Commuter 44

Description

L.O.A.                       43’ 9”

 L.W.L.                      42’ 8”

 BEAM                      10’ 6”

 DRAFT                     2’ 6” (props & skegs, twin screw)

 DISPLACEMENT      10,000 lbs, approx

TYPE                        Single-chine plywood power cruiser; inboard single or twin diesel or diesel/electric. The vessel is intended for semi-protected waters, coastal waters, with trips to Cuba and the Bahamas practical during settled weather. The vessel is light, narrow and easily-driven, making her both fast (20 kts) and fuel-efficient.

POWER                     Shown with twin Yanmar 4JH3-DTE Turbo Diesels (116 hp cont.)

CONSTRUCTION      Cold-molded marine plywood/epoxy, covered with epoxy-impregnated Xynole-polyester cloth. The hull is built around longitudinals spanning ½” ply bulkheads, greatly simplifying lofting and construction. Bottom: double-diagonal 5/8”; sides: one layer 5/8”; decks: foam-core/ply sandwich; twin 3/8” ply web frames fore & aft. Cockpit and lockers are self-draining.

PLANS                     Full construction plans include The Sharpie Book, Construction Notes and Construction Details, plus an illustrated Construction Manual.

CAPACITIES            Fuel: 200 gal. (metal, plastic or integral tanks, p&s). Water: 150 gal. (p&s in integral tanks). Holding: (two) 35 gal. black water.

DESIGNER               Reuel B. Parker

 NOTE                       This boat is intended to be extremely fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly. The hull displacement distribution is based on engine weight and power limited to 300 hp (single or twins) located centrally under the pilothouse. Consider using the new generation diesel/electric hybrid systems being developed by Solomon Technologies and Fischer-Panda. With diesel/electric, it is possible to locate a single diesel gen-set in a totally insulated compartment, with permanent-magnet high-voltage DC electric motors and glass-mat batteries under the pilothouse. Operation under this system will be noise and vibration free, and fuel consumption optimized to the lowest possible. With a large array of solar panels and wind generators on the pilothouse, the vessel will be able to run in absolute silence for hours at a time, and will consume less fuel than any other boat out there. On the other hand, the new generation common-rail Yanmar diesels are hard to beat for weight, power and low-cost.