Review of Hanse 342

The hull is made of hand laid fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of hand laid fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

The boat is equipped with 5-7 berths and a galley.

The boat equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a genaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.

The Hanse 342 has been built with more than one type of keel.

One option is a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.

Another option is a centerboard keel. A centerboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.

The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated. As the surface of a fin type keel is just a fraction of the total wet surface, the difference between an iron keel and a lead keel can in reality be ignored for cruising yachts.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.85 - 1.95 meter (6.07 - 6.37 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Hanse 342 is typically equipped with an inboard Yanmar 3YM20 diesel engine at 21.0 hp (15 kW), which gives a max speed about 5.6 knots.

The transmission is a saildrive.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 80.0 liters (21 US gallons, 17 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Hanse 342 is 1.99, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Hanse 342 holds one CE certification:

The boat is by European Union certified as Class A. OCEAN:

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.4 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Hanse 342 is about 209 kg/cm, alternatively 1173 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 209 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1173 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Hanse 342 is 22.2.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 31% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just below average.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Hanse 342 is 3.04.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 66% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Hanse 342 is 182 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

79% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Hanse 342 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 19.4, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 22.6.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 85% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

The Hanse 342 has more rig than 93% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged.

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 36m² (387 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

Dimensions of sail for fractional rig.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Hanse 342 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.