The deck gear and layout is traditional. One only hopes never to want to fit another deck hatch. Photographs by Patrick Roach commissioning tares place in the agents’ country. Needless to say, to protect their reputation, Hans Christian choose their Hans Christian 33 agents carefully and building is supervised Finished with all the opulence of a 1920s classic, this is a closely. Maxwell International are the UK im- yacht which will stand out in a crowd porters of the Hans Christian range, and the AIWAN HAS MADE major inroads modern, aiming to achieve the best of both yacht is fitted out by Elephant Boatyard at T into the US boatbuilding market over worlds. The keel is set a long way aft, with Bursledon, with Spencers dealing with all the last 10 years, and one company with a the rudder fully supported. The hull is, in rigging work. higher profile than most is the Hans fact, quite shallow with a hard turn to the The hull and deck of the HC33 are a solid Christian organisation, which builds a bilge (giving significant form stability) and laminate, the bulwark join being filled with series of traditional, moderately heavy surprisingly fiat run aft. The ends are full resin and capped with teak. The bulwarks displacement double-enders. The boats and overhangs minimal, offering good are also skinned with teak. The deck is have enjoyed steady demand over the waterline length and therefore potential overlaid as standard, and further teak strips years, but now the strength of the pound speed. This hull is topped by a generous are laid into recesses in the moulding on the sterling against the US dollar has meant that cutter sailplan. coachroof. The yacht felt very substantial the market has suddenly widened in this throughout. country. Construction The Hans Christian 33 is the smallest in The construction of the Hans Christians is Below decks the range. Introduced in 1983 and with 138 interesting in that they are moulded and the Going below from the tongue and grooved built, she has proved very popular. The interiors fitted out in Taiwan, but the panelled cockpit, one begins to realise the dominant feature in the Hans Christian’s remaining 40 per cent of the building and amount of work that goes into the HC33’s design, and particularly fitting-out, is View from the companionway, looking down on the panelled, all-varnished, tradition-- the builders state that aesthetic saloon and generous galley character is as important as practical qualities. Items and features not seen aboard production yachts for 30 years resurface on the Hans Christians -- brass and leather- bound gallows, pinrails, chromed dorade cowls and wooden skylights, not to mention a bulwark nearly a foot high surrounding the deck. Combined with a wealth of chunky varnished teak (decks are laid, of course), plus extensive use of custom-made bronze hardware, the impression on the exterior is of the ideal safe, long-distance cruiser as defined by Hiscock, but 25 years ago. The modern-thinking yachtsman would argue that things have come a long way since then. The design of the HC33 is by Harwood Ives and is a blend of traditional and the traditional wood finish) being the excellent design and layout of the ground enormous double berth forward, measur- tackle, the 45 lb CQR self-stowing on an ing some 66in wide. The accommodation is enormous bronze bow roller alongside the almost open-plan, and this comfortable bowsprit. double berth is situated adjacent to a passageway rather than in a cabin of its Under sail own. Again, the aftercabin has no door or Our sailing trials of the Hans Christian 33 privacy. were frustrated by light and variable winds, With full ends and long waterline, the in which we didn’t think she’d excel. The forecabin is spaciously laid out as a heads yacht gives the outward impression of with separate shower compartment and weight, power and seaworthiness, and we marble basin. With the inevitable damp of had somehow expected that she would the shower, plus the motion in a foc’s’le- need a breeze to get her moving well. situated heads, one might question the However, setting the mainsail, boomed practicality of elaborate teak cabinetry in staysail and No 1 headsail, she slipped this area. along making 3 knots in 5 knots of true Stowage throughout the boat is very wind easily when closehauled, tacking good indeed (although it tends to be in through 95 degrees. Cracking off, with the cavernous areas that need dividing up), and apparent wind dropping, she still main- this was particularly so in the galley. tained 3 knots. With the wind up a smidgin The galley will please most cooks, with to 8 knots true, she made a steady 4.4 knots construction (neither can one ignore the plenty of work surfaces, large twin sinks, on a reach. Later, the wind dropped to a prospect of maintaining it in the future). and ventilation from two opening ports. barely discernible 2-3 knots but, surpri- Nowhere is there a plain sheet of varnished The icebox is better than most we see, with singly, she still ghosted along quite con- plywood, all bulkheads and furniture are the sensible alternative of either top or side tentedly. The steering has a good deal of beautifully finished in a narrow tongue and openings. weight in it, but it is in the system itself (a groove effect (in fact each piece is indi- The aftercabin has a berth which, at 44in bronze-pedestalled cable system fabricated vidually screwed in place), which gives a wide, doesn’t quite make a double but is by the Taiwanese builders) rather than any superb traditional atmosphere. One could certainly a wide and comfortable single weather or lee helm. never criticise the visual finish -- it is extending under the cockpit. exemplary throughout -- but delving a Under power little deeper behind lockers and linings On deck Under power, the Hans Christian cruises at revcals that these standards are not main- On deck, the Hans Christian bristles with 6-6 knots, making 7 knots fiat out. The tained throughout. tradition and strength. The bulwark gives pronounced cutaway forefoot makes itself All the oval-shaped opening ports are the deck a purposeful feeling, with meaty felt in the yacht’s manoeuvrability under polished bronze, and the traditional sky- over-sized stanchions supported by two power, which is very good indeed, spin- light, with grills, offers just the correct bulwark strongpoints. The pushpit wraps ning on a sixpence at slow speed. The big amount of natural lighting. around a teak grating platform/bumpkin, rudder and big propeller immediately in Refreshingly, Hans Christian have and the pulpit offers rails for the bowsprit front of it makes turning easy with a swift started with a clean sheet when it comes to (which conforms to the deep-sea thinking jab ahead, helped by the yacht’s inherent the accommodation plan, and the com- of following the sheerline rather than being ability to carry her way. bination of generous beam plus a short (but parallel to the waterline). The bumpkin correspondingly wide) cockpit has resulted platform and bowsprit take the overall Conclusions in very spacious living quarters. Inevitably, length up to 41 ft (12.6m); no problem when It is an interesting fact that the majority of with a company who cut their teeth on you’re heading off for blue waters, but Hans Christian class yachts to bc bought larger boats (with 38-, 43- and 43-footers), likely to be expensive in marinas when here very soon head offon long voyages. In they have scaled down many of the features home waters cruising. this day and age of plastic consumerism, the from hcr bigger sisters, in particular the We found the foredeck cluttered, partly Hans Christian stands out as a monument enormous double berth forward. The only because of the staysail boom which divided to traditional values and looks. She is not a drawback to this is a saloon which isn’t its already small area in half, and secondly particularly practical boat -- mooring large by any standards, with a fixed table by a heavy varnished rope box which charges will be expensive and maintenance which will only scat four people, plus two claimed a lot of deck space. These, a nightmare if allowed to slip. But when it more eating on thcir laps. combined with massive mooring bitts and comes to pride of ownership, clearly Hans Thc accommodation is otherwise spa- the windlass, made the foredeck an uneasy Christian have cornered a market where cious, thc most striking feature (other than working place. This was in contrast to the traditional aesthetics are more important than boring practicality. GP.