Hallberg-Rassy 342 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The 342 sits on a solid glass hull below the waterline with a foam-cored sandwich topside, the hull and deck laminated and cast together with polyester to produce a rigid unit that testers found gave a more comfortable ride in heavy seas. The lead bulb keel draws 6 feet standard or 5 feet as a shoal option, and the separated spade rudder follows the idiom of contemporary performance cruisers. That rudder runs on spherical self-aligning bearings for minimum friction, and the yard’s standard hull-to-deck joint is glassed heavily from inside without bolts. Coamings grew up to two inches taller than before for better protection, and the side decks remain a clear 18 inches wide with 2-inch bulwarks and 24-inch lifelines. Writing in Yacht magazine, test sailors found the build quality high throughout, evident even to a non-expert, and noted the heating hoses were doubled to cut heat loss while the pressure pump was rubber-mounted in the insulated engine room to keep cabin noise down.

Rig and Handling

Frers gave the 342 a 7/8 fractional rig on a deck-stepped double-spreader spar with slight pre-bend, driving a larger mainsail and a smaller, slightly overlapping self-tacking jib that makes the boat easier to handle than its predecessor. A Seldén Furlex headsail furler serves that jib, and all halyards and reef lines lead aft to rope clutches and twin winches so the crew works from the cockpit. The standard boat is tiller-steered with a traveler, though wheel options existed; the sail area grew roughly five square meters over the HR34 and the mast stands almost two feet taller. Yacht magazine found her sailing performance excellent even in light airs, with speed building effortlessly as wind rose, and she reacted instantly to the helm without nervousness. Practical Sailor’s test crew noted a very light, easy helm, stiff and balanced, tacking through about 100 degrees and turning within a boat length at 2,500 rpm where she slid along at an even 6 knots. Bådnyt in Denmark recorded her as livelier than the fixed windscreen suggests, light-driven in a breeze and offering a good tiller feel.

Accommodations

Inside, the 342 is notably voluminous for its length — one Swedish test called it the biggest in class — with a bright saloon thanks to larger side windows and opening portlights doubled from five to ten. The forward hatch is bigger for light and ventilation and eases sail stowage, while the heads gained a Corian counter and a dedicated wet locker. Berths are wider and longer than the HR34’s: saloon settees stretch 6 feet 2 inches and fold-up backrests extend the lounging surface past 90 centimeters, the V-berth runs 6 feet 6 inches long, and the aft berth 6 feet 10 inches. Furniture is khaya mahogany with a satin varnish, and the cockpit seats at 6 feet 9 inches double as day-beds. Yacht judged the layout the best on the market for a crew of four, and Segeln noted much comfort below for that complement. Tanks grew by ten liters each over the predecessor, with 71 gallons of water under the port settee and 44 of diesel under starboard.

Equipment and Power

The Volvo Penta D1-30 three-cylinder diesel makes 29 horsepower through a sail drive and folding bronze prop, charging via a 115-amp alternator into a house bank of flat-plate batteries upgraded from 124 to 225 Ah. A Lewmar horizontal windlass and deep chain locker sit forward of a husky double-roller stemhead, and a nearly eight-foot boat hook mounts to the coach roof as standard. The deep 24-inch bilge sump carries a Jabsco hydraulic bilge pump. Engine sound registered 72 decibels in the cockpit under way, modest for a boat of this size.

Known Issues

The 342 faced an extensive early-years recall for a steering fault in which a few upper rudder bearings had come free of their fiberglass seatings; the builder states all affected boats were re-bearinged and later hulls corrected. On wheel-equipped boats there is only a foot of clearance between the wheel and the seat astern, a tight arrangement. Chainplates land in fiberglass knees exactly where a lounging sailor lies on the settee, and striking the in-mast furling main took two people working the furling line and outhaul together in testing.

The Verdict

The Hallberg-Rassy 342 reframed the marque’s cruising ethos around Frers’ sharper hull and fractional rig without losing the solid, quiet, ocean-capable character buyers expect. It is a genuinely fast and composed small cruiser with a remarkably roomy, well-lit interior and a build standard that wears well. The early rudder-bearing recall is the one black mark, fully addressed by the yard, and the wheel option compromises cockpit space.

Pros