The changes were methodical and interconnected. Beam was carried further forward and aft, the bilge turn tightened, and the forefoot to keel made shallower, producing a hull that could be pushed harder without burying its bow in a seaway. The rudder migrated aft to work in less disturbed water, and the mast was moved twelve inches forward to reduce weather helm. Taken together, the package moved the Mk II into the same performance bracket that Bob Perry had explored with his Tayana 37 and Baba 40 — full-keeled double-enders that could actually be sailed hard rather than merely endured upwind.
Hull Design and Offshore Credentials
The Mk II sits in the heavy-displacement bracket at 27,500 pounds, carried on a long keel with iron encapsulated ballast. A ballast-to-displacement ratio nudging toward forty percent gives the boat substantial initial and secondary stability, qualities that matter on extended offshore passages where crew fatigue limits active seamanship. The capsize screening figure and comfort ratio both land in territory routinely sought by bluewater sailors choosing a passage-maker over a coastal racer.
The LOA reads 46 feet because of the bowsprit — the actual hull is closer to 38 feet on deck, with a waterline of 33 feet. That bowsprit is structural to the boat's character: it sets up the cutter rig's geometry, carries the inner and outer forestays, and gives the Mk II its unmistakable silhouette in any anchorage.
Rig and Sail Plan
The cutter configuration was carried over from the Traditional but given more ambition. The rig was made three feet taller and carried eleven percent more canvas than its predecessor to address the light-air lethargy that heavy-displacement hulls inherit from their displacement-to-length ratios. With 923 square feet of working sail spread across the full cutter inventory — main, staysail, and yankee or working jib — the boat can be balanced across a wide wind range by simply selecting which headsails to fly.
The forward mast position tames the weather helm that plagued earlier iterations. In a blow, shortening down to staysail alone gives the crew a manageable, powerful combination that keeps the boat tracking without constant helm pressure — a critical feature when a watch of two is managing a heavily loaded passage-maker at night.
Accommodations and Below-Deck Layout
Below decks, the Mk II diverges visibly from the Traditional it superficially resembles. The galley was redesigned from a U-shape to an island bench arrangement with the sink set on a standalone counter, opening up traffic flow in the main saloon. More practically for owners who actually maintain their own machinery, the engine was relocated from under the sink to a position behind the companionway stairs, where it can be reached without disassembling half the galley.
The tankage specification — 145 gallons of fuel and 170 gallons of water — reflects the boat's intended mission. These are bluewater numbers, sized for the kind of passage where a port may be a thousand miles ahead and conservation matters more than convenience.
Production History and Rarity
Only 87 Mk II hulls were built before production ended around 1989, when the Hans Christian operation relocated to Thailand. The limited production run stems in part from a competitive quirk: the original 38 Traditional remained commercially dominant because a performance keel option — the Telstar Keel — was available on that model but never offered on the Mk II for cost reasons. Buyers wanting a faster Hans Christian often chose the Traditional with the upgraded keel rather than switching to the Mk II with its revised hull. The moulds survived the move, reportedly in compromised condition, leaving the door theoretically open for future production but practically closed without significant investment.
Known Considerations for Buyers
The iron encapsulated ballast that contributes to the boat's stability merits inspection on any older example. Encapsulated iron is susceptible to internal corrosion when water finds its way through the fiberglass shell — a slow process that can go undetected until the keel develops soft spots or staining. Surveyors with experience in Taiwanese production boats from this era know where to look.
The rig changes relative to the Traditional — taller spar, more sail area, moved mast position — mean that standing rigging history matters. A taller rig carries more load, and chain plates and associated hardware on a boat approaching or exceeding four decades of service deserve close attention regardless of outward appearance.
The Verdict
The Hans Christian 38 Mk II is the performance answer to a question the Traditional never fully solved. It looks like its famous sibling, carries the same bluewater DNA, but sails measurably better across the board — pointing higher, moving more confidently in light air, and tracking without the constant weather helm corrections that exhausted crews on heavy-displacement passage-makers. The rare production run makes it less common than the Traditional in any anchorage, which cuts both ways: finding parts and experienced help is slightly harder, but the boat draws genuine interest from sailors who know the type.
Pros
- Revised underbody and taller rig produce meaningfully better performance than the Traditional across all points of sail
- Cutter rig with large sail inventory handles a wide wind range without resorting to roller-furling compromises
- Heavy displacement and iron ballast deliver a high comfort ratio on extended offshore passages
- Engine relocation behind companionway stairs improves access substantially over the original placement
- Long-keel design and double-ended stern are proven offshore hull forms
Cons
- Only 87 hulls built, making parts and experienced yard help harder to source than for higher-production contemporaries
- Iron encapsulated ballast requires careful inspection for internal corrosion on older examples
- Tall rig and associated standing rigging needs thorough survey on boats of this age
- The Telstar Keel option was never made available on the Mk II, a competitive disadvantage at the time that still occasionally prompts comparisons to the Traditional
