Only a Few Hundred Things Left Until Our Hanse 388 Is Ready

The weather in Greifswald is looking good! I just checked the forecast and temperatures don’t seem to drop below freezing anymore.

This means that a bunch of yachts, their owners (along with extended families and friends), yacht dealers and yard workers are all digging in and preparing for that mad dash in spring, when within a few weeks all the boats have to be woken up from their winter rest, commissioned, and finally handed over to their future adventures and adventurers.

I’ve been talking to our dealer and here’s some details of what will hopefully eventually happen leading up to the handover.

Fix the Remaining Defects

When we got our first surveyor’s report it contained numerous “red tapes”, meaning small defects in different parts of the boat. Our dealer assured us that these would all be taken care of before handover, so we assume that’s what they will do 🙂

You can check the full list of defects in the boat chronicle over here.

Make It Golden!

HanseYachts manufactures the Hanse 388 only in one of two hull colours: average white or uneventful gray.

We wanted something a bit more brilliant so we asked the dealer if they could vinyl wrap it in our favorite color.

They said it should be possible as a part of the commissioning process, but we’re still waiting for them to confirm it.

See If It Floats 🙈🙊

I put some monkey faces there in the header to be a bit funny, but we’re not really worried.

The delivery of our boat is quite turnkey, so we just sit back and relax while our dealer together with their local partner, Yachtwerft Greifswald, do what’s needed and get the boat floating.

Rig It

Once the boat is floating there’s still a bit left to do before anyone can sail it. Conveniently, they left all the pieces of this IKEA puzzle in the cabins (IKEA Masten would be a good brand name?), so it’s just for someone to whip out the good ol’ hex tool and start building.

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Give Her a Name

We do have a name in mind, but we don’t want to jinx it, so we thought to have a proper christening (or whatever it might be called when it is a sailboat) before telling it to anyone.

If possible, we’ll visit Greifswald once before the actual handover, so maybe we will do it then. In any case, this is something that we surely want to do before the maiden voyage to Finland!

Handover

So, one day,
a few months away,
maybe in May.

The final survey passed. Everything is in perfect order. All tanks are filled and our lovely sailboat is ready to go.

The dealer’s representative gives me a firm handshake, smiles at me and says something like “Congratulations on your new boat. Now, go out and have the time of your life with her!”.

I feel crazily excited.

But also a bit nervous.

It’s not very warm outside and they have forecasted pretty strong winds for the days ahead.

We’re— I and three of my friends— planning to start the five hundred nautical miles long sail to Finland the day after tomorrow.

But that’s another story, one that I’m very much waiting to write!