Hans Christian Owners - Are These Boats As Good As They Look?

[charliehows]

i'm finding myself looking at Hans C. 38s for sale a bit more often than i should be - they look like a damn nicely made, seaworthy boat. I'd like to hear from any owners of these - endorsements, dislikes, anything really.
thnx, charlie.

[Reefmagnet]

We don't own one, but we had HC's in our sights recently when boat shopping. Looked at a HC33, couple of HC38's and a HC43. Beautiful boats, but the thought of maintaining all that external Teak, especially on an older boat and not living aboard full time is somewhat daunting. This was the major factor that dissuaded us in the end. A few of other negatives for us (and not necessarily for others), though not deal breakers, were the cockpits of the 33 and 38 (odd shape and somewhat cramped) and the boats seemed to be somewhat underpowered enginewise for the most part. I did fall in love with a 43 but the vee berth just didn't do it for me.

I guess after looking at a few, I'd sum up my opinion by saying that they are an excellent bluewater cruiser but not a boat for weekend or coastal cruising, which I know is stating the "bleeding obvious". We've since fallen for the concept of centre cockpits, but I'd certainly revisit the HC for a full time liveaboard long distance offshore cruiser.

[HansSolo]

While Im sure they are not for everyone, my wife and I absolutely love our HC41. We have been liveaboards for 3 years now and can not be more pleased with the boat we chose. We looked at the 33's (best build quality of the lot and a tone of room for its size), 38's (great galley on the traditional, a modified full keel on the tellstar, and a pullman on the MKii, but poorest built as far as I could tell) and 43's (same great galley as the 38t with a bit more space) before we fell for our 41(designed to incorporate the best selling features of the 3 previously mentioned models including our beloved pullman berth as well as a modified full keel with a skeg hung rudder) . The 33's, 38's, 43's, 41's, etc were all built in different yards and build quality and practices can very significantly from model to model. I suggest that you take a look at the Hans Christian owners forum if you haven't already hanschristian.org. All of the external teak does seem to intimidate a lot of folks. However, we have been using Cetol natural teak for 3 years now and spend 2 half-days 2 times a year (4 half-days total a year) maintaining the teak.

[s/v Beth]

My dockmate owns a HC, I own a Valiant. Nice boats, but I like my in open water. Tends to seasaw less. I also worry about getting water over the stern. But he has been sailing 50 years and absolutely loves his HC. Each to his own I think.

[Cheechako]

My 38 was very well built, heavy. The interior wood work is impeccable. as mentioned the exterior teak is a PITA. I removed my teak decks in Trini , had the deck painted and layed down Treadmaster. A plus is that HC cored their decks with little squares so water migration is limited. I also replaced the forward teak hatch with a modern style hatch. The push pit is nice for storing stuff, propane fenders etc. The big "treasure chest" deck storage boxes look lovely, but are teak strips over cheap asian ply... by now most are likely rotten.
The boat wallows pretty bad going into a decent chop.
I would strongly recommend you find one with a good size engine. Mine had the old Yanmar 30hp... not enough. You need a higher hp engine to make progress thru any seas while motorsailing. A Perkins 4-108 50 hp would be about right.
I found the Pullman berth claustrophobic, hot and hard to get out of.
The tanks are buried under the furniture and could be a real issue at this point as these boats are getting pretty old. Be sure to check out how you would get them out of the model you look at.

[sneuman]

Originally Posted by HansSolo

While Im sure they are not for everyone, my wife and I absolutely love our HC41. We have been liveaboards for 3 years now and can not be more pleased with the boat we chose. We looked at the 33's (best build quality of the lot and a tone of room for its size), 38's (great galley on the traditional, a modified full keel on the tellstar, and a pullman on the MKii, but poorest built as far as I could tell) and 43's (same great galley as the 38t with a bit more space) before we fell for our 41(designed to incorporate the best selling features of the 3 previously mentioned models including our beloved pullman berth as well as a modified full keel with a skeg hung rudder) . The 33's, 38's, 43's, 41's, etc were all built in different yards and build quality and practices can very significantly from model to model. I suggest that you take a look at the Hans Christian owners forum if you haven't already hanschristian.org. All of the external teak does seem to intimidate a lot of folks. However, we have been using Cetol natural teak for 3 years now and spend 2 half-days 2 times a year (4 half-days total a year) maintaining the teak.

When I bought my Tayana 37, I looked at an HC33. The layout down below made it seem a good 4 feet bigger.

[Jim Cate]

For a alternative point of view, you might contact "Rebel Heart" for comments on his HC.

Jim

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

For a alternative point of view, you might contact "Rebel Heart" for comments on his HC.

Jim

Yes... some of the early boats were not built to later standards . Especially the....36?

[charliehows]

yeah - the external teak decking is an issue - had a few friends with deck leaks (not on h.c.s though) - the only effective cure seems to be 'rip it up and glass underneath' - LOT of work. Underpowered engine is definitely a consideration too. Thanks for the advice...charlie.