Bob Oram 44c

This is an impressive example of the reputable Bob Oram design "off the beach" blue water catamaran. At 44 feet, she offers genuine buyers in the market, all the features of a true beachable design with a proven blue water ability. Our comments on this vessel are:

Oram 44 - Maia  "Off the beach"  Blue water cruising catamaran

Navigating in shallow waters and beachability are features that are offered in most modern cruising catamarans. However, the Oram designed “Maia” offers a extreme shallow draft with rudders and engines that retract to ensure the safety and integrity of the hull (if beached or grounded while underway). This is very rare in comparison to her competitors. The way the rudder and outboard engines can be raised higher that her draft to avoid any damage whatsoever while aground, add to the overall design concept. Most cruising or performance catamarans need to settle on their mini keels or hulls (if a daggerboard design) while stationary. If they run aground on a reef or a sandy bank while underway, or at anchor, damage is inevitable. Maia has been designed with an extremely strong constructed hull (below the waterline) to handle a grounding or hitting a submerged object, regardless of being underway or at anchor. See photo's attached.

We are not encouraging sailing this catamaran at speed into reefs or on to a beach, but she is very forgiving with her "below water" hull strength, a real feature of this catamaran. The cabin-sole in her hulls is the lowest point internally. Below the cabin-sole, the hull layup is reinforced for optimum strength. This also offers the benefit of no water collecting in her binges, therefore providing the peace of mind that if any water enters her hulls, it is immediately visible and you will not have an odour that does eventuate in bilges with age.

From a performance perspective, she has minimal drag with a single daggerboard (easier to control than the traditional twin daggerboard catamarans) and offers a more spacious hull on one side. The 4 stroke 25hp outboards are electronically controlled, so are easily raised once your sails are set. Her sail plan is simple and easy to sail single handed or she can be tweaked by her crew if your looking for that performance edge.

We are impressed with this Oram 44 with so many safety features. Unlike fixed rudder and sail drive designs, you can manoeuvre this vessel with her outboards (no rudders required). She is virtually unsinkable with a buoyancy rating at around 10 tons. Construction is Duflex panels with end grain balsa core, sandwiched between layers of epoxy glass. ( Maia's displacement is only 4 tons).

Excellent stowage, open plan living areas, clear and uncluttered decks, solar panels, quality fixtures and fitting that have to be seen to appreciate. We highly recommend Maia to any buyer looking for a quality "performance" blue water catamaran. She is priced well below replacement value and presents "as new". Inspection is invited by appointment at our Mooloolaba Marina facility, 7 days a week.

Please let us know if you have any questions whatsoever or require more information on this outstanding vessel.