545/548 - Experience Summary after a Year

The boat had a full season last year, wintirised in a nice marina in Turkey, and re-launched few weeks ago. I am just back from a long weekend on it, thanks to our Queen's Jubilee...

Before I purchased the boat, I had been reading a lot about problems on these blogues. I was very afraid...
Some guys had problems with Riggs, some with leaking hatches...
After reading not just the Hanse blogues but other "production" boat's blogues, I realised that production boats will always have problems... generally small ones. Like leaking Hatches, breaking handles, electronic problems, or similar stuff... I haven't heard about guys who had keels or masts coming off, but I am sure occasionaly it has been hapenned too....
I come to the conclusion that we pay for what we get. These boats are made in a factory on the ground, and only see water when they are launched. So, the structure moves a little bit. It takes time to settle.
I personally had been sailing for years (since I am 5, and I am 40!) in oceans and mostly chartered boats, occasionally raced on performence sailing boat (like the Xs). It appeared to me that most of the sail boats that are suitable for cruising with some good comfort that would satify a Turkish women (and I am sure, Spanish, Greek, Italian, Lebaneese etc wives will have a lot in common here!), were a little more than a bath tub with a mast and a sail. Here I refer to the Jeanneau, Beneteau, Bavyera type of boats (note that some of them have production series that are better performent, such as the First in Beneteau etc)... These bath tubs had difficulty to maintain goor course up wind, especially atre 25knts. The wheels became heavy, the boat healed too much, the rudder was out, and the boat became very quickly prisoner of the winds....
My first trial was impressive. I tried it in Bodrum. A stong meltemi day. Perhaps 30knts. I found it incredibly stable up wind. No reef were needed.
My wife, and at that time 7 years old daughter, quickly enjoyed the luxury and space (inside and outside) of the boat. The fact that all controls are actually behind the winds, and that a self tacking system is set avoids any ropes inflation, and the little accidents that are related to it (as in, passengers getting hit by a wilde genoa sheet on a tacking procedure, or kids running around hitting something). The boat is lean, and alll flushed.

We all loved the Boats!
We had to buy it....

But from who? where?

I am half Turkish, half French and became British by having lived over 10 years in this formidable country that we have adopted now...

Hanse has a strange system that can be annoying, but also could be used to your advantage. Hanse seems to give dealerships, but do not impose any one from any country to deal with the dealership of that country he belongs to. Some boat dealers do so! The annoying part is that as soon as you shop around, 10 different dealers messes up with your mind coming up with various suggestions....
Be strong! Do not falll in to all the suggestions. Remember what you wanted in the fist place.
All the dealers will claim that they are the best ones to deal with of course... Natural!
Actually, you will find that these blogues here are very useful to determine the good dealers....
In one of my blogues, I asked about a person who had bought the boat from the Turkish dealer (as he seemed pretty happy), he asked me to go off line, and later, he told me how incompetant they were.... Very very good info!

Almost all the meditrreanian Hanses were harressing me! After all that, I decided to retreit my self to think...
Here it was: the constraints:
1- I wanted a sail boat... Hanse 545.
2- I wanted it to be moored in Turkey for at east 3-4 years.
3- I wanted to be close to the dealer
4- I wanted good after sales service...

The AFTER SALES SERVICE is CRUCIAL!!!! I do not know how much I should write this down here, but it is the ONLY thing that will matter. The only thing!
Many guys can sell you the same boat. All of the dealership will battle. Rebates, box of chocolate, emails, phone calls. Its all total none sense. Do not FALL for it! Once they sold the boat to you what will make your experience BAD or GOOD will SOLELY depend on the After Sale service of the dealer you bought the boat from.
I quickly erased the Turkish dealer, as I thought that despite the bact that Turks have been surrounded by sea on 3 sides, they are land people. I guess Ottoman empire has only two names thay can be sited in seamanship. Barbarousse (Barbaros Hayrettin) and Piri Reis. Nothing more since the 17th century. So, since not many Turks are sailing, the service that a sail boat seller is very limited. It would be very difficult to find a good doctor if no one had ever been sick! Experice was crucial.
So, I decided to go with Inspiration Marine in the UK. I also, knew a very experienced british sailor turned business man who operates a chartering (amongst other business) in the south of Turkey. I asked Inspiration Marine to talk with Simon Phillis at Aura Yachting for the warranty services. They agreed.
I signed and sent the money in Late 2010.
The boat was delivered in April 2011 in Slovenia. A very knowledgble engineer (Andy) from Inspiration Marine was managing the project. Simon went there few dayes before the delivery to help me out as well. When I arrived it was all looking good. The rigging was right (I mean, who can claim to sell sails boat if they are not capable of rigging them correctly! Do not laugh, I read few comments on this blogue!)... I had no single problem.
The test drive was impecable, and we handed the boat to the PYD crew (Professional Yacht Deliveries) to sail the boat down to Bodrum. The PYD crew was perfect. Good communication was held. They did not use engine, but moslty sail (again, some deliveries solely use engines! okay, you get fast, but no one has tested the boat under sail...)...
The boat was delivered on time to Bodrum.
During the season, I had little this and that... I had a hatch that leaked, I had the wheel which was rubbing the helmsman step, I had some Volvo ol leakage, windless, bowthruster problems... But you know what... I almost never had a headach with any of it.... First of all non of it was a serious probleme that would have stopped my vacation, but also Thanks to extreme professional servicing of Inspiration Marine, and Aura quickly dealing with it, I never felt any thing.
The boat was wintiresed, at dry dock. During the first delivery, I had realised that the cover of the bowtruster was broken, so they changed it during winter. I also had a water maker installed.
The boat was relaunched few weeks ago, and the only big probleme I had was that the HEADS were not working properly.... YEah, thats major probleme. But I have to say, I don't think its really Inspiration Marine's fault here!
Any way, for those who are interested in to buying a Hanse, I highly reccomend it. But beware of whom you are buying it from!!!! This is THE ONLY LESSON YOU NEED TO TAKE FROM THIS MESSAGE!
KA