Hull Form and Design Philosophy
The 311's hull form is contemporary but conservative, characterized by a beamy mid-section, short ends, and a broad stern that gives the interior volume Hanse needed to make the accommodation work on a 29-foot waterline. The D/L ratio sits at 204, placing the boat firmly in cruising territory without tipping into the sluggishness of a true bluewater passage-maker. The large rudder paired with a bulb-type fin keel was competitive enough to earn second place at the 2001 Bricola de Oro Design competition, a meaningful validation of the underbody work. Construction uses solid GRP below the waterline with balsa-core sandwich topsides and deck, built to CE Category A Ocean classification and quality-assured by German Lloyds — a reassuring standard for a production boat in this price class.
Rig and Handling
Hanse equipped the 311 with a seven-eighths fractional rig on a deck-stepped Sparcraft aluminum spar, supported by two sets of swept-back spreaders. The arrangement is deliberate: the swept spreaders allow the mainsail roach to clear the backstay, and moving the mast forward improves helm balance while keeping the bigger, more manageable sail on the boom rather than dragging a large overlapping genoa around the deck. Perry's observation holds — fractional rigs dominate modern designs for exactly this reason.
The headline handling feature is the self-tacking headsail leading to a car on a foredeck traveller, then aft to a pair of Harken self-tailing winches at the coachhouse. For shorthanded or social sailing, this eliminates the fumble of a headsail sheet on every tack. The mainsheet traveller spans the cockpit and keeps the control close to the helm, reinforcing Hanse's declared goal of single-handed manageability. A secondary pair of Harken 32 winches on the coaming can accommodate a conventional headsail or a spinnaker when ambition runs higher. Under power, the 19-horsepower Volvo Penta saildrive is sufficient for the displacement, returning comfortable motoring speeds in flat water.
One caveat worth noting: the self-tacking jib car can bang across its track in sloppy conditions, though movable stoppers on the foredeck traveller allow the crew to lock it off. The trade-off for no-fuss tacking is that backing the jib to escape irons is not possible — the motor is the practical answer.
Accommodations
Below, the 311 makes a strong first impression. The mahogany-veneered marine plywood joinery finished with two-pack varnish produces a high-gloss interior that provokes an immediate reaction — either admiration or concern about upkeep. Importers insist maintenance is less demanding than the shine suggests, and the warmth of the mahogany veneers sets the boat apart from the off-white laminates that dominate competitors. The manufacturer describes the interior as influenced by American East Coast sailing yachts, which accounts for details like rattan-door saloon cupboards that balance aesthetics with ventilation.
The layout delivers two separated double cabins. The forward V-berth runs 2.01 meters and uses all available space in the bow. Perry notes that the V-berth looks short but is adequate for children, a reasonable observation for a 31-footer. The aft starboard quarter cabin is the genuine master, with a 2.03-meter double berth, a hanging locker, and a full door separating it from the saloon. The saloon itself is conventional: opposing settees flank a drop-leaf table on a stainless-steel compression post, with lockers above and storage below. The galley provides a two-burner stove with oven, twin sinks, and 22-liter hot-water tank. Navigation is handled at an aft-facing chart table opposite the galley — functional for coastal work, modest for extended passage-making. A charter layout substituting two mirror-image double quarter berths was also available, which suited the boat's commercial career in several fleets.
Perry flags one layout quirk: the port lazarette pipe berth is extremely tight to access and not a realistic sleeping space for anyone beyond young and very flexible crew.
Known Issues and Limitations
The 311 is not a fast boat by contemporary standards — its SA/D ratio suggests performance similar to a traditional cruiser-racer rather than a sport cruiser. The cockpit carries a protected, almost enclosed feeling that reflects the boat's Baltic Sea origins, which is an asset in the North Sea or English Channel but can feel confining in Mediterranean conditions. The navigation station is described by reviewers as simple but limited for longer passages — the chart table is genuinely small, and the electronics panel, while cleverly mounted on a cupboard door for easy access, leaves little surface area for modern nav equipment. Owners seeking the boat for extended offshore use would need to plan navigation electronics carefully from the outset.
Perry also observed that the settee berths extend into the forward chainplate bulkhead as foot pockets — an arrangement he has never found comfortable, and which limits the usability of the main saloon berths for taller crew.
Refit and Upgrade Considerations
Hanse configured the standard 311 with a generous base specification, including pressurized hot-water system, electric anchor winch, Simrad log and depth instruments, and a Dacron main on a Facnor roller furler. Optional upgrades offered from new — including wheel steering, an electric flush toilet, and a swing-keel variant drawing 0.95–1.80 meters with twin rudders — give second-hand buyers clear configuration signatures to look for. The swing-keel option opens shoal-draft sailing but adds complexity and cost to the bottom-end; the standard cast-iron fin keel is the more practical choice for most cruising grounds, with an optional lead bulb keel also available at shallower draft. The large port cockpit locker, also accessible from inside through a door at the aft end of the bathroom, is a useful access point for safety gear stowage during a refit for bluewater use.
The Verdict
The Hanse 311 is an honest 31-foot cruiser with a coherent design philosophy: reduce the effort required to sail the boat, maximize interior liveability, and build to a standard that holds up in serious conditions. Judel-Vrolijk gave it a hull that sails rather than floats, and the self-tacking rig delivers on Hanse's shorthanded promise in practice. The mahogany interior remains striking enough to stand out in any marina. Where the boat falls short — nav station depth, cockpit openness, the almost vestigial pipe berth — these are compromises inherent to the size, not design failures.
Pros
- Self-tacking headsail with foredeck car makes shorthanded sailing genuinely easy
- CE Category A Ocean rating on a production boat in this size class
- Two separated double cabins, each with door, on a 29-foot waterline
- Swept spreaders and balanced fractional rig produce manageable helm feel
- Bulb-fin keel design recognized at the Bricola de Oro competition
- High-gloss mahogany interior is distinctive and reportedly easier to maintain than it looks
Cons
- Navigation station is too small for serious offshore passage-making
- Port lazarette pipe berth is practically unusable for most adults
- Self-tacking jib cannot be backed to escape irons; motor is the workaround
- Car on foredeck traveller can bang in sloppy sea conditions without manual stoppers set
- Cockpit has an enclosed, protected feel that suits northern European sailing more than open-water cruising
