07 Mar
March is turning out to be double Hanse happiness month as two of the luxury family Hanse 460 cruisers undergo commissioning for their Sydney Owners.
Keen Sydney yacht spotters will have recognised the distinctive angular lines of not one, but new two Hanse 460s on their delivery shakedown from the Harbour to Windcraft Service at Bayview on Pittwater.
Both 460s share the same award-winning Berret-Racoupeau hull design, featuring full forward sections which, combined with the broad stern, generous freeboard, and ample beam, give the Hanse 460 enormous interior volume. And, from the dozens of layouts on offer, both Owners have opted for the standard three cabin-two head version that maximises the already generous accommodation space.
However, there are major differences in how each Owner has chosen to utilise and configure the cockpits on their yachts. Hull#203 will have a high-quality dodger, bimini, and infill to protect the 460’s expansive cockpit, while Hull#209 sports a T-top that shades the entire cockpit plus a wrap-around windscreen for extra security from the elements.
Hull#203 has a large fridge drawer handily located to port under the lounge, while the electric-powered swim platform is perfect for lazing on after a dip, launching a SUP or kayak, boarding the dinghy, or stepping onto a dock. Retractable dinghy davits will hold the tender underway but stay completely recessed and out of the way at other times.
Steve and Mary, Owners of Hull#203, very experienced sailors with decades of racing knowledge to draw on, were aboard when the sails were unfurled for the first time. With the reacher and full main giving a combined sail area of 142 m2 the 460 was reasonably powered-up in around 12 knots of breeze, but Steve told Windshift the rounded chines did their job nicely.
“It sits pretty flat,” he acknowledges. “There’s no excessive heeling like a full racing boat, and that’s good for the comfortable cruising we’ll mainly be doing,” Steve says.
He was also pleased with the combination of in-mast and furling headsails with four electric winches for quick and easy change of modes.
“It was so good to sit back and do it all from the cockpit. It (furling arrangements and powered winches) knocks ten foot off the top of the mast in sail-handling terms,” Steve estimates.
The 460’s desirable sailing qualities were similarly noted by SAIL magazine in its review: “The hull form permits a low ballast ratio while producing a spacious vessel that likes to sail flat, qualities that both sailors and guests appreciate.
Read the full SAIL review here:
Space is a major drawcard of the Hanse 460 with the big volume cruiser favourably compared to some 50 foot yachts. Steve agrees it’s an important consideration.
“Cockpit space is actually more useful than down below,” he argues. “80 percent of our time is spent up here, you only go down there to sleep. But the boat has plenty of both,” Steve adds.
Also high on Steve’s list were bow and stern thrusters. “With two thrusters, we can always put the boat where we want – no matter how old and weak we are,” he laughs.
Despite his misgivings, Windshift feels Steve will be in his element on a number of planned forays out of the blue including a 1200 nautical mile journey with family as crew, up the New South Wales and Queensland Coasts to Hamilton Island in time for his birthday in September.
“I’m blessed,” he confides. “I married a Kiwi and they will be in anything. She’s a sailor and she can fly, and ride motorbikes. I don’t need six mates out there, we can do it by ourselves but it will be nice to have some help,” he concedes.
With the ability to sleep up to eight people in comfort and sit on 8 -10 knots in the right conditions, their Hanse 460 will provide Steve and Mary with the best way of slaking
their thirst for adventure, with good company and in enviable luxury.
More information at:
