I have spent quite a lot of time sailing modern Hanse yachts and have to admit that the German builder has a special knack for combining comfort with easy performance sailing. I took a Hanse 50 across the North Atlantic with my friend Steve McInnis and found the boat to be comfortable at sea and so quick that we had to slow it down to ameliorate the motion over the aves.
The new 461 which Hanse is launching this year, is a rethink of the original 461 from 2005 and an upgrade from the existing 46. What they are offering is a hull with a massive amount of volume powered by a fractional self-tacking sail plan that will be easy for a couple or single watch stander to handle.
The key to this rig is the huge mainsail, a sail that will drive the boat at eight plus knots all day and will often be reefed at sea. The self tacking jib is good up wind and for downwind sailing you can have an asymmetrical chute or a Code O flying from the bowsprit.
The new design has the usual vast cockpit and a new beach club that is created wihen you fold down the stern swim platform. This is a space you’d find on a 60 footer.
The standard boat has a three-cabin, three-head layout with twin quarter cabins and a large master suite forward. But, as with all Hanse models, the builder offers the boat in a range of configurations that you can see and play with on their website with their “Configurator” app.
The forward cabin can be divided into two smaller double cabins, each with a head, and a crew cabin can be added at the aft end of the saloon. For chartering or expeditions you could get nine people aboard each with his and her own berth, assuming couples double up.
There are several details that set Hanse production boats apart and not the least is the builder’s decision to have the Danish firm Jeffa build the entire steering system –rudder, rudder post, quadrant, bearings, wheel and linkages—as unified system. Their quality is second to none and the system provides a lot of confidence for sailing offshore.
While the images available now do not show the boat with a dodger, Bimini or cockpit enclosure, these would certainly be added and will detract a bit from the design’s sleek and low profile styling. For our trip across the Atlantic, we even had a roll-down Isinglass flap on the back of the Bimini that offered great protection for the helmsman when running before a blow.
Like their immediate competitors Beanetau, Jeanneau and Dufour the new Hanse 461 is built to a price point, yet they manage to imbue their boats with a sense of style and quality that you might think would cost a lot more.
Well fitted out with ocean-going gear, the new 461 could certainly take you across an ocean.
https://hanseyachts.com/gb/sailing-yachts/hanse-461/
