I are currently in Germany and had a tour of the Hanse factory today. While there I spotted a nice looking 40 foot boat on the production line that I did not recognise. I was shown on board and told it is their new low cost no frills 40 footer that will sell for under 100,000 euro sail away (plus Australian tax and freight). The hull is the same hull as their old 40 footer with a new deck mould. No flashy teak decks or interior, just plain white but still looks a good roomy boat. (I was not allowed to take photos). If you are looking for a new low cost 40 footer this boat could be to boat to look at.
The factory was very impressive with boats up to 40 foot coming off the production line every 2 hours, though at the moment it is summer vocation time over here so they are at half production. The larger boats up to 68 feet are also rolling off pretty quick. The boat in the highest demand is the Hanse 455 with the next available build spot being July next year . It is easy to see why, as it is the roomiest 45 foot boat I have ever seen, and what's more it is easy to sail and has a good turn of speed.
Hanse has just released a new Hanse 588 which we saw at the factory. The 588 is basically the same as my 575, but has a slightly different living area to my boat. I would rather my layout as in the 588 you loose the big office chair and chart table / desk which I enjoy the comfort of when working. Instead you get another settee to seat more people. I can seat 9 people round our table, (as I probably don't have 12 friends I would rather my office desk.)
Both Deb and I walked out of the factory and we both said we saw nothing that we wanted better than what we already have. The bigger boats were nice but far to big and were basically motels on water which would be good for charter work where you want to sleep 10 people in comfort.
The thing that really impressed us was Hanse's build quality and the attention to detail.

Below is a new Hanse 588 loaded and ready to freight out tonight.

Thanks Jode5 for all that. im very interested to hear all this! theyre my favourite boats and its good to hear of the new models coming out!

Yes, thanks Jode 5 for the post.

I have emailed Hanse Australia to see if they can provide a bit more information about the low cost 40 footer.
Even adding tax and freight on top of $A150k, sounds like a good buy for a new boat of that size.
I would like to see the specs.

Cheers!

Is it a new model from their Varianta Range?

www.hanseyachtsag.com/de/yachten/segelyachten.html

I really like the Varianta 37, not sure what the landed price in Australia is, but it seems to be a game changer for someone who wants the privilege of owning a new yacht.

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AshleyM said..
I really like the Varianta 37, not sure what the landed price in Australia is, but it seems to be a game changer for someone who wants the privilege of owning a new yacht.

Unfortunately not everybody can afford new boats, but the good thing about so many new boats being sold at the moment means there will be a good supply of second hand boats available in the years to come. Most of the boats seam to be being sold to cashed up baby boomers whom have always dreamed of owning a yacht, but have never sailed. A lot of these boats will end up back on the market when the novelty wares off. The boats will have very little use and be on the market for a lot less than their original cost. My wife keeps telling me we will never get back any were near what we paid for out boat and I tell I don't care as you can't take money with you to the grave. In many years to come ( God be willing) some one will get my beautiful boat for a bargain.

Jode5, if you could stay fit and healthy for another 30 years, and keep your lovely yacht well maintained, that'd be great. I'm saving my pennies for you.

Yachting World Comparison Review

This might be one of your baby boomers Jode who was bedazzled by all that glossy gelcoat, and not so much by salt spray:

au.yachtworld.com/core/listing/cache/searchResults.jsp?man=Varianta+37

An 18 month old J/V designed production yacht from a quality yard, with everything you need, with a teak cockpit and furler upgrade, no doubt lots of other extras to boot, and all for an asking price of A$144,000. He might take A$130.

If I sold my rental property I could afford that, and I'm just an average man earning an average wage, although it would be a tight fit on my pile mooring at the Redcliffe Jetty.

Imagine what that boat will be worth when it is 10 years old? And to my mind it will be a very good boat in 8 1/2 years time as it is reasonably simple, devoid of many complex systems meaning less stuff to fix.

Capitalism works!

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FreeRadical said..
Yachting World Comparison Review

Would be nice to see a comparison test like this in open water. They had 20 knots but it was dead flat! Typical East coast NE day we have here in the summer months would be more interesting.