Prior to stepping aboard the Hanse 360 during the 2025 Boat of the Year contest, the last Hanse I’d sailed was a year earlier on the larger, quite imposing 510. It was a beast of a yacht with a seven-figure price tag, more than 50 feet of waterline, and a towering 77-foot spar. As a brand, Hanse had been concentrating on its larger offerings, and I have to say, I was a bit intimidated but also quite taken by the 510’s bold looks and massive platform.
So, stepping aboard the 360, I was highly interested in how the French design consortium of Berret-Racoupeau—the naval architects also responsible for the 510—would scale back their vision while remaining true to Hanse’s usual brand objective: Build comfortable production cruisers that sail well.
I thoroughly inspected the 360 dockside and then took it for a spin on Chesapeake Bay, and I was actually somewhat shocked—because I liked it even more than its big sister. Size-wise, especially, it was a boat I could relate to.
Aesthetically, to gain perspective on the 360’s generous girth, it’s perhaps wise to begin aft and work our way forward. The wide, open transom has a drop-down platform that serves as a handy back porch for boarding or swimming (a nifty attached swim ladder drops directly into the drink). The twin wheels are just forward and well outboard, with Jefa steering pedestals. The cockpit is flanked by settees/couches to port and starboard, and a flat-screen Raymarine chart plotter is mounted on the central table that also holds a handy day fridge.
Going forward, as is de rigueur in so much contemporary production yacht design, there’s a pronounced chine that creates a lot of interior space. A trio of hull windows offers light and views down below while providing some visual accents to the tall freeboard. The coachroof, as with most Hanses, is low and understated, almost flush (you don’t need a tall deckhouse with all that volume below).
The Selden spar package is deck-stepped, and the traditional, standard Doyle mainsail with slab reefing is fully battened and stashed in a slick stack pack on the boom. There’s a choice for the deck of optional real teak or synthetic Flexiteek, both of which offer good grip and appealing looks. Our test boat had the optional sprit forward—perched over the plumb bow—for ground tackle and tacking off-wind sails. From directly overhead, the 360’s outline bears a striking resemblance to an arrowhead, especially with its pointed entry.
Not surprisingly for a contemporary design in the mid-30-foot range, the interior is laid out for a couple. In the standard accommodations plan on our test boat, the main stateroom is essentially an open floor plan, with a pair of double doors providing privacy for the forward V-berth in the event that there are guests occupying the double berth aft to starboard (to port, this opposing space is dedicated to stowage). There’s a central dining table fronting a U-shaped settee to port, with a straight-line settee to starboard. There’s also a nice galley and a single, opposing head to either side of the companionway. The overhead room is rather astounding, well over 6 feet, 5 inches. An optional layout in the 360’s brochure shows a pair of double-berth staterooms, two heads and an offset double berth in the bow; from the drawings, at least, this version appears incredibly busy for the length overall.
The construction laminate employs vinylester resin with a balsa core in the hull and the deck, which are bonded together for a bulletproof coupling. The cast-iron keel has an attached bulb and is available in a shoal-draft (5 feet, 5 inches) or deep-draft (6 feet, 9 inches) configuration. The single spade rudder is hung off an aluminum shaft with self-aligning bearings. The auxiliary is a 40 hp Yanmar diesel with saildrive. Solar power is an option; our test ride had several flexible deck panels.
We tested the boat on a fall Chesapeake Bay afternoon in a moderate breeze of 8 to 12 knots. An electric winch used to hoist that big mainsail was a welcome feature. The boat is easy to sail and trim, with running rigging led aft and a double-ended German-style mainsheet. The 360 has a split backstay that allows easy egress to the swim platform, but it’s also a bit uncomfortable when leaning outboard behind either of the wheels. I was curious about that single rudder on such a wide stern, but it had plenty of bite and control. The helm was light, and the boat was pleasant to steer.
The self-tacking jib made tacking easy, but the boat seemed a bit underpowered. Genoa tracks are an option for an overlapping headsail, and that would be an easy choice for me if I were keeping a boat on the Chesapeake. Still, we managed a hair over 6 knots in the puffs, as the hull was easily driven. Even if we didn’t maximize the 360’s sailing potential, it felt like it was clearly there.
Built in Germany, the 360 found immediate success in the European markets, and it’s no mystery why. It’s a cool boat, and it’s roomy and quick—two traits that are hard to beat.
CW Editor-at-Large Herb McCormick was a 2025 Boat of the Year judge.
