Its plumb bow leaves only about three feet three inches of total overhang on an 11.4-meter LOA. Combined with the squared-off form, that helps provide unusual interior volume for the boat’s length. Its design waterline is actually longer than that of the old Valiant 40.
Design and Construction
Hanse built the 385 in fiberglass, with a balsa-cored hull and deck. The shape does much of the work when it comes to livability: a low length-to-beam ratio of 2.94 and a displacement-length figure of 171 describe a beamy, volume-driven hull rather than a slender racer. The construction is straightforward GRP, with no rule-driven constraints shaping the sections. The result is a squared-off hull with a lot of internal volume for its LOA.
The plumb bow maximizes waterline length. At 10.4 meters, the design waterline is a full meter shorter than the boat’s overall length, contributing directly to boat speed without extending the deck. Hanse offered four interior layouts from the start.
Rig, Deck Layout, and Handling
The 385 carries a tall 9/10 fractional rig with twin swept-back spreaders, an adjustable backstay, and chainplates set on the rail. A 100% self-tacking working jib on a single sheet pairs with a fully battened mainsail, providing a combined sail area of 74 square meters.
Halyards and sheets run aft through recessed coach-roof channels to jammers and primary winches at the twin helms. The mainsheet runs to a bridle on top of the cabintrunk, forward of the boom’s midpoint. The deck layout brings every control, including the halyards, within reach of the person steering.
Writing in Boating New Zealand, the reviewer called the 385 a dream to sail and said she lifts the bar for hassle-free handling by a clear margin. In 18 knots, she slipped effortlessly upwind at more than seven knots and tacked on a dime. The large spade rudder and folding two-bladed propeller, driven by a 27-horse Volvo saildrive, also gave impeccable manners when backing into a berth.
One handling quirk is worth noting. The large mainsail blankets the modest self-tacking jib, so downwind sailing tends to involve gybing through inefficient angles rather than making a clean run. That’s a consequence of the rig proportions rather than a defect, but it affects how the boat is sailed off the wind.
Accommodations
Below, the 385 has a spacious, airy interior. Natural light enters through portlights and hatches, supplemented by recessed ceiling strip lighting and three-way reading lights. A touch panel on the galley island dims the entire lighting network.
The four layouts include two- and three-cabin versions with different galley arrangements. In the standard two-stateroom plan, the port side of the saloon can have chairs with the navigation table between them, or a settee with a small navigation station aft. Choosing a single aft stateroom allows for a particularly well-laid-out galley.
The three-cabin arrangement gives up part of that galley, along with the two-cabin version’s huge cockpit lockers, to make room for a starboard aft cabin. It includes a master cabin in the forepeak with a V-berth and his-and-hers hanging lockers, plus two identical double aft cabins. All three share a single midships bathroom to port, with a shower and a flap over the toilet to keep it dry.
The L-shaped galley has black quartz worktops, twin stainless-steel sinks, a 130-liter refrigerator with top and front access, and a gimballed two-burner oven. In the saloon, a massive table has a port leaf to the settee. A small wine locker sits beneath it in the sole.
Verdict
The Hanse 385 is a thoughtfully packaged modern cruiser that trades racing pedigree for interior volume, natural light, and genuinely easy short-handed control. The self-tacking jib and all-lines-aft deck layout make the boat approachable, while the choice of four interior arrangements provides unusual flexibility for its size.
The sail plan’s one real compromise is downwind, where the large mainsail blankets the modest jib.
Pros
- Squared-off hull provides exceptional interior volume for a 37-foot 5-inch LOA
- All controls lead aft to the twin helms for true short-handed sailing
- Four layouts, including a charter-friendly three-cabin plan with stowage
- Plumb bow and long DWL contribute to lively upwind performance and easy tacking
Cons
- Large mainsail blankets the modest jib, requiring inefficient gybes downwind
- Three-cabin layout gives up galley space and the two-cabin version’s large cockpit lockers
