Review of Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I

Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I anno 2001. Lord Nelson, Hallberg-Rassy 43 no. 1, leaving Sct. Cathrin, London, July 2022

Basic specs.

The Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I or HR 43 Mk I aka HR 43 Mk I is a large sailboat designed by the Argentine maritime architect Germán Frers in the early 2000.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I or similar boat for sale

Hull

Deck plan of Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I. Lord Nelson, Hallberg-Rassy 43 no. 1, in Limfjorden, June 2022

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Interior

The boat is equipped with 7+2 berths and 650.0 liter fresh water capacity.

Cockpit

Cockpit of Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I anno 2001. Lord Nelson, Hallberg-Rassy 43 no. 1, in Smögen, Sweden, October 2023

Rig

Rig of Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I anno 2001. Hallberg-Rassy 43 MK 1 no. 1 of Hvide Sande. First owner was Magnus Rassy who named it Lord Nelson inspired by a name of a small fishing house in Gullholmen West of the HR-Yard in Ellös

The Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I is equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.

Keel

Fin keel

The Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I is equipped with a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.00 - 2.10 meter (6.56 - 6.86 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I has been equipped with different engine alternatives.

Alternative 1:

Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta TMD 22 diesel engine at 78 hp (58 kW). Calculated max speed is about 7.7 knots

Alternative 2:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta D2-75 diesel engine at 75 hp (55 kW). Calculated max speed is about 7.6 knots

Alternative 3:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta D2-55 diesel engine at 55 hp (40 kW). Calculated max speed is about 6.5 knots

The fuel tank has a capacity of 395.0 liters (104 US gallons, 86 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.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I is 1.76, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

EU classification

Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I holds a CE certification:

The boat is by European Union certified as Class A. OCEAN:

Designed for extended voyages where conditions may exceed wind force 8 (Beaufort scale) and significant wave heights of 4 m and above but excluding abnormal conditions, and vessels largely self-sufficient.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 8.3 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.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I is about 321 kg/cm, alternatively 1798 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 321 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1798 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.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I is 33.6.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 58% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just above average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I is 3.33.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 58% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I is 35%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 38% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just below average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I is 218 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

58% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)
Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind:
- Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15
- Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20
- Racers have ratios above 20
- High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24
Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 17.34

Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 54m² (581 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.

Rig

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.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Jib sheet	13.6 m	(44.5 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	13.6 m	(44.5 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet	33.9 m	(111.3 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	29.9 m	(97.9 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk I it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.