Salona 44
AD Boats · J&J Design · 2010
Updated
The Salona 44 is a 13.55 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by J&J Design and built by AD Boats, first launched in 2010. It races in Class A. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 20% of the designs it races against. It comes alive as the breeze builds, and gives time away in the light.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 20% of the boats it races against.
37th of 46 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 13 starts across 7 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
13.55 m
44′ 5″
Beam
4.18 m
Draft
2.43 m
Displacement
9.9 t
Sail area
103 m²
On the podium
Where a Salona 44 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
8%
of 13 starts by 5 boats
Wins
8%
Read from 13 starts by 5 boats between 2014 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Salona 44 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
MIYC Winter Trophy 2026 - Act 62026
Kornati Cup2026- 36th Marmaris International Race Week2025
- Regata Jabuka2024
- Thousand Islands Race2023
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
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Not enough data yet: 4 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: 6 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Salona 44 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Grand Soleil 44 (Polli) (7 meetings), First 45 (Briand) (7 meetings), JPK 11.80 (6 meetings), Dufour 45 (6 meetings), Elan 450 (6 meetings), Pogo 40 (3 meetings), Elan E6 (6 meetings), Salona 41 (2 meetings), X4.6 (2 meetings), Dehler 46 (2 meetings), Solaris 60 (2 meetings), Dufour 470 (2 meetings), More 55 (4 meetings), J/122 (2 meetings), Dehler 41 (Judel/Vrolijk) (1 meeting), Sydney 43 (1 meeting), Mat 11.80 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 50 (Judel/Vrolijk) (1 meeting), Salona 45 (1 meeting), Farr 45 (1 meeting), Solaris 44 (1 meeting), Bavaria 47 (1 meeting), First 36 (4 meetings), Bavaria Cruiser 39 (1 meeting), Bavaria Cruiser 40 S (1 meeting), Salona 38 (4 meetings), Elan 31 (Design) (1 meeting), First 40.7 (3 meetings), Pogo 12.50 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Salona 44 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
5.87
38°
Beam reach
9.38
90°
Broad reach
10.63
135°
Downwind VMG
8.47
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
There is no obvious weak spot here. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on the beam once it pipes up, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short downwind when it blows, giving away time it never gets back. That is a hull that will lift and run given enough breeze.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Salona 44
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.70 | 5.16 | 5.67 | 5.87 |
| 52° | 5.70 | 7.50 | 8.06 | 8.27 |
| 60° | 6.04 | 7.75 | 8.29 | 8.54 |
| 75° | 6.30 | 7.94 | 8.55 | 9.00 |
| 90° | 6.18 | 8.05 | 8.66 | 9.38 |
| 110° | 6.30 | 8.32 | 9.19 | 10.03 |
| 120° | 6.15 | 8.23 | 9.23 | 10.53 |
| 135° | 5.46 | 7.80 | 8.91 | 10.63 |
| 150° | 4.56 | 6.88 | 8.30 | 9.69 |
| Run VMG | 3.96 | 5.96 | 7.31 | 8.47 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 880 kg.
Rigging
Salona 44 rig and sail dimensions
A Salona 44 carries 16.62 m of mainsail hoist on a 6.00 m boom, a forestay 16.39 m above the deck and a 5.90 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 10 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 119 to 175 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.