated for), 5 minutes at 3400, 5 minutes at 3300, and then cruise at 3000-3250 rpm or some times hull speed at a lower rpm). If you do decide to follow Volvo who says 1 hour per 8 at WOT is fine, I would stick to 3500rpm max and try to break it up so 30 mins every 4 hours. Volvo also says 90% of top RPM is fine for cruise so 3250 is usually a pretty even #. I would say a more realistic higher speed cruise is 20 knots and that would again vary on conditions, load, and whether or not the bimini top is deployed. I was in some strong currents on some rivers that slowed me down almost 10 mph. Removing that extreme, you will probably lose 1-2mph with bimini top deployed, gain or lose 1-2 mph for going with/against a typical current, same for wind. I just did a trip I had done a couple months ago. The first time, I was with the tide and wind, and was at 25-26mph, absolutely ideal conditions. I averaged 1 mpg and that was at 3250 rpm. At 3000 rpm I think I was a tick over 1mpg and 23mph. This more recent time I was against the wind and current and was at 22mph at about .9-95 mpg at 3250 rpm and I think 18-19mph was .95-1mpg at 3000 rpm but can't recall. Brochures, Boattest #s, and what the manufacturer says the boat can do is not usually real world. Full tank of fuel, water, gear, people, currents, wind, seas, etc, all need to be considered.
