Review of Hanse 312

Both the hull and the deck is made of fibreglass. A hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Both the hull and the deck is a sandwich construction which improves the indoor climate. Especially when the water is colder than the air in the cabin, then the double hull insulates against cold water and reduce the condense water in the cabin. The core material in the sandwich construction is balsa.

The boat is equipped with 5 berths, a galley, 100 liters (26 US gallons, 21 imperial gallons) fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

The headroom is above average

The Hanse 312 is built 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 gennaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.

The Hanse 312 has been built with different keel alternatives.

CentreBoard

One option is a centreboard keel. A centreboard 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.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 0.95 - 1.05 meter (3.12 - 3.42 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Fin keel with bulb

Another 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. The advantage of the bulb is that it lowers the center of gravity which resists heeling and reduces the draft.

This keel is also made of iron.

Hanse 312 can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.75 - 1.85 meter (5.74 - 6.04 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Fin keel with bulb

Yet another option is a fin keel.

This keel is also made of iron.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.40 - 1.50 meter (4.59 - 4.89 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 50 liters (13 US gallons, 10 imperial gallons).

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar diesel engine

The transmission is a saildrive.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Hanse 312 is 1.95, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Hanse 312 holds a 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 6.9 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 312 is about 173 kg/cm, alternatively 968 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 173 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 968 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Hanse 312 is 21.7 - 24.1.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 50% of all similar sailboat designs. This is an average comfort value!

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Hanse 312 is 2.95.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 69% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Hanse 312 is 32%.

This ballast ratio is higher than 12% of all similar sailboat designs. Since the ballast ratio and the righting moment (i.e. better ability to resist heeling) is strongly correlated, a ballast ratio significantly below average indicates a very low ability to resist heeling.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Hanse 312 is 229 which categorizes this boat among 'moderate racers'.

62% 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 312 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 17.1, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 20.0.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 62% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

The Hanse 312 has more rig than 100% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged.

As balsa wood is used as sandwich core material special care must be taken in relation to work that require penetration of the sandwich construction in order to to prevent water to get in contact with the balsa wood. Otherwise the balsa wood will eventually rotten and be expensive/impossible to repair.

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 25m² (269 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.

Keels with moving parts need to be inspected and maintained on a regular basis according to advice given in owner's manual. Manufacturers usually advise which maintenance work can be done by the owner and which work should be carried out by a suitably experienced boatyard.

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

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

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Hanse 312 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.