1986 Hans Christian 33 Traditional

THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THIS BOAT HAS UNEXPECTEDLY PASSED AWAY. hIS WIFE SAYS SELL. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR QUALITY IN A WELL PROVEN CRUISER, BRIN US YOUR OFFERS NOW.

Designed by Harwood Ives and introduced in 1980, the Hans Christian 33 is the smallest in the family of sturdy double-enders offered by Hans Christian Yachts. Like all boats from the Hans Christian line of that era, the HC33 is a heavy displacement double-ender, solid and seaworthy. She oozes the traditional feel with extensive use of teak inside and out.

 At first glance you’ll notice the springy sheerline, large bowsprit and a cutter rig that’s become a favorite among blue water aficionados. Overhangs are quite moderate making for a long LWL for her size and a good hull speed. Below the waterline is a full keel with an aggressively shaped forefoot cutaway and a large rudder that’s hung at the very aft extremity of the boat. Compared to previous Hans Christian boats, the turn of the bilge has been tightened up and the HC33 carries more shoulder in the underwater sections which has resulted in more form stability (righting effort).

She was one of the more innovative boats at her introduction with an internal layout that utilized every nook and cranny that even today has yet to be surpassed. Ives, having designed the previous 38T, 38MkII and 43 moved the interior furniture outwards closer to the hull. The galley was located below the deck and molded fiberglass tankage (both water and fuel) was located in the keel cavity for stability.

What separates the HC33 from the larger boats in the Hans Christian line is her exceptional ease of handling, we’ve heard of a 90 year old skipper who sailed from San Francisco to Turkey with only one crew in tow. Given this and the massive amounts of cruising gear the HC33 can swallow, as much as the HC38 and even the HC41, it’s believable to hear of older owners offering straight swaps of their larger Hans Christian model for the HC33.

Under sail, she’s seakindly without the tendency to bounce or bob over waves and owners report hoving-to in relatively high comfort when the going gets rough. Fully laden at over 25,000 lbs in typical cruising trim there can be no expectation for fast passages yet the HC33 can perform well, you can expect easy 125 mile days in the trades and we’ve heard of a 7 knot overall average from Mexico to San Francisco via Haiwaii. On the lighter end of the wind spectrum, when Yachting Monthly took a factory fresh model for a boat test in flat water and 5 knots of true, they reported slipping along at 3 knots managing to tack through 95 degrees of angle and making 4.4 knots on a reach with 8 knots of wind.

History

The HC33 was commissioned by Hans Christian Yachts founder John Edwards around 1979 to replace the Hans Christian 34 and her unauthorized stretched sibling, the 36. Various disagreements over the two boats, not only with designer Bob Perry (who did not receive royalties for the bootleg 36 stretch) but also the Union boatyard that owned the molds meant a new 33 would be the easiest path out of strife for Edwards.

By then, Edwards had engaged a new designer, Harwood Ives, described as creative with an uncanny eye for lines, and shared Edwards’ love of traditional boats. Having designed the 38T, 38MkII, and the 43T in the direction set by Perry, the HC33 became Ives’ most technical design challenge to date, resulting in many clever innovations which helped set the course for many boats in what has been described as the “Golden Age” of Taiwanese boatbuilding. For Ives’ work on the Hans Christian boats, it’s interesting to note his payment was his own HC33 from the factory.

The first boats were built at Hansa Yachts Und Shifbau, a new yard located in Taiwan with state of the art facilities. The yard itself was built by former Hans Christian employee Herbert Guttler (a German engineer noted for his genius as a boatbuilder) and his Taiwanese wife, Susan. Hansa continued construction from 1980 through to 1987, the year Hans Christian Yachts ownership passed to its new owner Geoffrey White. Shin Fa Industries, a boatyard located in Taipei, Taiwan took over production in 1988 and these boats, although good, never match the exceptional quality attained by Hansa. 

  The yacht shown in this specification sheet is a one owner vessel sold to him by the current listing broker. The use of this yacht has been low with less than 600 hours on the Yanmar 3QM30 Diesel auxiliary engine. The only cruise was a trip tp Hawaii in the Pacific Cup race where she finished 4th in her class. The electronics include a new AH700 pilot that we tested for 4 hours non stop, a R20 Raytheon Radar that works perfectly, a hand held VHF that is excellent, a single side band radio that needs new antenna connections (Icom), weather fax. sat nav, and ;loran C. are still mounted but outdated. There is a 3 burner stove and oven in stainless steel. the original Stowe instruments are dated, and need to be replaced with more state of the art equipment such as a Raytheon Sea Talk system. . 

This boat is near ready for cruising and in excellent condition. The teak decks are solid and have been refinished. The teak is fastened into sold fiberglass so the thought of any deck core delimitation can be eliminated. Not many yachts can make that statement. Also the tanks are solid fiberglass, and are built outside of the yacht, and white color epoxy lined. We are not aware of any tank leak in the 33 other than one or two in the large inspection plates on the top of each tank. The fuel burn is a little less than .05 per hour and with 80 gallons of fuel at 6 knots, you can figure 160 hours of running and a range of 900 miles.

The interior of the yacht is in exceptional condition. The photos do not do it justice. The cabin sole is in exceptional shape. The interior varnish is flawless. The interior of this yacht in design was the finest of all the , what we refer to as “ pocket cruisers”. Where else can you find full storage under all the berths, and a lazarette that can house a small generator and water maker? Or for just comfortable storage.  Where can you find a boat this size with a stall shower in the forepeak with a covered head, vanity, mirrors, and storqge above and below that includes a stainless  steel sink and hot and cold pressure water and telephone cord style shower plumbing. The Pullman berth is the largest berth of this type of any of the Hans Christians, and offers massive drawer storqge under the berth and additional storqge for larger items. The starboard side hanging locker is huge. It has two doors and reaches to the port side inner hull. There is also  a shoe storage area under the floor of this locker and  an additional shelf outboard of the clothes hanging space.

The settee and dining area features an “L” shape settee with a fixed cabinet base with storage drawers. The dining table is large and seats for well. The galley is also very well designed with the typical Woody Ives ability to maximize the use of all available cubic space. The Microwave is installed above the galley drawers, and there is good storage in the area under the sink. The counter tops are marble and the galley features a double stainless steel sink with manual and pressure water pumps and bronze faucets and hand pumps. The 3 burner stove and oven is located to the port side. The refrigeration box is near 8 cubic foot and equipped with an Adler Barbour cold machine in top working order. This is a lock in style galley with aft tending peninsular which is as easy a galley to work in all conditions as any I have seen.

There is also the factor that all the fuel and water, (90 gallons of water) are in the bilge. Full this is around 14 hundred pounds of additional ballast that also works with the 6800 lbs. of iron ballast to create a much stiffer and more comfortable ride in all types of weather.

Although not considered a light air boat, you will be very surprised when you sail this boat when you see how well she does. Figure about ½ the wind speed up to 14 knots of apparent wind. This yacht has a near new full batten main and 120 Genoa that have seen very little use and are so new that I could barley hank it on to the rollerfurling head stay. These sails were custom built by Sobstad Sails in Sausalito California, and replaced the original sails that may still be around for back up if wanted. There is also a Triradial Sobstad 2.5 ounce Spinnaker with pole mounted but lift system, This sail was only used one time for the 13 day trip to Kawai Hawaii. There is also a preacher drifter of ¾ nylon with a reaching pole that deck mounts.

The bottom has had a full epoxy barrier coat 5 years ago and during the haul out in August 2011 there were no signs of osmotic blistering. Two coats of Petit Trinidad were applied with extra coats at the waterline and keel bottom. The rudder, strut bearing, void check were all done at this time, and the strut bearing was in top condition. No problems were found. The survey is available to serious buyers which was done in August of 2011. The rudder fasteners or gudgeons showed no sign of weakness.  

This boat is equipped with an exceptional amount of parts that the seller has accumulated over the years that would take a lot of money and experience to figure out. The seller is a retired race car driver and engine builder for all styles of cars, and is very familiar with the process of good yacht husbandry. This is the type of yacht that any person who loves the medium displacement, traditional style cruiser should own. I could go much further with the type of care and accouchements, but this is a yacht that needs to be seen. It is currently having all varnish done and decks are oiled to keep them in good condition.

There is also da full cover for this boat along with multiple covers for other qreqs of the yacht. The secert in keeping teak and varnish in good shape is to keep it covered. 

Make an appointment soon to see this exceptional yacht. It is by far a serious contender for all who love traditionqal sqiling yachts.