Hanse 345

Name: Hanse 345
Brand: Hanse

A little yacht with a lot going for it

LIKES

- Size
- Accommodation for its length
- Ease of handling and manoeuvrability
- Aftersales support
- Excellent fit and finish

DISLIKES

- Could be expensive to spec it up
- Self tacking headsail lacks punch for racing or light airs
- No windlass as standard

OVERVIEW

- All-new yacht from quality manufacturer

Hanse needs little or no introduction -- especially in Sydney -- as importer, Windcraft, has been bringing the German brand into Australia from its Pittwater base for the past 13 years and is now marketing the yachts fairly heavily in the other states, too.

We first laid eyes on the latest yacht in the range, the 345, at its Australian debut at the Melbourne boat show and, with some innovative changes over the model it replaces, we couldn’t wait to go sailing.

At 11.04 metres in length, the 345 is what you’d probably call an entry-level yacht (only the Hanse 325 is smaller), but within the confines of those 34 feet, the German yard has managed to pack a lot aboard.

While the 345 takes over from the 355, which was actually a bigger yacht in terms of length, this one is bigger even though it’s smaller. Read on...

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT

- Good price with heaps of optional packages

Starting at just $189,500, the Hanse 345 is certainly an affordable yacht, but you do need to spec it up a bit to suit different usages. The owner of the test yacht wanted to cruise and race his 345 so he’s optioned it up accordingly with Cruise Pack, Entertainment Pack, Performance Pack plus a locally-sourced bimini and spray dodger (this is Melbourne after all).

Total cost comes in at around $220K. However for that, it’s basically one with the works. Full instrumentation, upgraded sails, protection from the elements, bigger engine... you name it.

If you’re just using the boat for day sailing then the bare bones 345 could be enough for you. There’s a fully equipped galley, pressurised water and a great bathroom.

The standard sails still included a fully-battened main and a roller-furling, self-tacking headsail.

And don’t forget you can also have three 'bedrooms'.

LAYOUT AND ACCOMMODATION

- How much can you fit in a 34-footer?

First thing we noted was the broad transom and twin wheels. When we first saw twin wheels on a 40-foot Jeanneau we thought that it was a pretty small boat for two wheels, but this one takes the cake!

That said, it does have a bigger beam than Aunty Jack and the twin wheels not only give good access to get aboard, they also give the helmsman a good view of the sails and the water ahead wherever he or she happens to be.

Entry to the cockpit is via a drop-down transom which doubles as a neat swim platform when at rest. The swim platform forms part of the transom and lowers on a gas strut. At rest, this can effectively give more cockpit space and would be a great place for the kids. A clip in, three-stage boarding ladder is provided for getting in and out of the water and there is also a pull-out rode-style ladder in the transom for emergencies.

The cockpit itself isn’t huge, but it’s certainly workable -- especially for a short-handed crew. All lines lead aft to the twin helms and are neatly concealed under the cabin top.

The lines lead to two banks of jammers -- one on each coaming. The port side has the spinnaker halyard, jib halyard, second reef, outhaul and mainsheet. The starboard side controls the jib sheet, main halyard first reef, boom vang and main sheet. As you can see from this, the main sheet can be operated from either side which would be handy if a quick ease is needed.

With all the lines down aft, there’s lots of room on the cabin top (in this case under the dodger) where we find two handy ‘glove compartments’ (I suppose you’d call them). These are really handy for keys, phones, wallets or even your sailing mittens! A great inclusion.

The decks are nice and wide with outboard shrouds so those wanting to venture forward aren’t impeded. There’s plenty of room to move around on the foredeck and we found a deep anchor well fitted with an electric windlass, anchor and 30 metres of chain (all optional).

However, moving down below is where the really big picture starts. This boat is available in two layout configurations -- two-cabin and three-cabin. Yep, three cabins in a 34 footer!

Our test boat had a two-cabin layout which gets an extra-large berth down the back to starboard and huge locker to port. The locker can be accessed either from the cockpit or from a door in the separate shower recess in the port-side head. The head is roomy with the separate shower and features a vanity with funky bowl-like basin and a pump-out loo with holding tank.

If the three-cabin version is chosen, the berths are of a similar size but you obviously lose the big locker and the separate shower stall is also deleted. Personally, I’d go for the two-cabin for the extra storage and the shower stall which would double beautifully as a wet locker.

Across from the head is the galley which is more than serviceable for a couple. You get a two-burner gimballed stove with oven, twin stainless-steel sinks, a big fridge with front and top access, and plenty of cupboards and drawers for storage.

Moving forward we find to starboard a decent-sized L-shaped lounge for dining and another lounge to port. The aft end of the port lounge doubles as a rear-facing seat for the nav station, which is quite serviceable with an opening chart table and access to the electrical switchboard. Mounted here was also the Fusion stereo system and VHF radio.

There’s plenty of light, too, thanks to the ‘light stripe’ and five opening hatches which also provides great ventilation for the warmer climes.

Up in the bow is the forepeak cabin which features a comfy double berth and cupboards each side. Once again, this was roomy and light.

The overall effect of the interior of this boat is one of modernity roominess. The interior is more like a 38-footer than a 34, but more of that later.

MECHANICAL, HULL AND RIG

- Tall rig and the signature self-tacking 'headie'

Hanse is renowned for the fact that all models come with a self-tacking headsail. According to the importer, Windcraft, the rig, and indeed the hull and keel are designed with this in mind.

The rig itself is a 9/10 fractional setup on a tall, two-spreader aluminium anodised mast. There is an above-deck furler for the jib which is, as stated, self-tacking and on its own traveller.

The main is fully battened and drops into lazy jacks and a zip-up boom bag (optional). The main is sheeted mid-boom on two stand-up blocks with no traveller. It’s a pretty big main at around 32.5sqm obviously designed to compensate for the relatively small (22.5sqm) jib.

For those who want to go racing, there is an option of getting a bigger genoa of around 105 per cent (approx 27sqm). The genoa is not self tacking and runs from sheeting positions on the cabin top. Also available is a genneker of around 85sqm that’ll really get the 345 going in light airs -- unfortunately we didn’t have one on our light test day.

Our test boat was, however, equipped with the optional Performance Pack which gives upgraded Elvstrom fast cruising laminate (FCB) triradial-cut sails, genneker gear including two extra Lewmar winches and a folding two-blade prop.

Motive power is supplied by Volvo with the standard engine being a D1-20 18hp three-cylinder. Our test boat had the optional D1-30 engine which is also a three-cylinder donk but is upgraded to 27hp.

The 345 hull is totally new, we’re told. It takes over from the 355 which was actually a bigger boat in length but this one has a longer waterline, more beam -- especially aft -- and more internal volume.

The standard keel is fairly deep at 1.87m (6’1”) and carries its 2030kg ballast low on a 'T' bulb. There is the option of a shallow keel which is 1.55m (5’1”) deep and has bit more ballast at 2200kg.

ON THE WATER

- Light and easy

As you can see by the accompanying photographs, the day of our test was pretty light -- especially for the photo session. Fortunately, it did come up a bit later in the day and were able to get the 345 going quite nicely.

Out of the marina, the 345 proved very manoeuvrable and pretty spritely with its upgraded engine. It’s an easily-driven hull and with the engine on about 2000rpm, we were comfortably doing around 5.7 knots. At wide-open throttle it was more like 7.5 knots. It begged the question as to whether the upgrade was necessary. For Melbourne, maybe yes. For further north, perhaps not.

Obviously, hoisting the sails was a breeze with the lazy jacks, bag and furling 'headie'. How easy does it get?

Our crew comprised four and we found plenty of room in the cockpit, and with the halyards and sheets on the coamings, nobody got in each other’s way.

When we first got going, the breeze was struggling at 5-7 knots but the 345 was making a 4.0-4.2 to windward, and with a pretty good point as well.

The self-tackers do struggle downhill a bit as the jib gets blanketed and just doesn’t seem to like it, so it’s worth playing some angles.

Going back uphill with the breeze freshening a little we had her going at 5-6 knots in a bit over 10 knots which was much more pleasant. Tacking is, of course, a snap and we put a few in for the hell of it, without touching anything. No pulling ropes, no winching, no yelling. Lovely!

Another bonus of the self-tacker is that the boat loses very little speed through the tacks which can be a real bonus in tight racing or when tacking up a channel. We went into a few doing a bit over five knots and came doing over four -- losing a knot through the tacks ain’t bad in anyone's terms.

I found the steering to be light and direct with little or no slop in it (as you can often get in twin-wheel setups). It’d be nice to try it with a bit more breeze and see if we get any weather helm from the big main, but that’ll have to be for another day...

VERDICT

- A big little boat

The Hanse 345 has a lot going for it, whether you’re looking to upsize or downsize.

The amount of room is worthy of another mention. The possibility of three cabins in this boat is great for families while the storage afforded by the twin-cabin version is terrific for cruising couples.

The boat’s ease of sailing is second to none and, although we didn’t have another boat to sail it against, it’s obvious that it’s no slouch.

The starting price is good with the only drawback being getting it up to a specification level that some might require.

Hanse is certainly moving forward and offering something different to the smaller keelboat market.

SECOND OPINION

- What a prospective buyer said...

On our test day, we took out a good sailing mate who is in the market for another boat around this size.

Geoff is a seasoned sailor who has had many types of yachts, both racing and cruising. He has recently gone to the dark side and bought a powerboat but would like to get back into yachting.

Primarily he’s looking for a smaller yacht than he’s previously had and one that doesn’t require a lot of crew -- perhaps one or two. Understandably he was keen to have a look at the Hanse 345.

After the test and over a cool drink in the bar of the yacht club, I asked Geoff his thoughts: "It’s hard to really criticise it," he said. "The only things I thought were, firstly, the headsail looked a bit small; and also once the yacht was specified to what I wanted, it could be a bit pricey.

"Downstairs was well fitted out with good joinery and the layout was great with heaps of storage in the two-cabin version.

"Upstairs, there was plenty of cockpit space and it was uncluttered and nicely laid out. Even though it was only 34 feet, it didn’t look silly with the twin wheels and handled very well with light and direct steering.

"Obviously a very easy boat to sail short-handed, it could well be on my shopping list.”

Specifications:

Price as tested: $220,000 (approx)
Priced from: $189,500
LOA: 10.4m (34ft 1in)
Beam: 3.5m (11ft 5in)
Displacement: (6,200 kg (approx)
Draft: 1.87m (standard) 1.55m (optional)
Ballast: 2030kg (Standard) 2200kg (optional)
Engine: 18hp
Fuel: 160 litres
Water: 230 litres
Total sail area: 55.00sqm
Rig: I 13.4m
J 3.88m
P 12.70m
E. 4.35m
Design: Judel/Vrolijk & Co

SUPPLIED BY

Windcraft
Ph: 9979 1709
E: boats@windcraft.com.au
W: www.windcraft.com.au

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Hanse 345

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