New Hanse 470e - sets new Cruising standards

by Media Services on 11 Sep 2006 Over the last two decades Europe has been the powerhouse of yacht building. One of the fast growing yacht builders Hanse Yachts is expected to produce more than 800 cruising yachts in 2006 and the brand is now significant around the world.

The new Hanse 470e was launched last month at the annual dealers meeting in Greifswald, Germany and convinced international experts of the advancement in development of the highly awarded Hanse 461.

Damien Goff from Australian distributor Windcraft commented today 'We are very excited with the introduction of the 'elite class' from Hanse.

'With Super yacht styling and super yacht feature in a production boat, the new 470e will once again lead yacht manufacturers into new territories.

'On deck, the clean lines reflect true future designs, low coach house, ropes all captive below deck and teak is standard.

'Below deck our German design team has optimised the interior to reflect style and comfort that would only be found in the most impressive architecturally designed homes.

'Our first order was accepted last week and the new owner will be on the water this coming summer'

In addition to the new Hanse 630e and Hanse 540e the new 470e is the smallest yacht in this luxury segment of Hanse, yet offers an exceptional amount of space for yachts of this size.

The luxurious interior using high quality materials (e.g Corian, leather, wooden surfaces), the generous and bright arrangement below deck and the exploitation of space with strategically placed cupboards and lockers actually enlarges the entire living area.

The large windows and hatches in the cabin roof provide a great deal of daylight below and underlines the light and modern internal design.

With three optional cabin combinations, Hanse’s typical ‚Individual Cabin Concept’, the new 470e provides space for a generous design and the comfortable arrangement of the high quality furniture in the saloon area. Individually adjustable upholstered chairs, covered with high-quality leather, are most notable features.

The deck and cockpit illustrate the new concept of Hanse's luxury class.

Halyards and sheets are fully integrated into the deck, the self-tacking jib track is counterset in front of the mast, all hatches flush with the deck, and a sprayhood which can be fully integrated into the cockpit threshold – are features, that result in an extremely tidy deck and lots of space.

Two free-standing, slim wheel pedestals and the elimination of the bridge deck make for a super functional cockpit and creates a real second living space on bord. The new, large swim platform in the transom is a special feature on the 470e.

Special attention was paid to the 470e sailing characteristics. Especially in light air the boat has a speed potential far above average. Like her taller sisters a T-shaped keel and a high performance steering system and self aligning rudder bearings contribute to a superbly balanced sailing performance.

'Ease of use’ in combination with 'easy living’ have been the guidelines for the HANSE design team. As a result all boats in the Hanse range allow safe and fast sailing even with small crew.

The cost is $599,000 landed in Australia with sails and full set of instruments and the new Hanse 470e is built in Epoxy. Hanse Yachts again sets a benchmark in terms of price-performance-ratio.

Specifications HANSE 470e

length: 14,19 m / 46’7'
beam: 4,46 m / 14’8'
draft: 2,60 m / 8’6' standard keel
2,30 m / 7’7' optional
7,95 m / 6’5' optional
displacement: 12,2 t / approx. 26,932 lb
total sail area: 124,00 m² / approx. 1,334 sq ft
design: judel / vrolijk & co

Although Hanse has made its name as a Cruising Yacht, the founder Michael Schmidt, known affectionately on the sailing scene as 'Schmiddel' is a highly regarded German racing sailor, having been the keystone of Germany’s 1985 Admirals Cup win with a boat designed by his long term friends at Judel/Vrolijk.

Schmidt had already successfully founded a major European yacht brokerage group when in 1992 he started Hanse Yachts at Greifswald, in the former East Germany. Thirteen years later, it's now the second largest yacht manufacturer in Germany and the fourth largest in Europe.

One of the cornerstones of the Hanse growth has been the strength of the yacht design, not unsurprisingly from the German/Dutch design team Judel/Vrolijk Engineering.

Friedrich Judel have had success in earlier days with famous boats like 'Dusselboot', 'Pinta', 'Outsider' and 'Rubin' and his design partner Rolf Vrolijk designed the Swiss yacht 'Alinghi'- Americas Cup winner in New Zealand.

In August 2005 Windcraft was selected as Dealer of the Year outside Europe and now Windcraft has been further rewarded with Distributorship responsibility for the South Pacific and South Asia.

Peter Hrones explained how it happened. 'Hanse has been growing at around about 150% a year, mainly with the bigger boats and now every 2 hours and 40 minutes a boat is completed.

‘Hanse’s sales orders in our third of the world have been extremely good in the last 18 months and we have now appointed our fifth and latest regional dealer in French Polynesia. We also have a number more of appointments we are expecting to make in 2006.

‘We have been asked on numerous occasions from both prospective buyers and owners what the resale value is like on Hanse Yachts. It has been commented that it is very high in Europe since the mid 90’s, but we’ve now completed an analysis of the Australian figures which show great strength in this area.

Interestingly, less than 10% have come back onto the market second hand over the last six years and many of the owners that have sold have upgraded to a larger Hanse.

To learn more about the Hanse range, phone Peter Hrones on (02) 9979 1709 or 0425 22 33 52 or visit the website www.windcraft.com.au


Windcraft: Bayview Anchorage Marina

Waterfront Office 5
1714 Pittwater Road
Bayview NSW 2104

peter@windcraft.com.au