Hallberg-Rassy 29 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The 29's hull is relatively narrow and tapers aft, which limits her accommodation but makes her a steady and stable boat in big seas anchor. At 29 feet 2 inches overall with a 9 foot 3 inch beam and just under four tonnes of displacement, she reads slender rather than beamy, yet that narrow beam gives her remarkable stiffness: from 25 to 30 degrees of heel she sits very stiff in the water anchor. The hull itself is a Lloyds-certified solid GRP lay-up with a foam-sandwich deck and coachroof for reduced weight and improved insulation, and the hull/deck joint overlaps and is capped with smart teak. Her long, cast-iron fin keel is fully encapsulated, so it cannot fall off and never goes rusty, while a skeg-protected rudder follows a moderate long-keel profile that was already considered conventional at the time of her 1982 presentation. A cutaway forefoot lets her tack more swiftly than a full long keel would allow.

Rig and Handling

The yard's founder and co-designer opted for a 7/8 fractional rig with swept spreaders and no backstays — unusual for cruising yachts then anchor. She carries a fully-battened mainsail and a 130-percent genoa on a Furlex 200S furler as standard, with a conservative, easily-handled sailplan that keeps her sail area modest. Her generous ballast keeps her stiff and rails dry when a sea breeze fills in, and under normal conditions she is light and positive on the tiller, though the helm gets a little heavy when the apparent wind rises sharply. Off the wind she is a little sluggish, as you might expect with so much wetted surface and ample displacement, but her long keel means she tracks well downwind and once properly trimmed she will sail herself on a close reach without input from crew or autopilot. In 1989 a regular example placed third in the Round Britain Race, only ten minutes behind second — proof that she is not a racer yet asserts herself amazingly well in the right context.

Accommodations

Writing in Yachting Monthly, testers found she exudes a feeling of warmth and quality that makes her downright cosy at anchor, with classic lines outside and warm, perfectly-crafted joinery within anchor. Headroom runs just under six feet. The saloon has an L-shaped settee to port around a two-leaf table, and the settee backs lift to widen berths measuring 6 foot 7 inches long. A lot of hulls were built with a quarterberth to starboard ideal for ocean passages, though the version without it gains an additional cockpit locker; the boat was offered either way. The galley to port is a compact L-shaped space with a gimballed two-burner cooker and oven, large cool box, and deep sink, while opposite sits an outboard-facing chart table above four drawers. Notably, none of the saloon portlights open, so ventilation comes from hatches and mushroom vents.

Known Issues

A typical weak point on the 29 is play in the lower rudder bearing on the skeg anchor. Early examples carried the MD7B engine with single-circuit cooling, and those units have often reached the end of their service life, while the gas bottle originally stowed in the anchor locker has since been moved aft to a container by many owners given its vulnerable position.

Refits and Ownership

Early 29s used an MD7B with 18 hp and single-circuit cooling up until 1984, when the cockpit coaming was slightly modified and the genoa sheet angle optimised; newer models took the Volvo Penta 2002 successor, and from 1993 onward the last build numbers received a 29 hp three-cylinder MD2020. The dual-circuit cooling system was initially optional and later became standard. Original non-self-tailing winches gave way in practice to the powerful self-tailing Lewmar 40 primaries and plain Lewmar 8 coachroof winches seen on later-equipped boats. A panel in the cockpit sole lifts for access to the saildrive, engine seacock, fuel tank, and primary filter.

The Verdict

The Hallberg-Rassy 29 is an ideal yacht for a couple wanting to cruise reasonable distances in comfort and safety, a true pocket ocean cruiser with a wonderfully sea-kindly motion. She asks for a buyer who values seaworthiness and craftsmanship over interior volume.

Pros