What makes Hanse better?

A focus on experienced sailors.

Many boat builders offer designs, interiors and features which look great in a show, but simply don’t work out well at sea. The owner of Hanse, Michael Schmidt, is first and foremost a true yachtsman (competing at the highest levels of the sport, like the Admiral Cup, and cruising on a wide variety of yachts from the latest Hanse models to a classic wood yacht). Michael has also built and repaired boats himself for years, giving him hands on experience few other boat builders have.



Below are some of the most important features of a new Hanse Yacht. Click here to visit Hanse's website (www.HanseYachts.com) for additional info, or use the links provided at the bottom of this page for specific reviews and other information. On the Hanse website, to try out various colors and interior layouts, be sure to click on 'Yacht-Configurator' (left column, third line down) then on the model, then on 'Advisors' at the top of the page. There are 3 'Advisors'; External Colours (hull and stripe colors), Internal Colours (wood and fabric choices) and Choice of Cabin (interior layouts). Great fun to build your own Hanse online!
  1. Ease of Use. Every Hanse is standard with a self tacking headsail. This makes sailing upwind, especially when shorthanded, a breeze. Reefing of the main can be entirely done from the cockpit. By combining our Dutchman Sail Flaking and Track System, an electric winch and the Hanse cover (all standard on larger yachts ordered from Sound Sailing Center), getting underway or dropping the sail is easier and faster that with any other option.

  2. Wide efficient wind range. Roller furling jibs can only be efficiently reefed by about 15% of the designed area, before the shape becomes unacceptable and the sail begins to distort and break down from loads applied to unreinforced area’s. With jiffy reefing from the cockpit, the main can be reduced to less than 50% of the original area. This is another reason to go with a self tacking (small) headsail, and a large main.

  3. Comfort. We believe comfort is primarily a function of design and quality, not condominium-like space. The furnishing, from the available leather upholstery to the elegant fixtures, all attest to the quality. The design speaks for itself, but bear in mind the vast amount of below-decks storage (to be able to properly store all your gear is true luxury!), and the light, clean interior. The owner's stateroom is normally forward, where a large hatch and side ports provide lots of light and ventilation. Walk-through transoms, teak laid cockpits that are easy to move around in, and lots of storage / locker space all add up to more comfortable cruising.

  4. Classic Beauty. Hanse takes great pride in developing yachts which will stand the test of time. On deck, clean lines and reasonable freeboard will always be in fashion. Down below, white bulkheads with beautifully varnished mahogany or cherry wood look as good today as they did 100 years ago.

  5. Performance. Lead keel bulbs, tapered masts, available epoxy hulls, Judel/Vrolijk designs — perhaps the most highly regarded firm for performance yachts, thanks to Alinghi, winner of the America's Cup — all add up to superb performance, for racing or cruising.

  6. Build Quality. Like all the better semi-custom yachts, bulkheads on Hanse yachts are glassed not just to the hull, but also to the deck. Interior overhead panels are easily removed. Teak decks are glued and vacuumed bagged, with no screws used. Interior varnish thick enough to last a lifetime. Excellent access to all structural aspects. The list goes on, but we think you get the idea.

  7. Strength. To us, any yacht that you have think twice about going offshore in, is not a yacht we want to own. Even if you never want to sail or race to Bermuda, having a boat that was built to do so, gives one great confidence and satisfaction.
  8. Built for You. Unlike normal production builders, where the options list is restricted to upgraded equipment, Hanse offers you an incredible number of options, to make your Hanse truly yours. From numerous interior layout, wood options, fabric selections, hull colors, to performance options like Epoxy hulls, building a new Hanse is almost like ordering your own custom yacht, one that will be unlike any other.

  9. Price. I have owned or own over 15 larger cruising yachts, ranging from Sabre 30’s to a J44. These are excellent yachts, which I am proud to own. Hanse gives the same pride of ownership, but due to the production volume and sophisticated plant, at a price that is not much more than normal production boats. They are an incredibly good value, so good that before I bought my first one, I spent a day at the yard, and came away even more impressed than before.

- Martin van Breems
Reviews
(click on links to open referenced websites in new windows)

http://www.yachtinglife.co.uk/reviews.php?reviewnumber=47
This is a very good review of the 370 and 400, with a bit on the 315, written from a performance perspective. Accurate history, and they test sailed all three in light air. Note that light wood in the 370 is an option.

http://sailingmagazine.net/boattest_Hanse400.html
A Hanse 400 review from an American perspective, with lots of good detail. Some good interior pics, including one of the forward stateroom with the offset berth, which is our favorite forecabin layout. White leather upholstery with the mahogany interior is not our favorite combination (we think the interior needs some color), but have a look. Someone liked it! Again, light air for the sail. Not much info on sailing performance.

http://www.ybw.com/ybw/reprints/yw/hanse.html
Another English take by Yachting World on the Hanse 370, 400 and 461, with a bit of a test sail of the 461.

http://www.bwsailing.com/01articles/issue/0706/bwb.htm
Pretty bland. No test sail, just a walk through and design review of the 400 by the U.S. Magazine Blue Water Sailing, with some ratio analysis.

http://www.sailmagazine.com/boatreviews/Hanse531Full/
A Hanse 531 review by Sail Magazine. Regarding the comment about the self tacking headsail, there are several sheeting positions in the clew of the jib, so it's pretty easy to get the angle perfect. Off the wind, you can barberhaul the sheet out, but we have found this makes little difference with a rig weighted towards the headsail. Regarding the light helm, we have found Hanse's sail themselves very well with the helm locked, one of the best tests of a well designed boat. Given the considerable sail area (which gives the excellent light air performance with a small self tacking jib), they should be reefed in anything over 16-18 knots. They were able to sail her in 15 knots of wind, and found she tacked through less than 80 degree, making 7.3 knots upwind with 15 knots over the deck. These are impressive numbers for any boat, let alone one with the interior the 531 has.

http://www.themainsail.com/news/article/mps/UAN/88/V/1/SP/332902698230342385288
Review of the Hanse 315, but with no wind, not much to say.

http://www.jefa.com/News/hanse/hanse.htm
Good photo's and drawings of the Jefe steering system on the Hanse 370 and 400.

http://www.myhanse.com/default.asp
Hanse owners web site, lots of both interesting and useless chatter, like most blogs. A few nice pics of owners’ boats, and some good reviews from owners doing a fair amount of offshore sailing. Quite worthwhile, but you need a fair amount of time.
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