Halberg Rassy - something a bit different

In fact it's got all the features that HR owners keep telling everyone else make a boat unfit for blue water cruising.

Fin keel, bolted on
Un-protected rudders
Un-protected prop and shaft
Light(ish) displacement at 13t
Fractional rig with aft-swept spreaders

How will they sleep tonight...
 
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mainsail1 said:
Yes, another company that looses it's way when the 'old guard' retire.
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It has to do something given the rapid decline in demand for its previous designs. Pretty sure it would not have gone down this route if there was still demand for its old boats.
 
Bobc said:
In fact it's got all the features that HR owners keep telling everyone else make a boat unfit for blue water cruising.

Fin keel, bolted on
Un-protected rudders
Un-protected prop and shaft
Light(ish) displacement at 13t
Fractional rig with aft-swept spreaders

How will they sleep tonight...
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All of this has been common on Rassy boats for over 25years, are you thinking of summat else?
 
I would say that they have taken out cost and widened the appeal. I doubt I would buy one even if I had the money. The saloon is not a great area to relax in For the same amount of money I would rather buy a Wauquiez 48DS. They are a similar price but for globe trotting purposes the Wauquiez is better laid out for relaxing and long term living on board.
 
Tranona said:
It has to do something given the rapid decline in demand for its previous designs. Pretty sure it would not have gone down this route if there was still demand for its old boats.
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My view would be that their decline started some years ago when they made the first steps along this route.
HR yachts used to stand for a certain type of go anywhere yacht. It seems they now want to compete with Benetoys.
A race to the bottom when they had a valuable brand image difference before. Their price point is bound to suffer and my guess would be that, five years from now, they will be gone.
 
Never mind the design, the sentence below won't have done few old duffers blood pressure any good.

-http://www.hallberg-rassy.com said:
Ropes from the mast aft to the clutches are hidden neatly.
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mainsail1 said:
My view would be that their decline started some years ago when they made the first steps along this route.
HR yachts used to stand for a certain type of go anywhere yacht. It seems they now want to compete with Benetoys.
A race to the bottom when they had a valuable brand image difference before. Their price point is bound to suffer and my guess would be that, five years from now, they will be gone.
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Not sure you are reading the market correctly. The new boats are not cheap nor intended to compete with the mass producers. The decline of the older designs (in my view) was because they were no longer meeting what buyers want. Just look at the entry lists for the ARC which reflect the fact that people have discovered that you don't need an older style heavy displacement boat for long distance cruising. The other Scandinavian builders of similar boats have been equally hard hit.

The reality is that buyers seem to prefer modern designs, even in the semi custom high price sector. So if HR are to survive they need to build what people want, rather than what buyers from the past wanted. The changes in the market are very similar to the 1970s when the traditional long keeled, narrow boats (often wood) were replaced by high volume, fin keeled GRP boats.
 
HR have realised they need to be more focussed on meeting the needs of the boat buying public at large. The buyers for specialised, rugged, 'go anywhere' new cruising yachts are too few and are better served by the small, niche (often aluminium) French and Dutch builders.

However most people are happy to cruise even long distances in roomy, light, airy, comfortable boats that can move in light to moderate conditions. Some of the people in this 'majority' of buyers are prepared to pay extra to get such a boat but built to a (perceived) higher standard than the higher volume producers. HR wants their money.

It's no different from the 4x4 market. Yes the Unimog or Toyota can be the basis for an admirable offroad expedition vehicle, but a lot of people's ambitions can be more comfortably served by one of the 'soft rovers'. They have all the performance that their owners 'need' with more comfort and better (perceived) quality than something from Hyundai, etc.

The new HR44 is a RR Evoque. People driving old Series III 109 Landrovers will tut and mutter into their half pint of craft beer, but they were never, and will never be the buyers of new vehicles. So why give a shit what they think.
 
Motor_Sailor said:
It's no different from the 4x4 market. Yes the Unimog or Toyota can be the basis for an admirable offroad expedition vehicle, but a lot of people's ambitions can be more comfortably served by one of the 'soft rovers'. They have all the performance that their owners 'need' with more comfort and better (perceived) quality than something from Hyundai, etc.

The new HR44 is a RR Evoque. People driving old Series III 109 Landrovers will tut and mutter into their half pint of craft beer, but they were never, and will never be the buyers of new vehicles. So why give a shit what they think.
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As a long term LR fan and current owner of an Evoque, I like that analogy :)
 
HR have produced some fairly odd boats recently, including the aft-cockpit version of the 372 with its silly helm position on the transom. The internal fittings have been simplified too, to save costs. One of our members has changed his 40-something for a much older 52 because of the better quality fittings.

On the other hand, HR have been very clever at reading the market. The generation which includes my 34 was considered a step too far by the old brigade at the time, so I expect the new boats to sell well, even if one or two features turn out to be unsuccessful.
 
Just look at the entry lists for the ARC which reflect the fact that people have discovered that you don't need an older style heavy displacement boat for long distance cruising
Read more at http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...ing-a-bit-different/page2#q5tjgs1E3R6zu1KH.99

Or an alternative view could be that people buy a modern design, lured by the designers blurb, only to realise that they are unsuitable for ocean sailing. They sell it and buy a higher quality heavier boat more confortable for living aboard and crossing oceans. All that assumes they go on sailing not having been put off by their experience in a modern hull in an ocean. They may decide to ship it back home because they cant stand the prospect of having to cross the Atlantic again in that modern boat better suited for marina living and entertaining friends. They tell their friends they hadnt got time to sail it back so they put it on a ship when really they dont want to admit that the boat isnt really the right boat for the far tougher trip home
 
geem said:
... Or an alternative view could be that people buy a modern design, lured by the designers blurb, only to realise that they are unsuitable for ocean sailing. ....
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That's a big claim, do you have data to back that up? Alternative opinions could be: it is perceived to be easy to go long distance cruising but in fact the reality is that it is quite a tough thing to do with considerable risk and that is what frightens people off after they have done a bit; or that it is boring and living in foreign climates is boring. Both these are just comments based on no analysis what so ever.

It is a fact that modern designs are being sailed all over the world quite successfully.
 
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