Let´s stay in Germany after the last Bavaria article. This matches perfectly with another boat I visited during Boot Duesseldorf this January: The new Hanse 410. Hanse has quite an interesting thing going on as they decided to do a “soft” relaunch of their whole brand almost three years ago. I always considered their boats a bit boring, as it felt like they didn´t came up with really new hulls and thus their “new” boats appeared to be just new decks and a bit of design refresh. Now, that changed completely, which is a very exciting story.
Being one of the big production boat companies, revenue is generated by selling large quantities of units. And so, any change applied must be done with a lot of care: If it does not work out, there´s a big problem. Hanse decided to change big time: Skipping Judel/Vrolijk as their principle designers and acquiring renown design bureau Berret-Racoupeau, it was a bold step. One I applauded them for!
A French Connection
Already their first boat, the then-new Hanse 460, was a real head turner and I called her the “Paukenschlag”-boat. The boats on the one hand appear much more suitable for Mediterranean-style cruising, appear much more modern and contemporary but on the other hand retained the distinct Hanse-line. Much like Magnus Rassy who carefully but boldly modernizes his fleet, updates his boats but retains the signature style of the brand, Berret Racoupeau managed to do the same with the new Hanse.
Mooring a 20 years old 40-feet Hanse next to the current version will show a huge step forward in design, of course, but both will still be easily recognizable as a Hanse. This is what Bavaria in my eyes failed to achieve when launching the new C-line boats designed by Cossutti: The break between the Bavaria Cruiser-signature lines and the new “edgy” modern boats came like a shock for many fans of this brand. But back to Hanse: A really nice, modern, sleek appearance. Wide stern … but still single rudder? That´s a detail I did not really understand back then when the 460 had been launched.
Imaginary slenderness
I step on the booth, take off my shoes and look at the cockpit. This is the location where 90 per cent of the boat life aboard will take place. I like the steering posts – very dynamic – and the principle layout of the winches. The running rigging is diverted all back to four winches so that the helmsman can work the boat from behind without bothering the guests in the cockpit. “Our” Beneteau 40.1 still sports the classic winch layout with two working winches in the front next to the entryway down and two Genoa winches aft.
Generally the cockpit feels a bit … well, not cramped really, but slender. A bit narrow. Looking at the bare data, that´s strange because the Hanse 410 is 4.29 meters wide. Yet, it feels (maybe just visually) somehow narrow. The Beneteau 40.1, a boat I know inside out, has a width of 4.18 meters, yet it feels much less cramped – and we have the thick (but ingenious) central cockpit table that also houses the life raft. Not so on the Hanse 410.
The cockpit table is doubled, leaving a walkway in between. This is very practical so that anytime the guys on the benches can enjoy a drink, work on the laptop or have dinner whilst the skipper and helmsman can walk unhindered. On the other hand, having just this one kind of mini-sized foldable table top can – if many guests are aboard – be a problem when a full dinner is served. Other than that, I liked the quality of the cockpit cushions very much, especially the high backrests.
Clean and many contrasts
Down below the good old German cleanliness is apparent. The new Hanse yachts tend to come in sharp contrasts, light and dark colors and loads of white. Of course, taste is always in the eye of the beholder, but so many light-colored surface areas – at least for me personally – create a kind of cold, empty feeling. Of course, owners will maybe put pictures or other decorative elements on the bulkheads, but the my first impression was a bit restrained.
The salon has a nice layout with a large U-settee to the port side and a 3-seater settee to starboard. Upon entering down the stairs, to the righthand side the bathroom is located. If ordered, there can be another one in the owner´s cabin. The L-galley to starboard – a very classy layout. Again, I felt a bit constricted for a 40-footer. Somehow the Oceanis 40.1 saloon (although I do not like the longitudinal galley much) feels much more voluminous and “airy”.
Ventilation Weltmeister
Speaking of air: Look at this cool feature. The Hanse 410, and I am pretty sure this goes for all their yachts, is world champion in providing air ventilation! For the fact that there is only one skylight hatch in the roof, the shipyard made all of the four side windows in the cabin in a way that the whole window can be opened. This is a great feature!
On most boats there are one, maybe two, little opening portholes within these windows, but on the Hanse 410 the whole windows themselves can be opened. I am sure this will make for great ventilation when a motivated ship´s cook is rocking the galley or to utilize the slightest of a breeze for fresh air at anchor in a hot +40 degrees summer´s day. Great feature!
The boat´s overall appearance, inside and outside, is clear production boat quality. The fittings are all too familiar, standard equipment that can be found on any other big brand too. Again, a testimony to the fact that the “big four” are all playing in essentially the same league. Every brand sets its focus on different aspects of sailing. This in return makes the boats not only look different but also be different. In terms of sailing capabilities, luxury and amenities, comfort below and up and such. It´s hard to find a summary for the new Hanse 410, but I am pretty sure to state that this new class of boats at least appears much more exciting and appealing than the precursor. And that´s a good thing, I´d say.
Easy or lazy?
Of course, there are shortcomings or things which don’t work for me. As in every boat, the Hanse 410 makes no exception. One of those things is the nav station. This is a good example, in my opinion, for taking it too easy. Yes, chart tables, especially on boats for vocational, occasional or charter use are considered less important, some say it’s a ting of the past. On most of the production cruisers, chart tables and nav stations get smaller each year. But on the Hanse 410 there´s more to it.
I mean, look at the picture above: Imagine sitting there, maybe doing a log entry. The only equipment that is within reach is the VHF radio and the Fusion sound system. Fr operating the radio, of course, you have to have looooong arms to reach for the microphone. For checking battery or fuel status, you need to stand up. It´s just a stupid position for the main switch board that high up! Yes, you can stand in front of it and operate the buttons, but why then making a chart table to sit at? This is no fish and no meat. Anyway, as I said, there are many of those “strange” decisions to be found on any boat for sure.
Open galley
The galley on the Hanse 410 I like very much. As I noted earlier, I am not a fan of longitudinal galley as I hate to look at the dirty dishes when taking a seat. So, an L-galley works best for me personally. With Hanse 410, there is a specialty to the galley. Look at the entryway staircase down in the picture below.
There are no bulkheads to the left and right, the ladder floats freely into the salon. Two stainless-steel poles are handles for a safe grip when entering up or down. This configuration is very lofty and makes for an airy feeling. Most L-galleys, set abaft slightly, are kind of “cramped” in between the entryway ladder and the aft cabins, on the 410 it feels much lighter. It´s just a visual thing, but it works for me very well.
You may have read about double sink locations in boat galleys and this galley was one of the examples for a nice layout. I´d say for a 40 footer there is enough stowage (although of course a longitudinal galley provides more than double this amount) and working here seems kind of nice with a great view into the salon – open, communicative.
Pretty nice cabins
For whatever reason I forgot to take pictures of the front cabin, sorry for that! But I can assure you that it’s a nice and cozy place. The Hanse 410 owner´s cabin can be ordered without any head, providing for the most volume, light and space of all the layouts. The front bathroom, if chosen, will have a WC seat and a shower, but not a separate shower. This is better solved on the Oceanis 40.1 with a separate shower-cabin, but of course this eats up much more of the space as well.
As for the front cabin in the Hanse 410, there are nice windows in the hull. But they are far too high to enjoy the nice view out when laying down in bed. Owners can also choose between one or two aft cabins. If the “owner´s” two cabin version is showed, the portside cabin becomes a huge locker. Unfortunately the starboard cabin won´t “grow” in size as it is the case in many boats, so there isn´t much gain. The cabins themselves are nicely cut, there´s loads of natural light thanks to the hull windows and the usual cabinet (which is usually too small for all clothing).
The main head to starboard side now comes with a separable shower cabin, which is a nice thing. I also like the wooden gratings (LINK), which is a nice detail and a quick win to improve bathroom comforts at once. Again, lots of lacquered white walls, a bit sterile appearance, but you can take it as a nice cleat white blanket for your own individual touch by applying colorful decorative elements.
A fine addition to the line
Well, thats the new Hanse 410. Overall, she is an attractive looking boat that follows the typical style of the brand but also comes with a sleek, modern appearance. Her hull carries the width all the way abaft which makes her a typical Med-style wide-sterned boat. Therefor I don´t understand the decision to stick to the long single rudders and not have double rudders. The Hanse 410 has 84 square meters of upwind sails area and weighs in 9.7 tons. In comparison, Jeanneau 410 weighs 8 tons flat with 80 square meters, Bavaria C comes with 10.1 tons and 90 square meters, our Beneteau Oceanis 40.1 sports 8 tons and 76 Square meters. So the Hanse is quite so in the middle …
I leave the Hanse stand, which awkwardly was not in the usual sailboat hall 16 but a bit aside in hall 15. I really like the decisions made by the shipyard regarding the renewal of the fleet. A bold step taken, but with caution. A revolution for a brand that barely had anything new in the last decades, but low enough to not burst the brand or overstrain their customer´s base. In a way it is a bit sad that the last German shipyard switched to a Mediterranean-style design, but I guess that´s the way to go. A nice boat that will surely will find its admirers.
Related articles you may find interesting:
New Hanse 460 under sails
Beneteau´s new 40-footer concept
A happy boat: Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 410