Hi Arthur and all,
I am the owner of my second Hans Christian 33. I am in love with the
boats. I believe they are the most intelligently designed
boats for
living aboard, and I trust my life with them in any
weather condition in any sea.
I have spent all my life sailing on most waters in the western/northern hemisphere. I am a licensed 100-ton
captain, and my summer job is to drive traditional gaff-rigged sailboats for passengers. I have crewed aboard or sailed everything from Maine's windjammers to Beneteaus and Island Packets and
Gib'Sea and Bristol Channel
Cutter, just to name a few. (All that just to offer some credentials for my opinion on my beloved HC33's.)
I bought an HC33 named
Dolphins and quickly experienced the brilliance of the naval architect who designed her. I could sail her with full
sails (full main, 90-jib and staysail) in 25-30 knots of
wind on Lake Champlain, on a close haul, and her center of gravity is so well balanced with her center of effort that she will sail herself without my hand on the
wheel.
In 2011, I set out on a voyage across the Atlantic. We got into several low-pressure systems, and besides being comfortable due to her weight and balance, I felt absolutely bullet-proof safe in her. From the
Azores to
Portugal, for eight days we were in 25 to 35 knots of
wind, and while any
boat in such conditions is not a Sunday picnic, we were
cooking full pots of goulash on her gimballed
stove.
As for the pullman berth, I LOVE it, especially in those conditions. Why are we still designing boats with the main sleeping quarters in the bounciest part of the
boat? The pullman berth, being close to the center of gravity, provides a quieter sleep. Plus, no playing footsies with your partner unless you want to. Also: why would you want to crawl across your fresh, pristine berth to access your muddy
anchor chain locker?
Alas, she burned shortly after arriving in the
Med. (An
alternator or starter wire worked its nut lose, and the continuous sparking dripped melting wire onto her
fiberglass oil catch pan, and the fire ran away from there.)
Afterwards, I looked at hundreds of boats online. I visited dozens. None of them offered what the HC33 offers. Not even the other Hans Christians did. In fact, I read several
reviews by owners of 33's who (suffering from three-foot-itis) moved up to 38's and they reported that they could not fit everything from their 33 onto their 38. The super smart
interior design allows for more
storage than any other boat of her size (and even those larger.)
For a
liveaboard, there simply is no better or safer boat.
No other 33-foot boat has (she is 33 on deck) all these amenities packed into one:
-
Shower separate from
head. (No getting your
toilet paper and everything else wet while you shower)
- Pullman berth with queen-size mattress
- Quaterberth with double mattress
- Semi-U-shaped
galley
- Fixed sea-water and fresh
water faucets
- Standing
salon table. (Due to the old fashioned idea of running the aisle down the middle, most tables have to be folded and unfolded.)
- A
salon in which I have entertained 8 comfortably. (12 on a squeeze)
- A top AND side access
icebox.
- A
motor that is at sole level and accessible from all sides.
- Built in, ELEGANT, (teak and copper mesh) bug screens for both hatches and
companionway.
- Hidden handrails lining the
cabin for rough
weather. (They line the sides to look like trim.)
- A nav desk. (Perhaps the only item which I sometimes wish were bigger, but I've gotten used to doing all my
work on the salon table.)
- As for up on
deck:
- The high bulwarks provide for unparalleled
safety while at sea.
- I appreciate that the
teak on
deck is cosmetic only. I don't have to keep up with the failing caulking if I don't want to. No owner I know of has ever reported the from-the-bottom-up fastening of the
teak to leak.
- Oversized standing
rigging to handle any condition.
- And I disagree on prior comment on
battery access. I always joke that I can hide 3 or 4 refugees in my
cockpit lazerette. I love my roomy lazerette.
- A foredeck large enough to stow my 10-foot
Avon for passages.
- A
anchor chain locker that will handle enough chain to encase the Statue of Liberty.
- Also: TWO
water tanks for a total of 80 gal. and a cruising
fuel tank size of 80 gal. AND: I love that they are buried in the
keel, adding all that weight to below the waterline giving additional stability to the ship.
I could go on. And gladly will if anyone wants to send me an
email at mr.dubilieratgmaildotcom.
In the end, I bought another Hans Christian 33. Her name is Phoenix (for obvious reasons.) I love her.
On both
Dolphins and Phoenix, the teak is untreated and grey. And she still turns heads wherever we are. I have varnished details, like the boomgallows and hatches, and a few other details.
-Mathias