Bali 4.4 Catamaran Review and Ownership Guide

The Bali 4.4 in one paragraph

The Bali 4.4 is the mid-size Bali catamaran most people mean when they search for a 44-foot Bali today. It premiered at the International Multihull Show in La Grande Motte in 2022, it is still in the 2026 range between the Bali 4.2 and the Bali 4.6, and the builder describes it as the Bali DNA in 44 feet. Bali's own figures give 44 feet 3 inches overall on a 42 foot 11 inch hull, a 42 foot 6 inch waterline, 24 feet 3 inches of beam and a 4 foot 1 inch draft. Empty weight is 30,038 pounds and the boat is rated to 43,367 pounds fully loaded, so roughly 13,000 pounds of people, water, fuel and stores fit between the two numbers.

Olivier Poncin, who founded the Catana Group, wrote the concept. Xavier Fay drew the lines and the design studio Piaton Berco handled the interior. Unlike the bigger Balis built at Canet-en-Roussillon on the Mediterranean, Bali says the 4.4 is built in France near La Rochelle. It carries a CE category A rating for 12 people, which is the ocean category, not a promise that every owner should cross oceans in one.

One boat to replace the 4.3 and the 4.5

Multihulls World framed the 4.4 as a replacement for the Bali 4.3 and, above all, for the 4.5, the boat that launched the brand in 2014. That matters to a buyer because it explains the size. The 4.5 had been the original 44-footer with the solid foredeck but no forward saloon door. The 4.3 had a central helm. The 4.4 keeps the 44-foot footprint, adds the forward door that the 4.6 and 5.4 introduced, adds a raised helm with a lounge beside it, and gives owners a three-cabin layout with a full-hull master suite.

If you are shopping the used market you will meet all three boats. A 4.5 from 2016 to 2019 costs far less, but it is a different generation with different engines and a window, not a door, at the front of the saloon. A 4.6 is a foot and a half longer and almost a foot wider, and it carries a flybridge-style upper deck. The 4.4 sits in the middle and is the newest design of the three.

• Bali 4.5 (2014 to 2021): the original, side helm or flybridge, opening front window
• Bali 4.3 (from 2015): 43 feet, central helm station
• Bali 4.4 (2022 onward): forward saloon door, raised coachroof helm, three or four cabins
• Bali 4.6 (2021 onward): 47 feet, larger upper deck, three to five cabins

Hull shape, chines and why the deck is so stiff

The hulls use outboard chines and inboard topsides angled at about 45 degrees, which Multihulls World credited with keeping the boat agile while preserving a useful waterline beam. Sail magazine noted the narrow tumblehome bows, which stretch the sailing length almost to the full overall length. The waterline is only 17 inches shorter than the boat itself.

Bali gets rid of the forward trampoline and the forward crossbeam on every model. The inner half-hulls, bridgedeck and solid foredeck are laminated together as one unit, which is how the boat stays stiff even though the whole aft wall of the saloon lifts away. The stub keels are separate moldings bonded on after the hulls come out of the mold, an arrangement intended to let a keel tear away in a hard grounding instead of opening the hull. The forepeaks are watertight crash compartments. Testers who sailed the first boats in freezing conditions at La Rochelle commented on how rigid the sandwich foredeck felt underfoot.

Three living areas and the famous Bali door

Bali quotes 946 square feet of usable deck area. That space is split into a forward cockpit on the solid foredeck, the saloon, and the aft cockpit, plus the lounge beside the raised helm. The aft wall of the saloon is the pneumatic tilt-up Bali door. With it raised, the cockpit and saloon become one level space from the transom steps to the forward door. With it closed and the side windows shut, the saloon seals up like a conventional catamaran, which is what Multihulls World had to do on its winter test.

Inside, the galley runs to port with a large household-style refrigerator to starboard, and the nav station faces forward next to the door to the foredeck. The saloon table seats about eight, ten if people are friendly. Cabin-top windows on all sides make the saloon feel bright even with everything closed.

How the Bali 4.4 sails from the raised helm

The mast is stepped well aft, so the self-tacking jib is relatively large and the mainsail is moderate. Standard sail area is 1,248 square feet, and Bali quotes up to 1,614 square feet upwind with the optional Code 0. A gennaker or Code 0 on the sprit is the upgrade that transforms light-air sailing, and every reviewer who sailed the boat recommended it.

The independent numbers are encouraging for a boat this focused on comfort. On the topRik team's test sail, the 4.4 started moving properly in about 4.5 to 5 knots of breeze, made up to 7.5 knots close-hauled in up to 15 knots of wind while tacking through about 110 degrees, and touched 8.2 knots without any downwind sail set. Testers found the steering responsive and noted that the boat tacked cleanly under mainsail alone in flat water. Pointing much higher than about 55 degrees apparent costs a lot of speed.

All sheets and halyards come back to the raised helm, where a sofa seats three including the skipper. Visibility is excellent forward and over the sails, but the stern of the opposite hull is hard to see when docking, a common trait of offset raised helms. Plan on a camera or a crew member on the quarter. An optional second steering position with a joystick can be fitted at the inside nav station.

Owner's version or four cabins

There are two main layouts. The three-cabin owner's version gives the whole port hull to a master suite with a king-size berth, a sofa and desk, and a forward bathroom with two basins and a shower that runs the full width of the hull. The starboard hull holds two guest cabins, each with its own head. The four-cabin version mirrors the hulls, with a double cabin and private head at each corner, and suits charter fleets or two couples sharing ownership.

In both versions the forepeaks can be fitted as single berths for crew or children, or used as deep storage for sails and water toys. With the saloon table converted and the forepeaks in use, the boat can sleep 12, though six to eight is the realistic number for comfort. Hull windows and overhead hatches give every cabin good light and airflow.

40 hp or 57 hp, and what the tanks mean for cruising

Twin 40 hp Yanmar diesels with saildrives are standard, and Multihulls World lists twin 57 hp Yanmars as the upgrade. On a boat that goes from 30,000 pounds empty to over 43,000 loaded, the 57s are the better choice for anyone planning to motor into a trade-wind chop or push against current, and they are what private buyers look for on resale. Engine rooms sit in the aft ends of the hulls, isolated from the accommodation and easy to reach.

Fuel and water are 211 US gallons each according to Multihulls World. That is liveaboard-scale water for a 44-footer, and with a watermaker most owners will rarely need a dock for anything but provisions. We have not seen published fuel burn figures for the 4.4, so plan range conservatively until you have logged your own consumption.

Bali 4.4 for sale, what buyers are paying

Because the boat only arrived in 2022, the used market is thin and dominated by 2023 hulls. In 2026 we saw a 2023 boat listed at $725,000 in Tortola and another 2023 owner's version at $690,000 in the Bahamas. Expect boats that have spent their first years in a charter program to sit at the lower end, and privately owned owner's versions with the bigger engines, solar and lithium upgrades to ask more.

A new 4.4 in US specification has no published list price. Our estimate of roughly $800,000 to $980,000 assumes the options a US owner usually adds, including air conditioning, a generator, electronics and a Code 0. Compare any dealer quote with a nearly new boat; the gap often pays for several years of ownership.

Owning and running a 44-foot Bali

Budget around $40,000 to $75,000 a year to keep a 4.4 in the US or Caribbean, covering a wide slip or mooring, insurance, an annual haul-out, engine and saildrive service, antifouling and sail care. The 24-foot beam rules out many standard slips and some travel lifts, so confirm both before you buy. The moving parts that make a Bali a Bali, the tilt-up door, the forward door and the opening side windows, all need seals and hinges kept in good order, so add them to your maintenance calendar from day one.