Hello

[Oscar van Loveren]

Greetings, I'll keep it short. A lifelong sailor, raised in the Netherlands, in USA since 1982, my current "yacht" is a Catalina 250, berthed on a trailer in my driveway in Bethlehem PA. When business in the airline industry improves, I hope to buy a larger, and more seaworthy ship. There's something about these HC's that just won't let me go.....and, several models came with a 3 cabin (as in 3 sleeping quarters plus salon) layout. This is a non negotiable requirement from the Admiral. (Two kids...boy-girl)
I was encouraged to find this site. There is a very active site for the 250, and I know what a help it can be.
The question is, is there a comprehensive primer to be found anywhere, or do I just spend time reading the threads here untill I complete my education? Thanks, Oscar. oscar@noln.com

[Lewis Whitesell]

Oscar,
You may find it helpful to go back to the "home" page and then click on "brochures". There are some original brochures for some different models on this link. The best way to look over boats and to get descriptions on them is to visit <A HREF="http://www.yachtworld.com" TARGET="_blank">www.yachtworld.com</A>, boats for sale, used, sail, Hans Cristian and leave the rest of the fields blank. You may find some info on <A HREF="http://www.hanschristianyachts.com" TARGET="_blank">www.hanschristianyachts.com</A>, that is, if they have paid their server bill. The 38T has a vee berth (double), a quarter cabin (double) and some have a single open quarter berth behind the nav station. Probably won't please the Admiral. Some other folks will help you with their prospective models. I was smitten by them in a similar fashion. Still am. Ready to welcome you to the fold. Regards,
Lewis

[John Barker]

Oscar, I used to own a HC 39 pilothouse cutter. I chose it because I also needed 3 separate, and private, cabins, with full doors, and a large settee area. I also wanted lots of fuel and water capacity, and with 250 gallons of diesel on board and 170 gallons of good water this boat was perfect for me at the time. These are rather rare boats since only nine were made of the 39' version. This version has the same hull and sailing characteristics of the HC 38T (full keel without a cutaway forefoot). HC also produced the pilothouse in a 44' version which is a real ship, complete with workshop. I believe that 12 of these were produced. The pilothouse does increase heel in a blow, which means that you just have to reef sooner. It acts like a sail, and I have "sailed" into my slip using the windage from just the pilothouse. During hurricane Dennis a few years back I was in my pilothouse berthed next to a HC 38T (WINDSONG) and I was definately at a greater angle of heel than she was, but it was still not bad and rather comfortable. Our family needs have now changed and we are looking at HC 33's. Best of luck. Once you sail a HC you will be forever hooked by the salty beauty and strength of these boats. John john.barker@rtp.ppdi.com

[John Barker]

Oscar, Another thought for you. Join HCOA (money well spent!) and then look through the other material on this site. The list of members, in the members only section, shows a wide variety of HC's that you may not otherwise know about. John john.barker@rtp.ppdi.com

[Oscar van Loveren]

Thank you, I think I will join. I have indeed spent a lot of time on Yachtworld.com (the Admiral can recognize the screen from fifty feet, but then joins me... It seems like the 43T is of most interest at this time. I like the flexibility of the ketch rig, and most of them have the required third cabin. I've noticed some boats with the "Telstar" underbody. How does it compare to the full keel? Also, I know all boats eventually will blister. (It doesn't scare me.) Some just more than others, some a lot. (Like Valiants for instance.) How does the HC fit in here? Is it the usual years (81-86) and to what extent have folks experienced the problem? Thanks, Oscar. oscar@noln.com

[John Barker]

Oscar; Nice choice! I still dream of owning a HC 43 ketch...now you'll get me in trouble with MY Admiral!:-) I had blisters, but I just fixed them and it was not a problem. I don't know of any Hans Christian that has ever had a serious delamination problem. Good luck,
John john.barker@rtp.ppdi.com

[Lewis Whitesell]

Oscar,
From what others say, the Telstar keel allows better windward performance and more turning agility along with a lower wetted surface area. Others can tell you more about performance. My stance, being mostly a Chesapeake Bay sailor, is that it is a crab pot catcher and there are an enormous number of pots there, they are everywhere. I would not cruise in a fin keeled or cutaway skeg boat in those waters for that reason alone (and those crabbers are having a hard enough time now as it is, we shouldn't be making it harder on them).
If you are in heavily potted water a lot, it might be a consideration especially if you like to night sail like I do. With a full keel 38T I can sail right over them and have never caught a single pot, I avoid them when motoring but I am sure that, over the last 20 full keel years, I have motored over some- no snags there either. To me, this consideration is second only to running aground (which I have done a couple of times over the years, they say if you are on the Chesapeake and claim to never having run aground, then you are a liar or you keep you boat in the slip!)
Where would you keep it? Best,
Lewis

[Stephen Carstensen]

I think you can find 41' ketches with 3 cabins as well. Look at the Brochures section to view the many layouts the 41 had. I think that the main cabin and master birth on the 41 are more livable than 43, just In My Humble Opinion (IMHO). I've sailed the Telstar underbody on a 43T and it was a witch to weather, inside 30 degrees according to the Brookes and Gatehouse... Our 1986 33 had a couple cosmetic blister near the bottom of the keel. These were discovered on the first haul (18 months), repaired and never came back nor have we had any others. I think the first couple layers are hard to get into the keel and someone missed. These were very shallow. I've seen a 38 blistered heavily all around the water line. So many different yards, it might be hard to make a generalization. I'm not sure if all boats eventually blister. But when we made our initial repairs we left it out for 6 weeks under a heated tent and checked with a moisture meter. When it was dry and repaired we did the epoxy barrier coat system by Interlux. Best, Steve
HC33T #123 warmrain@rockisland.com

[Tom &amp; Sue Friend]

Welcome to HCOA, Oscar! Since you are in the airline industry, perhaps you can take advantage of cheap flights and come visit our rendezvous events next summer. You will get the chance to visit many different boats all on the same day, and talk to us candidly about our experiences, all without the spin of a broker. If you are ever headed to the Seattle area, drop us a line. We will gladly open up Mystique and our experiences to you. SVMystique@centurytel.net

[Oscar van Loveren]

Yes, the Chesapeake is, right now, where a lot of my sailing is done. So far I've avoided catching a pot, but I've watched friends go overboard to untangle the mess. Yes, I have run aground here too, but I did it very carefully and got off without help... Thanks for the insight. oscar@noln.com

[Webmaster]

Another Opinion,
We have a 38T with a Telstar keel. It really is not a true fin keel. I do not think the cutaway will catch much of anything on the HCs.I have not caught any of the hundreds of lobster pots of Point Loma, SD as of yet. The reason is the cutaway in the aft section of the keel leaves only a small gap for stuff to jump up into the "Skeg". The skeg is really the remaining section of keel not cut away from the full keelers. Additionally the angle on the leading edge is fairly steep wich will also aid in not catching anything. Lastly the rudder has no open hinged areas as a typical sked hung rudder does. With only a modest apeture for the prop there is little to get hung up on. The design is very well thought out and is based on Ted Brewer's keel designs. The "Brewer Bite" as it is known is a compromise on the true skeg hung rudder design. It is intended to reduce wetted surface and increase long keel performance with out sacrificing the security of the keel hung rudder. webmaster@hanschristian.org

[Lewis Whitesell]

Great Oscar!
We're building a pretty good HCOA constituency on The Bay, our numbers are growing, sincerly hope you will join us! Watch out Left Coasters, here we come!
LW

[Joe Millsaps]

Tom and Sue, Where does the rendezvous take place? millsaps@3di.com

[Lewis Whitesell]

John,
I'm glad to hear that there are no apparent "pot" problems with the Telstar.
What are the depths where these pots are set, off of Pt. Loma?
There are times when I would really appreciate the increased weather performance of the Telstar!
LW

[Webmaster]

The depth is vastly different out here. They place the posts in 20 - 100 feet of watter mostly around the kelp forests. This is another potential hang up out here. The telstar keel glides over kelp as well as a modifed full keel. I have sailed true fin keelers out here with less luck. Since I too have spent many years on the Ches, I know how much worse it really is with the millions of crab pots. And the groundings. I had plenty of experience getting caught by both. But I truely believe even with the very shallow waters the Telstar keel is not much more likely to get hung up by pots. So Lewis is it Snowing there. Just talked to my mom in Leesburg, north/west of Frederickburg. She said she has already shoveled the drive. webmaster@hanschristian.org