Hanse 370e

Windcraft Australia has been importing Hanse yachts since 1999 which have, during that time, been quietly gaining a loyal following for the German manufacturer.

Hanse yachts are built in the small coastal town of Greifswald, Germany, which has a fine history of boatbuilding dating back to the 14th century.

Hanse, although not that old, also has a history of building seaworthy boats that are both sturdy and easy to sail.

Hanse boss Michael Schmidt, himself a keen sailor all his life and a winner of the Admirals Cup, likes to get involved with the rig and deck layout and understands the importance of boats being user-friendly and easy to handle.

Also involved with the design and development of the Hanse range is Karl Dehler, himself a three-quarter-ton world champion. Add to that the Judel/Vrolijk design team and you've got a pretty formidable crew.

Hanse has recently introduced what it terms its 'E-Series' of yachts, designed to combine excellent fit-out for cruising with a powerful rig for those wanting a fast passage or to race, and light weight so that the two previous criteria aren't compromised.

To achieve this, the company has opted to build these yachts using epoxy resin. One of the first of the E-Series yachts on the Australian market is the Hanse 370e, which we took for a day's outing from Pittwater, the results of which we'll see soon, but first let's have a look at the construction and the reasoning behind it.

WHY EPOXY?
Epoxy resins have been used for a long time in boatbuilding, but they are more expensive than the traditional polyester and vinylester resins we see. Although the epoxy is more expensive, it is lighter than the others and quite a significant weight saving can be had by using it in the construction.

According to Windcraft, the weight saving on a 370e is in the region of 500kg over the polyester and vinylester, making the boat lighter and therefore faster than a similar polyester boat.

Quoted dry displacement is about 6800kg, with about 2280kg of that in ballast.

Another important aspect of epoxy is that it is nearly impervious to osmosis. All laminates in a marine environment will permit very low quantities of water to pass through them in vapour form. This will eventually manifest itself as what we call osmosis and create the characteristic bubbles that we hate. Epoxy has a lower water transmission rate and has a higher resistance to attack by water.

Epoxy also has a higher tensile strength than the more traditional resins.

ON DECK
The Hanse 370e is nothing if not neat. All halyards and controls lead aft to 10 Spinlock jammers on the coach roof. All the lines run under the decking from the mast so you're not treading all over them as you walk on the cabin top.

There's two Harken 40 self-tailing winches on the cabin top and two more on the cockpit coamings down aft, near the helmsman.

It's interesting to note here that all Hanses are designed with self-tacking headsails. According to Peter Hrones from Windcraft, the cabin top forward of the mast has been strengthened on purpose to take the track for the self-tacker.

The sheet runs under the cabin top to one of the winches there, leaving the primaries in the cockpit free for the mainsheet if you're sailing short or single-handed.

There are sheeting positions and tracks on the decks for running a 140 per cent genoa for racing or fast cruising in light airs.

A furler for the self-tacking jib is standard, as is the Sparcraft Blue Label performance tapered mast.

The rig is 9/10 fractional and the two-spreader mast is 17.7m above the waterline (that's 58'3”).

The main is about 42.5sqm and, although the self-tacking jib is only 28.5sqm, if you put on a genoa at about 44.9sqm it'd be a mighty powerful rig indeed.

The fully-battened main comes with two reefing points, lazyjacks, and boom bag for ease of hoist and stowage

A solid boom vang is also standard. The regulation traveler is on the cabin top and it's quite short, but has its purchase a fair way forward and thus gets a reasonable range. The test boat had the traveler just forward of the helmsman in the cockpit, which made it longer and easier to run when short-handed, but it had to be stepped over when entering or exiting the boat from the stern.

Steering is a rack-and-pinion setup from Jefa of Denmark.

Around the deck, I was impressed by the six big deck cleats that looked like they could hold something much larger and which, I was told, all had substantial backing plates behind them - as did all the deck fittings.

The decks themselves are wide and have a nice non-slip feel. The broad foredeck would be ideal for lazing around, or equally good for setting kites or an MPS. The standard fare in the bow is an electric windlass with a Delta anchor and 30m of chain.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT
Stepping below, I was pleasantly surprised that the Hanse didn't look or feel like the European production boats I've sailed lately. It had a unique feel with its mahogany woodwork, two-cabin, one-head layout and stylish, apartment-like galley, which featured solid Corian benchtops that stretched right aft past the companionway on starboard. I felt I could cook up a storm for as many as the boat would hold. The galley was roomy and very workable. The ultra-modern removable tap to the twin stainless steel sinks was a hit, as was the big Isotherm 130lt fridge, which had both top-opening and front-opening doors.

A two-burner gas stove with oven was covered when not needed and there was storage room for a family to spend a week at sea.

Aft of the galley on starboard was a vast storage locker, where the third cabin would be if you took that option. I'd prefer it as storage, which is accessible from either the galley or from above in the cockpit.

A couple of extra sails, a rubber duck, life raft - all this and more could fit in the locker with another cockpit locker to port as well.

To port was the aft cabin, which featured standing room for changing, hanging lockers, and a larger bed than the three-cabin version. There were opening ports for ventilation and on the whole it was fairly big and comfortable.

Forward to port is the bathroom, which is very roomy for a 37-footer. This is more the norm rather than the exception theses days, as is the separate shower stall and holding tank.

Forward again we found the nav station, which doubles as one of the pair of lounge chairs on the port side. This can be changed to a single lounge if preferred, but I prefer to have a proper nav station with room for charts and instruments.

Under here is the battery bank. Windcraft has sensibly provided a decent bank of batteries, which comprise three house batteries, one crank battery, an isolator and a substantial charger. Well done.

The radios and electrics are covered by cupboards at the nav station and won't be interfered with while entertaining or at sea. I think I'd rather have the radios more accessible, but that's a personal thing.

Opposite is the U-shaped lounge with built-in wine storage behind and more deep and commodious cupboards. The saloon is light and airy despite the dark mahogany. The boat can be ordered with a lighter wood trim throughout and with a variety of upholstery colours.

The forepeak is as expected on a boat of this size. It's roomy and light with hanging lockers on either side and storage under the double berth. Opening ports and a hatch provide cross-flow ventilation.

SAIL AWAY
We began our test in benign conditions with just a hint of a sea breeze wafting the surface of Pittwater.

I have to admit that this was my first experience with a self-tacking jib and I was keen to see how it performed. To me, the little jib looked too small to drive the Hanse but I was to be proven wrong. Even in the light stuff the 370e clipped along nicely and pointed to around 35 or 40 degrees without complaining.

I turned the boat through the breeze and watched the jib dutifully flick itself across the track to set perfectly on starboard tack. In the light breeze, the Hanse pushed along with surprising ease. I assumed the tanks were empty, but still it was getting along at over five knots upwind in about eight or nine knots of true breeze.

As the breeze increased and we pushed out toward Lion Island into the deeper water, the Hanse really showed what it's made for.

The rig handled the increase magnificently and the little headsail was well up to the task as we pushed into the growing sea and about a 15kt nor'easter.

We had a mylar genoa on board and intended on testing it out, but by then it was too late.

We tacked out further and the Hanse showed a lovely motion to the seaway. The hull doesn't slam but carves the larger waves.

It's a fairly stiff boat that finds its angle of heel and sits in that position, providing a great ride into the sea.

The steering is direct. The rack-and-pinion system means that there are no wires to produce slop. Small movements and a light touch are the order of the day. I could have sat there for the rest of the day comfortably heading further out to sea but we had to get to shore and, with another of those oh-so-easy tacks and an ease of sheets, we were heading back with the breeze on our quarter.

Reaching and running photographer John Ford and I were trying to get the top speed; we were sitting on a constant 8.5kt with a squirt up to 8.9 or so, but the log was unreliable and I reckon we could have easily bettered this. We furled the jib, dropped the main into the lazyjacks and zipped up the bag - how easy is this? We fired up the Yanmar 29hp 3YM30 and headed for the marina.

The Hanse comes with an impressive sail-away package that leaves little for the prospective purchaser to buy. Windcraft is supplying electronics (Simrad) including plotter, wind instruments and VHF; mooring kit, two-blade folding prop, upgraded motor to the 3YM30, North sails with furler, lazyjacks and boom bag, plus the upgraded batteries.

HIGHS

Simplicity of handling with self-tacking jib and sheets close to the helmsman
Different interior styling from what we're used to
Excellent sail-away package
Value for money
Use of epoxy in construction without the added price
Quality hardware and well fitted out

LOWS

Lack of interior hand holds
High transom for boarding
Different interior styling from what we're used to
Cold-only deck shower

Hanse 370e (March 2006)