Hanseat 70 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for a Hanseat 70 means looking at a Willy Asmus-designed fiberglass masthead sloop first built in 1971, whose 70-series development ran through more than 200 boats between 1970 and 1981. The type is recognisable by its wooden foot rail, and the lineage also includes the 70B, 70 MKIII and 70 BII — later boats dropped the early solid-iron skeg entirely. For a buyer, the appeal is a hand-finished roving-fabric hull proven by a ten-year circumnavigation and a 22-day single-handed North Atlantic crossing, but the search is shaped as much by what these boats now carry as by the hull underneath.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Hanseat 70 offers 6.23-foot headroom across a 10.50-foot beam, with 66 gallons of water and 32 gallons of diesel capacity. The cockpit is a defining feature: the helmsman sits slightly higher than the crew and is spatially separated by a wide, solid traveller rail, a layout carried from the original design. Later series variants share the same fundamental footprint, but the disappearance of the skeg on later models is the clearest external tell between early and late boats alongside the foot rail.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market, a chartplotter and autopilot are commonly fitted to these boats. Often seen equipment includes heating, AIS, an inverter, a self tacking jib, a furling main, teak decks, and a life raft. Less commonly seen are a bow thruster, hot water, radar, and short handed setup, which tend to appear as owner upgrades rather than standard brokerage inventory. The original rig remains functionally equipped with a manageable number of halyards and outhauls, and Hanseats in original condition can still be operated at the mast.
What to Inspect
The documented strength of the Hanseat 70 rests on roving-fabric construction rolled, compacted and annealed by hand, and a surviving example lost a full ten centimetres of keel heel in a reef collision with only hull scratches and no leak — confirming the thick material made it possible to absorb that impact. When inspecting, verify hull laminate integrity at the keel heel and along the hull-to-keel joint, since the early solid-iron skeg on earlier boats is a different structure from the later skeg-less configuration. Confirm which series variant you are viewing, as the skeg disappeared completely on later models, changing both appearance and likely underwater profile.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats are typically found in Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands. For a buyer, the checklist is short and grounded in the documented record: confirm the series by wooden foot rail and skeg presence; inspect keel-heel and hull laminate for collision or age distress; verify the manageable original rig and mast-mounted controls are intact or sensibly upgraded; and check that any fitted autopilot or chartplotter is paired with the often-seen safety gear such as life raft and AIS rather than treating them as substitutes for hull soundness.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Hanseat 70. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 9 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 25 | 1 | $ 34,180 | — |
| Sep 25 | 5 | $ 34,180 | 0.0% |
| Jan 26 | 1 | $ 30,968 | -9.4% |
| Feb 26 | 1 | $ 33,262 | +7.4% |
| Mar 26 | 2 | $ 40,144 | +20.7% |
| Apr 26 | 10 | $ 31,821 | -20.7% |
| May 26 | 1 | $ 27,312 | -14.2% |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $ 19,499 | -28.6% |
| Jul 26 | 1 | $ 42,438 | +117.6% |
Where they're listed
Hanseat 70 listings appear across 3 countries. Germany has the most listings with 19 (86.4%), followed by Denmark and Netherlands.
Country view
22 listings · 3 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | $ 33,262 | 19 | 2 | 86.4% |
| Denmark | $ 28,846 | 2 | 1 | 9.1% |
| Netherlands | $ 28,101 | 1 | 0 | 4.5% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
6 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanse 345 | 34.12' | $ 135,320 | 40 | 16 |
| Hallberg-Rassy 38 | 37.96' | $ 79,141 | 29 | 5 |
| Hallberg-Rassy 37 | 37.14' | $ 243,021 | 25 | 4 |
| Hans Christian 43 | 42.62' | $ 179,900 | 25 | 6 |
| Hanseat 70You are here | — | $ 32,115 | 22 | 3 |
| Hans Christian 33 | 32.75' | $ 120,000 | 18 | 4 |