Hanse 461

2005 December 5
By Robert H. Perry

Performance cruiserr

This new 46.5-footer from Hanse was designed by Judel/Vroijk and is billed as a "performance cruiser." And given the specs and design pedigree I would think the boat deserves the performance cruiser label even if that label has been a bit abused over the years. No question the boat will be a sterling performer and with six different interior layouts to choose from there is a good chance you can find a layout that works for you.

It's a beamy boat with an L/B of 3.18. In the fashion of today, the ends are short and the stern is very broad. The high freeboard works to give interior volume but it's not particularly handsome. But I'm sensitive to freeboard comments these days so I would just say to try and appreciate the entire design before you pass judgment on the freeboard. The standard draft is 8 feet, 5 inches, the "middle" draft is 7 feet, 6 inches and the shoal draft model draws 6 feet, 4 inches. The D/L is 166.8. The drawings I have do very little to help us appreciate the hull shape.

The interiors were designed by Birgit Schnaase of Hamburg. In a nutshell, you can have either the two-stateroom layout or the three-stateroom layout done three different ways. The variations in the two stateroom layouts revolve around the head adjacent to the companionway and the configuration of the dinette. If you want two staterooms and a shower stall, the stall intrudes into the owner's stateroom but allows direct access to the head from the stateroom. The dinette can be an L-shaped settee with additional chairs on centerline or you can have a drop-leaf table and a straight settee to starboard.

In the three-stateroom layouts you can choose from two or three heads but there is no option for a shower stall. You can have your layout with two staterooms aft or forward. I'm not wild about any of these layouts. This size of boat with 14 feet, 7 inches of beam makes it hard for the designer to create a nice cozy saloon layout. The boat is just too beamy to have the dining area extend across the entire beam of the saloon but by breaking it into starboard and port distinct areas I think you lose that feeling of intimacy in the saloon. Maybe that's exactly what they were trying to do. In a charter situation it might be better to able to spread the guests out after dinner. The furniture opposite the dinette for all versions is used for the entertainment center. With the owner's stateroom aft this stateroom is palatial, yet the designers have thoughtfully left volume aft of the stateroom for a lazarette.

The cockpit is large and pretty typical of today's aft-cockpit boats. The twin wheels allow clear access to the swim platform and are a great place to steer. I suppose the high and thick coaming forward of the wheels is there to help provide headroom in the aft cabin. To my eye it looks like it will be difficult to step over. You will have to step on top of the coaming when you exit and enter the cockpit. There is a large anchor locker in the foredeck. Halyards and lines leading aft from the mast are hidden below a flush panel and led to a bank of rope clutches port and starboard.

The rig is fractional with swept spreaders and a self-tacking jib. This is where the flush deck forward really helps. There is nothing stopping running that self-tacking jib track clear outboard. This is usually impossible with a cabintrunk. I don't have rig dimensions but if I use the brochure's figures for self-tacking jib area and mainsail I come up with an SA/D of 22.59.

The 461 is built with an epoxy sandwich method and vacuum bagged.