How well does a Hellberg-Rassy 36 sail?

Whitelighter

Whitelighter

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Looking at chartering one for a few days in April. Just around the solent, maybe as far as Weymoth and I am trying to do a bit of passage planning (cos its dark, cold and wet and this is at least a little bit boaty).

The reason for choosing the HR is, out of the boats available, it has a centre cockpit which I think is best for two couples, but also I hope its a fairly heavy boat which will feel stable underway for SWMBO who got a bit put off sailing when we took a 33ft Beneteau out on Lake Windermere in windy ish conditions and I forgot we werent racing anything :eek:

She always found the family Moodys fun though so I am hoping the Hallberg is closer to those.

Thing is, I dont really know what to exppect performance wise. To get speed, will it need to be cranked over or is it best on a broad reach/running (as I suspect). The last boat I did any miles on was a Moody 31 with bilge keels and that seemed to sail pretty comfortably at 5.5knts in a decent breeze. Will the extra waterline length of the HR36 mean its a tad quicker, or will the extra weight be a leveller? Basically, what speed could I expect in a F3/F4?

For reference, the other boats available are an X-Yachts 37 (but that looks a bit racy) and a Dufour 34 (which looks a bit small for 6).
 
Good grief man! You need to ask that about a HR36! Brilliant boats - do everything you want and a bit more besides, and does it well! You will get 5 -6 knots comfortably in a fair breeze without having to hang on. I would go for one any day over the others you mention as a good solid all-rounder. Nice smooth motion when it gets rough: at least in a F8 off Beachy Head wind over tide she still didnt throw us around too much, and life aboard was still easily liveable. Ideal boat if your other half gets worried. Mine does too, but she loved the HR even in bad weather - pity it wasnt mine!
 
Dear me, dear me, people dont buy or sail HR's for speed, just go take a look at the joinery, lovely wardrobes they have.
 
Thanks everyone

I am of course aware of Hallberg's reputation, but having never actually sailed one I thought I would ask.

I know they arent built for speed, but comfort is the main thing. I just wanted to know if they were a plodder or not. It seem its the right choice, and Hamble to Weymouth (the longest and first passage) should be doable in a day - given the right conditions of course
 
Not sure of the age of the HR that you will be chartering but a tip that maybe of use..........
Keep an eye on the toilet / seacocks, it is not unknown for them to back fill if the seacock is left open. The fitting of anti siphon loops does not appear to be a factory standard fit, any weakness is the joker valve on the pump is soon very evident! Be particularly careful whilst sailing!
I speak from experience on this one, now resolved with anti siphon loops!
 
Another option?

We are about to charter a yacht for a holiday, with a couple of non sailing ladies, and have settled on a 43' catamaran.

They appear to be stable at rest, stable at anchor and fast underway. The twin motors make close quarter handling easy.

BTW the HR's are great boats.
 
Pal of mine has a Rallberg Hussy 36 in Lymington, and I have been sailing on her a couple of times - just potters in the Solent, but I thought she was gorgeous, very comfortable, beautifully finished, stiff and stable, and with a fair turn of speed.
 
When I was last looking for a boat I considered the HRs both 34 and 36. The UK dealer who was very helpful made it clear that the 34 was a much better sailing boat with the 36 being more towards motor sailer, a comment that was confirmed by the examples I saw fitted with thrusters.

So I think you are looking at Oceanis rather than First if I can put it that way. The 36 will certainly trundle to where you want to go but it wont do it that quickly.
 
There's not a lot wrong with an HR 36's speed, though they are slower for their size than my 34. Some of them with clapped-out furling mains are going to be slow, but one with a decent set of sails will be fine. You should be able to cruise at 6 1/2-7 knots under sail or motor and will certainly be comfortable. A few years ago I met a delivery crew from a 36 who'd just got back from Sweden. When they got into a force 9 in the North Sea they had to put the owner ashore and then continued happily on their way.

A force 3-4 will hardly be worth getting out of bunk for. Even my 34, which is actually quite good in light airs, only starts to feel like a boat in 5-6 on a reach.
 
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johnalison said:
There's not a lot wrong with an HR 36's speed, though they are slower for their size than my 34. Some of them with clapped-out furling mains are going to be slow, but one with a decent set of sails will be fine. You should be able to cruise at 6 1/2-7 knots under sail or motor and will certainly be comfortable. A few years ago I met a delivery crew from a 36 who'd just got back from Sweden. When they got into a force 9 in the North Sea they had to put the owner ashore and then continued happily on their way.

A force 3-4 will hardly be worth getting out of bunk for. Even my 34, which is actually quite good in light airs, only starts to feel like a boat in 5-6 on a reach.
Click to expand...

I think this is where so many people miss out and why you see so many boats motoring or motorsailing.

To my mind unless you have a boat that can still sail at a reasonable speed in light winds on a nice summer day (we do have them) then you are missing out on some of the most pleasurable times. Far too many boats IMO are under canvassed and in-mast mains make that even worse with effectively the first reef in before you start as compared to a normal main. This is where you get all the comments like 'really stiff in a blow' or 'no need to reef until F5-6' that tend to suggest that anything else is a tender lightweight come from. Pretty well anything will sail in a narrow wind band around F4-5, the trick of a really good design is to spread the pleasure band from F2 to F8.
 
My boat passes a lot of boats in light winds as it has a good sail area, but my attention-span has deteriorated badly as I've got older.
 
I once did a delivery trip on an HR36 from the yard in Sweden to Hamburg, via the Kiel Canal.

Lovely boat, almost certainly the nicest I've ever been on.

It was some time ago now and I don't have any specific memories about performance, either particularly amazing or particularly bad.

Only tip I have if SWMBO is of the potentially seasick type rather than just nervous - the centre cockpit is a long way from the gunwhale and it's not necessarily trivial to chuck up over the side. As soon as it got at all rough on that trip the owner rigged a bucket in the cockpit for his wife.

Pete
 
The PY handicap of an HR 36 is 1021 whereas that of an HR34 is 949 - in other words the 34 is 7.5% faster than the 36 on average. The 34 is a fairly quick boat on a par with a Westerly Storm for example, whereas for a 36 footer the HR36 is fairly slow.
 
I've chartered an HR36 a couple of times. They feel big & solid and will move ok if there's enough wind, but they're not that quick to windward.

Ask the charter company for tips on handling her in the marina. They've a distinct kick in astern. Ok when you know what's going to happen next and have thought about your escape, but could be a shock if unexpected.
 
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