HH Catamarans HH44 Review, Versions, Hybrid Drive and Price

HH Catamarans goes small, and goes electric

HH Catamarans built its reputation on big carbon rocket ships: the HH66, HH55 and HH50, designed by Morrelli & Melvin and built in China by Hudson Yacht Group. The HH in the name stands for founder Hudson Wang and New Zealand boatbuilder Paul Hakes, who joined forces in 2012. The HH44 is the brand's entry point, and the first HH designed in house, by Hudson Yacht Group naval architect James Hakes, Paul's son, with Morrelli & Melvin responsible for the daggerboards, rudders and much of the performance work.

The brief was unusual. Instead of fitting batteries and motors into an existing hull, HH designed the 44 around electrification from day one: a clean coachroof for the largest possible solar array, helms moved aft into the cockpit, a 48 volt boat throughout and a parallel hybrid drive. Buyers responded before they had seen a boat. HH sold 37 hulls on drawings and renderings alone, and the waiting list stretched to two or three years.

The awards followed quickly. Sailing World named the HH44 its overall 2024 Boat of the Year, Cruising World gave it a Judges' Special Recognition award, and SAIL picked the HH44-SC as one of its Top 10 Best Boats for 2024.

Ocean Cruising or Sports Cruising: two very different HH44s

The HH44 comes in two versions that share the same hull and interior quality but sail differently. The HH44-OC (Ocean Cruising) has fixed mini keels, an aluminum mast with an optional carbon upgrade, an E-glass longeron and a white gelcoat finish. It is aimed at owners who want an easy, robust bluewater cat without daggerboard trunks to worry about.

The HH44-SC (Sports Cruising) is the one that won the awards and, according to HH, the more popular choice. It gets C-shaped pre-preg carbon daggerboards about 10 ft long, a carbon Marstrom rig, a carbon longeron, painted hulls, the expanded solar array and the EcoDrive hybrid as standard. SAIL measured the spar at 64 ft, topping out at 72 ft with the lightning rod. Load cells in the cap shrouds help judge when to reef, and a hydraulic mast base jack replaces turnbuckles for rig tension.

Choose the OC if you plan to cruise long distances with a heavy payload and value simplicity. Choose the SC if you want double-digit speeds, better pointing and the full hybrid package, and are prepared for a more complex boat.

EcoDrive, the parallel hybrid that makes the boat

The SC's propulsion, developed with UK firm Hybrid Marine, pairs two 30 hp Beta Marine diesels on conventional shafts with two 10 kW electric motor-generators belted to the shafts through mechanical clutches. Yanmar 40 hp diesels are optional. The diesels and the electric motors are independent, so either can drive the boat, and the electric motors double as two 5 kW generators when the diesels run, charging a 43.2 kWh, 48 volt lithium bank.

SAIL reported about two hours of full-throttle electric running at 8.5 knots, or roughly five hours at 6 knots on half throttle, while HH's president Seth Hynes quotes 7 knots for about two hours. Under sail, the props can freewheel to regenerate, with HH quoting up to 2 kW per shaft at 10 knots of boat speed. A 4,232 watt solar array on the coachroof feeds the bank, and HH says the master cabin air conditioning can run for more than three days on battery alone.

Cruising World's technical judge, Tim Murphy of the ABYC, called it the most sophisticated propulsion and house system in the 2024 contest, while cautioning that new technology can bring teething problems. SAIL's editor noted the 48 volt world comes with a learning curve. Buyers should insist on thorough commissioning and training.

Thermoformed Corecell, epoxy and a carbon skeleton

Construction is the other headline. Hudson heats flat panels of Corecell foam so they can be formed into compound curves without kerfs, then infuses them with epoxy and post-cures the laminate. The skeleton, from bulkheads and beams to the hull and deck structure, is carbon fiber, with external E-glass, and extra carbon reinforces chainplates, the wing deck, the coachroof and the daggerboard trunks. Murphy described the result as very, very high quality hulls.

Safety detailing is thoughtful. Each hull has four watertight bulkheads with a bilge pump in each compartment, including a collision bulkhead forward. Stanchions are 900 mm tall, lines run under the deck, and the carbon drop-down transoms close the cockpit at sea and fold down into swim platforms at anchor, adding about four feet of length. Boarding doors in the hull sides make dockside access easy. Bridgedeck clearance is just over 800 mm, or about 31.5 inches, far more than typical production cats of this size.

Swing helms in the cockpit instead of a flybridge

Moving the helms aft freed the coachroof for solar and allowed a lower boom and center of effort. To solve the usual visibility problem of cockpit helms, HH uses Jefa wheels that swing through an arc: outboard for a clear view of the telltales and the bow, inboard for shelter under the hardtop and to reach the winches. Both helms have 12 inch B&G displays and engine controls. Main controls lead to the port helm and headsail controls to starboard, each with a Harken electric winch worked by foot switches, and line tails disappear into buckets under the settees.

Testers liked it. SAIL's reviewer could see the bow and telltales from the outboard position, and Sailing World's judges found the helm light and responsive with no slop. The minor complaints were glare from the saloon door on the starboard side of an early boat and the lack of a coachroof window for checking the main, a price paid for the solar array.

A minimalist interior with a serious technical room

Inside, the saloon offers more than 2 m (6 ft 6 in) of headroom, with 1.96 m in the hulls. The galley is aft to port with a four-burner Bosch induction cooktop, microwave and convection oven, and two drawer fridges that can be set as fridge or freezer. Forward is a large L-shaped nav station that works as a home office, with a dinette opposite. The forward windows open vertically for ventilation.

One hull is a full owner's suite with a queen berth, desk and a head and shower; reviewers have seen it on both sides, so check the arrangement of a specific boat. The other hull has two doubles sharing a central head, and the smaller forward cabin can be fitted with bunks or as a workshop. The battery and technical space amidships looks like a small power plant, and the berths lift on struts to give excellent access to the hybrid drive.

Test numbers from Annapolis

All three American magazines sailed early SC boats on the Chesapeake with only delivery sails. SAIL's team made 9 knots at 40 degrees apparent in 17 knots of true wind, 10.2 knots at 47 degrees and 11 knots a little freer, and held 9.5 knots at 30 degrees apparent in 16 knots of true wind. Cruising World flirted with 10 knots closehauled with the boards down, and HH reported its test boat hit 23 knots on the delivery to the Caribbean.

Just as telling, Sailing World's judges found the boat still quick through tacks in 5 knots of wind and tracking well with only one board down. HH says light-air speed was the design priority, with the goal of sailing at wind speed in 5 or 6 knots of breeze.

Ownership costs and the early resale picture

Expect to spend about $45,000 to $90,000 a year to keep an HH44 in the US, excluding depreciation. The fuel bill is small because so much motoring can be done on battery and solar, but insurance on a $1.5 million carbon cat, a wide catamaran slip and specialist service for a 48 volt hybrid system add up. Plan on sail replacement for membrane sails and periodic daggerboard and rig inspections on the SC.

With buyers waiting years for new boats, early hulls should hold their value well, and we have not yet seen enough public resales to price them precisely. HH has announced that future HH44 and HH52 orders will be built at its own facility in Cebu, Philippines, which may shorten wait times.