Design and Construction
The hull carries a reverse wave-piercing bow forward and a straight, razor-sharp transom astern, with tall freeboard beneath a low, sleek coachroof. Two sets of chines—forward and aft—open the interior floor plan considerably, while a hard chine starting at the bow and softening aft narrows the boat on the waterline and reduces wetted surface below. The builder specifies hull and deck cored with balsa and laminated with vinylester for lightness and strength, and the laminate turns to solid glass below the waterline. A significant interior fiberglass grid anchors the keel, bulkheads are taped and bonded to the hull, and the main bulkhead is a reinforced composite laminate serving as the compression post for the deck-stepped Seldén rig. Aluminum backing plates sit under each deck fitting, extra fasteners lie beneath each stanchion, and the hull-deck joint is bonded and integrated with the toe-rail bulwarks.
The L-shaped cast-iron keel comes as an 8-foot standard draft or a 6-foot 6-inch shoal version, each with a significant ballast bulb; displacement is 36,464 lbs on the L-keel and 37,346 lbs on the shoal, with ballast of 9,612 and 10,494 lbs respectively. A single deep-blade rudder provided what testers described as a lot of bite in the water.
Rig and Handling
The 510 carries a deck-stepped, two-spreader rig with a tall 77-foot spar and a bowsprit that opens a foretriangle for a double-headsail setup: an outer genoa on a Furlex drum and an inner self-tacking jib, with a tack for a gennaker on the integral sprit. An in-mast furling main was fitted on the test boat, though a traditional main is optional, and a German-style double-ended midboom mainsheet runs through blocks ahead of the windshield with controls led aft. All running rigging passes through belowdecks channels to aft winches and clutches at the twin Jefa steering pedestals, and the split backstay allows manual or hydraulic adjustment.
Under the full main and a 570-square-foot jib, testers made 6.2 knots in roughly 10 knots true at 78 degrees apparent, then accelerated past 8 knots in a 13-knot puff. In about 7.5 knots true the boat still managed 4.5 knots at 44 degrees apparent, and in 9 to 10 knots she romped at 7 to 8 knots at 65 to 70 degrees apparent. With the big headsail unfurled in 10 to 12 knots on the Chesapeake, she made close to 6 knots on a deep reach and over 8 knots on the beam; swapping to the jib held 6 to 8 knots closehauled.
Power and Propulsion
Standard power is an 80-hp Yanmar with saildrive, with a 110-hp option that testers ran at 7.8 knots at 2,100 rpm in flat water and nearly 8 knots at 2,500 rpm. The folding prop on the saildrive contributed to those figures, and the windlass plus optional 24-volt bow and stern thrusters round out the maneuvering kit.
Accommodations
The standard layout places the owner’s stateroom forward with en suite head and two big aft cabins sharing a head aft of the dinette. A four-stateroom, four-head version targets the charter trade. The main cabin holds a central island with a pop-up television, a port settee with a high/low table that drops to a berth, and a straight-line galley to starboard ahead of the navigation desk with three fridges and a freezer. A control center lifts from the island’s galley-facing side to reveal VHF, sound system, and AC/DC panels.
The cockpit is larger than most 50-foot boats, with L-shaped settees and split tables forward for lounging, a life-raft locker under the floor, and a hardtop giving 7 feet of headroom and optional 1,260 watts of solar. A drop-down transom gate becomes a swim platform and opens to a garage stowing a nearly 9-foot inflated tender, accessed by a Hanse Smart Tender stair and crane. Light comes from 14 opening hatches and at least eight portlights, with every cabin having two openings.
The Verdict
The Hanse 510 is a rangy, state-of-the-art cruiser that marks a deliberate new chapter for Hanse, pairing a chined hull with a separable social cockpit and a serious double-headsail rig. She sails efficiently in modest breeze and powers strongly, though her size and systems demand careful ownership.
Pros
- Twin-chine hull narrows waterline and cuts wetted surface for easier motion
- Double-headsail bowsprit rig with furling and self-tacking jib options
- Large separated cockpit with hardtop, solar option, and safe tender garage
- Fourteen hatches and forced ventilation in every cabin
Cons
- Shoal-keel displacement rises to 37,346 lbs with reduced ballast ratio
- Belowdecks rig channels and integrated systems complicate access
- Standard AGM battery bank modest against 1,260-watt solar and thruster loads
