New HH 44 Catamaran Offers Three Innovative Versions

The first HH 44 catamaran that will be introduced at this winter’s boat shows is a unique and innovative new design that can be configured in multiple ways to suit a wide range of owners and their specific needs. The basic boat is a high-tech, high-performance cruising boat with a lot of carbon fiber, curved daggerboards, a powerful carbon rig and all of the details that have made HH cats leaders in the performance cruising category. The 44 is also a true hybrid with both diesel and electric propulsion and includes a massive solar array and water generators. For cruising sailors who want all of the comforts of a catamaran, the eco- friendliness of a hybrid and want to sail at speeds close to the wind speed, the HH 44 is a very attractive design. But there are many sailors who are happy to forgo the high-performance end of the sailing spectrum and the complications of the hybrid power systems in exchange for simplicity, so HH offers the 44 in an OC version. The OC 44 has fixed keels instead of daggerboards, diesels instead of the eco-drive, gel-coated hulls instead of custom paint coatings and a single swing-wheel helm; but, as with all high-end cats, there are a lot of options that allow you to build the OC 44 to be almost as high-tech as the original. Adding a unique dimension to the 44 concept is the new 44 Open, which has been designed in collaboration with the Disabled Sailors Association and is laid out to be wheel-chair accessible. The boat has side platforms for boarding in a chair, electric lifts for access to the hulls, heads and sleeping cabins and full side-deck access from the cockpit and saloon. This innovative design for sailors with limited mobility will make sailing and cruising much more accessible to a segment of the sailing population that has largely been ignored. Congratulations to HH for all three innovative versions of the new HH44; these guys are truly thinking outside of the box.