Review of Hanse 540e
Basic specs.
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The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
The boat is equipped with 6-9 berths and 690.0 liter fresh water capacity.
The Hanse 540e is equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a gennaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.
The Hanse 540e has been built with different keel alternatives.
Unknown keel type
The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.43 - 2.53 meter (7.97 - 8.27 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
Unknown keel type
The keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.
Hanse 540e can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.95 - 2.05 meter (6.40 - 6.70 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
Fin keel
The Hanse 540e is equipped with a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.
The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.80 - 2.90 meter (9.19 - 9.49 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta D3-110 diesel engine at 110 hp (81 kW). Calculated max speed is about 8.4 knots
The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.
The fuel tank has a capacity of 375.0 liters (99 US gallons, 82 imperial gallons).
Sailing characteristics
This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for Hanse 540e is 1.87, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.
Hanse 540e holds a CE certification:
The boat is by European Union certified as Class A. OCEAN:What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?
The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 9.3 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Hanse 540e is about 480 kg/cm, alternatively 2689 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 480 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 2689 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.
Sailing statistics
This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.
What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Hanse 540e is 31.6.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Hanse 540e is 3.29.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Hanse 540e is 167 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.
What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?
The SA/D for Hanse 540e with ISO 8666 reference sail is 19.2, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 22.5.
Maintenance
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 80m2 (861 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.
Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.
Dimensions of sail for fractional rig.
Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale
If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Mainsail halyard | 54.9 m | (180.2 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 54.9 m | (180.2 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 54.9 m | (180.2 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 16.1 m | (53.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 16.1 m | (53.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 40.4 m | (132.5 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 35.5 m | (116.6 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Cunningham | 6.5 m | (21.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 13.0 m | (42.7 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 13.0 m | (42.7 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
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