DUSSELDORF 2020 - HALLBERG RASSY 40C

The HR40c had already deserved a post on the blog even before I had the opportunity to visit it. Now that I have done so I can add some more information, some positive, some negative.
https://interestingsailboats.blogspot.com/2020/01/new-hallberg-rassy-40c-versus-hr-412.html

The Hallberg Rassy 40c has more storage space than what I have thought looking at the designs and reading the information provided by the site and boat tests. In fact one of the the places on the boat

that provides more outside storage is not mentioned anywhere: all the space under the cockpit floor forward to the wheel provides a huge storage space about 60 cm deep. The space is covered with a teak grid, kind of the ones we can find in the heads, to let the water go down and disappear by a thru-hull passage (with a seacock).

Of course if it rains or a wave comes inside the boat everything there will get wet and the hole from where the water disappear should be provided with a protection (inexistent) to prevent an object to obstruct it but that would not be difficult to find and you can find them on the accessories  for roof gutters. Anyway a good place to have all the fenders and ropes or even the liferaft, if well fixed.

Also the two lockers on the aft part of the deck floor are a bit bigger than what they look like being their space inside bigger than the opening. That plus a smallish locker under one of the cockpit seats plus the larger space at the bow annex to the sail locker gives it a proportionally bigger outside storage than the HR 44 but even so much smaller than the one of the HR 412.

As I had referred previously the engine access is made laterally in the aft cabin by a small door that gives entrance to the engine compartment that on the visited model, the one with a bigger galley, is on the small size but even so much bigger than in some other boats.

 The problem is that to work on the engine you have to go inside and to access the water pump you have to unscrew a panel in the room. Not as bad as it seemed but even so not a comfortable place to work and you better not be very big and hope you will not have any problem at sea on anything than calm weather.

The boat interior finish is in accordance to HR quality standard, meaning a very good one, the design is nice, the saloon with the two sofas is great, the extended galley is awesome, there is on the passage for the aft cabin a very nice cabinet for wet sea coats and the only really nagging feature are the light switches that are of an horrible plastic with a bad chrome treatment.

Regarding negative points, the forward cabin is small, the only head, near the front cabin, is surprisingly small for a 40ft boat with only one head (one of the two heads of the 412 is much bigger) and also very surprisingly the standing height in the big aft cabin is also small, smaller than the one on the saloon that is not big, but sufficient for most.

A beautiful sailing boat but not a perfect one, with strong and weak points, being the bigger downsides the only head far away from the main cabin, the low standing weight on the main cabin (maybe 1.8m), the small forward cabin and the relatively small storage.

As strong points, besides being a very good looking sailboat, it has a great saloon, a great galley, specially on the version on the photos, with the extended one, a very good wet locker. an extra refrigerator or freezer on the opposite side of the galley anda quite a big aft cabin.

Besides all that it has a dedicated space for a generator and even finds space in the (small) head to have a washing machine even if I find that today it becomes more and more a bad idea with some marinas objecting to its use (for the foam on the water) and resulting in one case on a huge fine in Turkey on an boat that was using one while on anchor.