Mercer 44
{{Short description|Sailboat class}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox sailboat specifications
|name = Mercer 44
|insignia =
M44
|insignia size = 150px
|insignia alt =
|insignia caption =
|line drawing =
|line size =
|line alt =
|line caption =
|image boat =
|image size =
|image alt =
|image caption =
|designer = William H. Tripp Jr
|architect =
|location = United States
|year = 1959
|no built = 14
|design =
|class =
|brand =
|builder = Mercer Reinforced Plastics
Cape Cod Shipbuilding
|role = Cruiser
|boats =
|crew =
|trapeze =
|draft = {{convert|9.00|ft|m|abbr=on}} with centerboard down
|air draft =
|displacement = {{convert|27000|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}
|hulls =
|hull type = monohull
|construction = fiberglass
|loa = {{convert|44.00|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|loh =
|lwl = {{convert|30.00|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|beam = {{convert|11.75|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|hull draft =
|hull weight =
|engine = inboard engine
|appendages =
|keel type = modified keel and centerboard
|ballast = {{convert|8600|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}
|rudder type = keel-mounted rudder
|rigs =
|rig type = Bermuda rig
|I = {{convert|50.30|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|J = {{convert|17.40|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|P = {{convert|44.80|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|E = {{convert|20.00|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|mast length =
|rig other =
|sails =
|sailplan = masthead sloop
|sailarea main = {{convert|448.00|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|sailarea headsail = {{convert|437.61|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|sailarea spin =
|sailarea gen =
|sails other =
|sailarea upwind =
|sailarea downwind =
|sailarea total = {{convert|885.61|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|rating =
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}}
The Mercer 44 is an American sailboat that was designed by William H. Tripp Jr as a bluewater cruiser and first built in 1959.{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/mercer-44|title= Mercer 44 sailboat |access-date= 21 January 2022|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2022|archive-url= https://archive.today/20220121202134/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/mercer-44|archive-date= 21 January 2022|url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/designer/tripp-jr-william-h|title= William H. Tripp Jr, 1920 - 1971|access-date = 21 January 2022|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year= 2022|archive-url= https://archive.today/20211230223302/https://sailboatdata.com/designer/tripp-jr-william-h|archive-date= 30 December 2021|url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://sailboat.guide/william-h-tripp-jr|title= William H. Tripp Jr.|access-date= 21 January 2022|author= Sea Time Tech, LLC|work= sailboat.guide|year= 2022|archive-url= https://archive.today/20220121202359/https://sailboat.guide/william-h-tripp-jr|archive-date= 21 January 2022|url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://sailboat.guide/cape-cod/mercer-44|title= Mercer 44|access-date= 21 January 2022|author= Sea Time Tech, LLC|work= sailboat.guide|year= 2022|archive-url= https://archive.today/20220121202322/https://sailboat.guide/cape-cod/mercer-44|archive-date= 21 January 2022|url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://capecodshipbuilding.com/fleet/index.php?boat=mercer|title= Mercer 44|access-date= 21 January 2022|author= Cape Cod Shipbuilding|author-link= Cape Cod Shipbuilding|work= capecodshipbuilding.com|year= 2022|archive-url= https://archive.today/20220121202428/https://capecodshipbuilding.com/fleet/index.php?boat=mercer|archive-date= 21 January 2022|url-status= live}}
Production
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.{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/builder/cape-cod-shipbuilding|title= Cape Cod Shipbuilding|access-date = 21 January 2022|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year = 2021|archive-url= https://archive.today/20200824183520/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/cape-cod-shipbuilding|archive-date= 24 August 2020|url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://sailboat.guide/cape-cod|title= Cape Cod Shipbuilding|access-date= 21 January 2022|author= Sea Time Tech, LLC|work= sailboat.guide|year= 2022|archive-url= https://archive.today/20220105143224/https://sailboat.guide/cape-cod|archive-date= 5 January 2022|url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://mercer44.org/|title= Mercer 44 Sailboats |access-date= 21 January 2022|author= |last= |first= |author-link= |date= 21 January 2022|archive-url= https://archive.today/20160227032945/http://mercer44.org/|archive-date= 27 February 2016|url-status= live}}
Design
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 {{convert|27000|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}} and carries {{convert|8600|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}} of ballast.
The boat has a draft of {{convert|9.00|ft|m|abbr=on}} with the centerboard extended and {{convert|4.25|ft|m|abbr=on}} with it retracted, allowing operation in shallow water.
The boat is fitted with a diesel inboard engine. The fuel tank holds {{convert|68|u.s.gal}} and the fresh water tank has a capacity of {{convert|110|u.s.gal}}.
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.
For sailing downwind the design may be equipped with a symmetrical spinnaker.
The boat has a hull speed of {{convert|7.34|kn|km/h|abbr=on}}.
Operational history
The boat is supported by an active class club, Mercer 44 Sailboats.{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/association/mercer-44-sailboats|title= Mercer 44 Sailboats|access-date = 21 January 2022|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year= 2022|archive-url= https://archive.today/20220121202235/https://sailboatdata.com/association/mercer-44-sailboats|archive-date= 21 January 2022|url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://sailboat.guide/mercer-44-sailboats-class-association|title= Mercer 44 Sailboats|access-date= 21 January 2022|author= Sea Time Tech, LLC|work= sailboat.guide|year= 2022|archive-url= https://archive.today/20220121202255/https://sailboat.guide/mercer-44-sailboats-class-association|archive-date= 21 January 2022|url-status= live}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://capecodshipbuilding.com/fleet/index.php?boat=mercer Official website]
{{Cape Cod Shipbuilding}}
Category:1950s sailboat type designs
Category:Sailboat type designs by William H. Tripp Jr.