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48° North Test Sail: Hallberg-Rassy 43 by Richard Hazelton |
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An all new boat by Germán Frers improves on the proven HR 42 Hallberg-Rassy has long been noted for building strong, efficient cruising yachts, just ask well known cruisers John Neil and Amanda Swan-Neil, who sailed their Hallberg-Rassy 42 extensively before moving up to a 46. Now Hallberg-Rassy has come out with the 43 which they consider an improvement over their already proven HR 42. "Bigger" and "better" are words found throughout their brochures, but unlike many boat manufacturers who throw out those words loosely in regards to other boats, Hallberg-Rassy is comparing the new boat to an already established hull which is one of their own. We hit one of those two hour weather windows in April and enjoyed a test sail on Elliott Bay with Jan Place, Brad Baker, and Pete McGonagel. With a pleasant breeze out of the south, and the ferries providing the ocean swells, we headed across the bay. Before putting the sails up, however, we stopped for a while and played with the bow-thruster. I'd never been on a boat with a bow-thruster and was intrigued to see how effective it actually was. We rotated right, then left, and it was obvious that in close quarters this would be a very useful tool. At around $3,500, I'm not sure how much it would benefit the offshore cruiser, but for those harbor hopping from marina to marina, or just for getting in and out of the slip, it is one of those luxuries that I'm sure would become an accepted necessity over time, sort of like cell phones. Time to raise the Elvstršm sails. We had a fully-battened main which was hoisted at the mast. All lines were operated and stored on the winches so on this boat, you need to go forward to raise the main and for reefing. Security for sailors at the mast is provided by mast pulpits, or "Granny bars" as HR calls them, for mast work in more challenging conditions. However, most buyers of HR 43s are opting for Infurl system for furling the main. The main traveler is mounted on the aft deck behind the center cockpit, within easy reach of the helm and controlled by two Lewmar 40 CST. The jib unwound off the Selden furler and we were sailing. The whole process only took very little time for this size of boat. We had a crew of four, but a couple could have easily done the same process in the same amount of time. After a few adjustments the boat was comfortably balanced, effectively sailing herself. She tracked well but with her rudder located far aft, she is surprisingly responsive. Next we put up the gennaker or cruising spinnaker. The tack is mounted on an ingeniously simple little curved bowsprit that just slides into place when needed. This gets the tack of the sail out front, clear of everything else and enables you to jibe by just flying everything around the outside. Again we trimmed up nicely, moving well for the wind, with the boat taking minimal effort to keep on course. The steering is a Whitlock progressive rod steering, which is a fancy way of saying rack and pinion. This was a nice time to enjoy a doughnut and gaze at the other nice touches on the yacht. The cockpit combings are higher than previous HR's to provide better protection in the cockpit. This would seem to make it a bit harder to get into the cockpit except that a "step" has also been added which eases access to the cockpit as well as providing a platform for the Lewmar 52 CST sheet winches. I often mention that boats are "clean" on deck. This means that there are not a lot of lines, winches, blocks and miscellaneous equipment on deck for you to trip on or stub your toes in warmer climates. The HR is very clean. Even the cleats are molded into the cap rail. Coupled with the inboard shrouds and track, this leaves a clean, uncluttered path down the side of the boat. The stations are reinforced by mounting a steel rod into the hull onto which the stantions themselves are placed, greatly increasing their integrity. There is ample space aft for clear access to the integral swim-step/stairs stern or whatever you'd care to store on-deck. The boats come with a windshield and either a hard or soft dodger. Our boat had a hard dodger which I would highly recommend for anyone in the northern latitudes. It really wasn't very noticeable when we were sailing and would provide welcome cover in inclement (or in the case of northwest sailors—usual weather). The HR 43 is a modern yacht using modern building techniques. Here are some details on the construction which we'll take from the manufacturers comments for accuracy. "The GRP hull and deck are laminated in Kungshamm, Sweden. Laminate construction of isophtalic gelcoat and isophtalic polyester is used. Hand lay-up method, insulated above waterline with Divinycell PVC-foam against heat and cold. The GRP hull is reinforced with a grid structure at floor level to give it increased stiffness." Heading down below, the light mahogany matt finish gives a rich and warm interior. You can also get it in teak. Drawings show two interiors available, but this owner had created his own combination with the bench seating on the starboard side, and the double berth with seating in the aft stateroom. Usual options are two chairs on the starboard side in the salon with a double berth with seating in the aft cabin, or bench settee on starboard side in main salon with a double-double berth aft. Confused, let's just say the builders are flexible. The galley on the starboard side, is efficient and seaworthy, with optional counter tops of laminate, Corian®, or even marble. The teak and holly floor, which is covered with carpet throughout the boat, is left bare here for easy clean up of those occasional galley geysers and spills. Across from the galley is a real navigational area. In other words, it's not shared seating with the salon settee as in some boats, but a separate area where getting the boat from A to B gets full attention, much preferred by ocean navigators. Heading aft through the walkway on the port side we pass the access doors to the engine compartment which houses the Volvo 55 HP, freshwater cooled engine. There is also ample room to install a generator if desired. There's even a "refrigerator" light that comes on when you open the door. The aft stateroom on this boat had curved seating next to the double bunk. Very attractive and practical, with headroom and leg room to get those warm duds on and off. The head has shower, sink and toilet. Speaking of showers, water from the showers are not drained into the bilge but go directly overboard through a vented loop. Forward of the nav-station on the port side is a traditional L-shaped settee with a double drop leaf table for dining. The head up forward has the same shower system. It can be accessed from the main salon or forward cabin separately. There is a standard vee-berth up front with nice cabinetry. In fact, one thing you don't really notice when looking through the boat but is apparent when looking at drawings of the interior layout is that almost the entire boat is lined cabinets or lockers for storage. I counted over 30. In doing these reviews I always try to find a few things that I don't like to lend credence to the review and so it's not just a rehash of the manufacturer's brochure. But I must say, after sailing the boat, the little things I found weren't worth mentioning. What I did find were the many little things incorporated from years of experience in building ocean going yachts. With the HR 43, Hallberg-Rassy has done far more than just make a bigger HR 42, a fine boat in itself. They've incorporated lessons learned from the HR 42, coupled them with a top designer and come up with a new boat, many of which I expect will soon be seen sailing the oceans and bays of the world. Thanks to Jan Place, owner of West Coast Yachts of Seattle, for providing the Hallberg-Rassy 43 and the doughnuts. ... on to page two specifications and more photographs |