Practical Boat Owner – June 2019

Hallberg-Rassy 34

1990

This boat is sufficiently large and sturdy to
take you almost anywhere, while being
small enough to be easy to handle and
avoid the properly expensive bills that big
boats invariably attract. The German Frers
design retained classic HR lines and
attributes including the fixed windscreen,
but combined these with a powerful spade
rudder, deep low centre of gravity keel
and finely balanced hull shape.
The result is a quick boat with flawless
handling. For ease of handling all halyards
and reefing lines were led aft to the
cockpit as standard. Interiors were fitted
out to a very high standard, with well
organised stowage, two double cabins, a
proper chart table and large galley. While
the layout is unashamedly modern, it’s
also configured to be safe and easily
worked at sea.
A 16-year production run saw a
continuous progression of improvements
that increased space below decks and
further improved both ergonomics and the
standard of fit out. Almost 500 boats had
been sold by the time this model was

Beneteau Oceanis 400

1991

The second generation Oceanis range

had more conservative styling than the

original, but proved even more popular

with both private owners and charter

fleets. The Oceanis 400 provided what

was then seen as very impressive

accommodation for a boat of this size, yet

pricing was surprisingly modest.

Both aft cabins were unusually spacious

for the era, with plenty of space to move

around. However, the real selling point

was the owner’s suite, which takes up the

entire hull forward of the main bulkhead.

There’s an offset double bed to starboard,

with stowage below, plus hanging lockers

and a small sofa to port, along with a full

replaced with the Hallberg-Rassy 342 in

2005, although the HR36 that was

launched a year before the 34 sold in even

higher numbers.

It’s perhaps not surprising that the HR34

has held its value remarkably well, though

boats that are in need of a replacement

teak deck should be priced accordingly to

allow for this.

Hull length 10.28m 33ft 9in

LWL 8.69m 28ft 6in

Beam 3.42m 11ft 3in

Draught 1.85m 6ft 1in

Displacement 5,300kg 11,684lb

Price £70,000-£90,000

hroa.co.uk

two metres of floor space. Right forward is

a large and well appointed en suite heads

and shower compartment.

A relatively small sail plan for its size

limits speed in relatively light airs, and the

shallow draught hinders performance to

windward. However, the 400’s long

waterline helps with speed on a reach in

stronger breezes.

This model morphed into the Oceanis

411 in 1997, which had an elongated

transom to accommodate a larger bathing

platform, as well as many small interior

improvements. These changes went

down well and the revised model sold 250

examples in the first year alone.

There was also a centre cockpit boat,

the 400cc, built on the same hull, though

sales of this were much lower. In all

Hull length 12.19m 40ft 0in

LWL 11.0m 36ft 1in

Beam 3.95m 13ft 0in

Draught 1.70m 5ft 7in

Displacement 8,500kg 18,750lb

Ballast 2,500kg 5,510lb

Sail area 83m^2 893ft^2

Price £45,000-£65,000

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Conservatively styled

Oceanis 400 offered a lot

of accommodation

HR 34: quick with

flawless handling

around 1,000 boats were built using this

hull, before the Oceanis 393 and 423

were launched in 2002.

Today there are more spacious boats of

this length available, but the 400 and 411

can still be a great choice for those

needing to maximise accommodation

relative to purchase costs.