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2 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Afew years ago, Michael Schmidt,owner of Hanse Yachtzentrum in

Greifswald, Germany, watched his 11-year-old daughter, Rebecca, sail adinghy with great competence. “Gee,”commented a friend observingRebecca’s maneuvers, “I guess shelearned to sail from her Admiral’sCup-winning father.” “No,” Schmidtreplied, “she doesn’t know muchabout sailing. But her dinghy, with itsblade jib, makes it simple.”

That minor event influenced theoverall design of Hanse sailboats.Schmidt resolved to build boats thatwere not only fast but could be easilysailed by the entire family. Heretained the Judel/Vrolijk design office(Bremerhaven, Germany) to help himdevelop yachts that would handle likehis daughter’s dinghy. The result is aseries of performance cruisers with anumber of convenient features thatinclude a self-tacking furling jib andfully battened mainsail, a rod-linksteering system, and roller bearings onthe rudder shaft. This year, Schmidtwill build about 400 boats at his 25-acre(10.1 hectare) manufacturing facility on

the Ryck River, just a couple of milesfrom the Baltic Sea in what was EastGermany until 15 years ago. Schmidt’sHanse Yachtzentrum offers an out-standing example of how some busi-nesses in this recently communistcountry are embracing the entrepre-neurial spirit of capitalism—and areflourishing.

Boatbuilding and PoliticsIt’s impossible to describe the

founding and growth of Hanse with-out discussing the impact of theplant’s location and the politics ofGerman reunification. Greifswald,founded by Cistercian monks in 1199,has a present population of roughly53,000; it is three hours by car northof Berlin. During the Middle Ages, thetown established a university, becamean active trading port, and joined theHanseatic League—a highly innova-tive group of merchant associations inEuropean cities fronting the Baltic.The League eventually included mem-ber communities as far away asNorway, the Netherlands, andBelgium, and provided a measure of

The story of the rapid emergence—andincreasing international reach—of a privatelyowned sailboat-production company situatedin the former East Germany.

by Marianne Scott

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free trade and insurance in the peren-nially risky business of import-export.Today, when you enter Greifswald’scity limits, a sign proudly proclaims itas “Hansestadt Greifswald.” (Stadt isGerman for “city.” By christening hissailboat series “Hanse,” Schmidtinvokes the term’s mercantile and cul-tural heritage.) Through the centuries,boatbuilding, fishing, and trading sup-ported the town, and a flock of vin-tage vessels moored at the river’sedge attest to its commercial past.Luckily, the town escaped destructionduring World War II; its city center isgraced by well-maintained medievaltown houses and churches. The cityalso avoided the dreary, concrete-block,urban-renewal look so ubiquitous in theformer Eastern Bloc countries. DuringGreifswald’s 45 years in the commu-nist German Democratic Republic, itsgrowth was limited. Currently, thetown is trying to shrink its 17%unemployment rate—one of theunwelcome legacies of the GDR era.

But without such legacies, it’sunlikely that Michael Schmidt couldhave purchased the property thathouses the antiquated VolkswerftStralsund, a boatyard dating to 1879 andknown for its commercial vesselsand repair facilities, along with the

occasional construction of a yacht. It’sas if all of Schmidt’s previous lifeexperience had prepared him forinvesting in the former East Germanyand launching an enterprise that hasmade his firm the second largest pro-duction builder in Germany, afterBavaria Yachtbau in Giebelstadt. Hequips that if you count Bénéteau andJeanneau as one company (becauseBénéteau owns Jeanneau), Schmidt’soperation is the third largest sailboatcompany in Europe. And he’sachieved that growth in just a dozenyears.

The FounderI’d become interested in Hanse

after reading several magazine boat-reviews. Then, after discussions withseveral German friends, I was curiousto discover how a modern yacht yardcould grow so fast in a former com-munist environment. So I took advan-tage of my husband’s lecture trip toGermany, and visited the Hanse planton the Baltic.

When I first met Schmidt, I askedhim for his business card. He pulled afat wad of paper out of his pocketand riffled through note scraps,receipts, euro bills, his driver’s license,credit cards, and other people ’s

Above—Hanse founder-owner MichaelSchmidt, an avid racer as a young man,sold his Hamburg, Germany, yacht brokerage and other businesses tofocus fully on production boatbuilding.Facing page—Greifswald, home ofHanse Yachtzentrum, was establishedin 1199. Today its population is53,000, but unemployment is high: 17%.The town’s main square and medievaltownhouses were spared Allied bombing during World War II.

During the Middle Ages, Greifswald was a member of the Hanseatic League, a tradeconsortium. Situated on the Ryck River just a few miles from the Baltic Sea,Greifswald has a long seafaring tradition. Its banks are lined with old commercialvessels of various types.


business cards—but none of his own.“I can’t give you one,” he said. “Sohow do I identify you?” I asked. “Areyou the company president?” “Oh,titles are bs,” he boomed. “Just sayI’m the first slave of the German gov-ernment. We have so many regula-tions and taxes, I’ve had to hire a taxconsultant.” To emphasize the point,he said that last month his Britishresin supplier couldn’t deliver on timeand asked its Croatian subcontractorto ship the product instead. “SinceCroatia isn’t in the European Union, Iwent through a nightmare of importduties and taxes. Spent the wholemorning doing paperwork ratherthan building boats,” he grumbled.

Schmidt is a large, good-naturedman, fond of food and wine, and, likemany Germans, inhales cigarettesendlessly. He has a robust sense ofhumor. Yet one detects a keen instinctfor business and the guts to takechances.

Born in 1948, Schmidt grew up inKiel, the largest port on Germany’sBaltic coast. By age 10, he was racingan Optimist pram, which he and hisfather had built from a Danish kit. “Ithad a bamboo mast and tailorshop-made linen sails,” Schmidt recalled. “Iwas an aggressive sailor who didn’tlike to lose. I’ve kept the medal I wonin 1958 and am still proud of it.”School, he said, “wasn’t much on theagenda.” But sailing was, and in 1972,he tried out for the Olympics in aFinn. A year later, he and Rolf Vrolijk(current co-designer of the Hanseseries and the designer of last year’sSwiss-sponsored America ’s Cup win-ner, Alinghi ), placed second in theworld Shark competition in Kingston,Ontario.

The Sharks they raced were beingbuilt by C&C in Canada. The silvermedal that Schmidt and Vrolijk wonlater led Schmidt to constructing C&Cyachts in Kiel for a few years. In 1980,Schmidt bought a bankrupt boatyardin Wedel, near Hamburg. There heestablished a Grand Banks brokerage,and also built some one-off raceboats,designed by the Judel/Vrolijk firm thatRolf Vrolijk and Friedrich Judel hadfounded the previous year. [For moreon Judel/Vrolijk, see the sidebar onpage xx—Ed.] Schmidt describedthese boats as “40' [12.2m] offshoreracing dinghies. Huge cockpit, flat-tened trunk cabin. Quite radical forthe time. We experimented with

Above—An active racer of Optimist dinghies at the age of 10, Schmidt went on torace and build larger boats, experimenting in the early 1980s with Kevlar reinforce-ments and honeycomb cores. His one-off Düsselboot won the Admiral’s Cup in1983. Below—Schmidt got his boatbuilding business underway by acquiring old moldsfrom other builders—the 29' (8.8m) Aphrodite, for example, from bankrupt RexMarin, in Sweden. When it came time to establish a fresh and consistent identity,Schmidt turned to the design firm of Judel/Vrolijk (Bremerhaven). The first all-newHanse, the 371 (11m), was introduced in 1999.

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Kevlar and other composite materials,including honeycomb cores.” Two ofthose boats, Düsselboot (later Out-sider) and Pinta, were on the teamthat won the Admiral’s Cup in 1983;Schmidt himself skippered one of thethree winning boats, Rubin, in the1985 Admiral’s Cup. He also addedthe Sardinia Cup to his laurels in 1984and 1986, and has participated inoffshore racing.

Buying a Factory in the Former GDR

Zoom to 1990. “I’d built a fewboats in Poland,” said Schmidt.“Someone told me I should stop byGreifswald on my way back from aPolish trip. Long story short: I soonfound myself in a joint venture toredevelop a boatyard that had beennationalized under the East Germans.”

Did Schmidt have a grand plan inmind to introduce a new series ofsailboats? No. But he did recognizethe opportunity this yard presented—given the property’s proximity to thesea in the country’s best sailing loca-tion. “In West Germany,” he said, “I

couldn’t own land to build yachts. It’stoo expensive, and three levels ofgovernment regulate everything. I’dnever get the needed permits. Buthere, the provincial ministry has beenvery supportive and offers incentives.All this fostered a kind of semi-masterplan in my head.”

After acquiring the yard, Schmidtfaced a raft of logistical and personnelproblems. The facility’s too-small

structures were “stuck in a 1935 timewarp,” so he constructed new sheds.The previously government-ownedcompany employed 130 people—about 100 too many for the work athand. Schmidt laid off the surplusworkers. He told the ones still on staffthat competition had arrived. “I’ll fireanyone who’s lazy, stupid, or unwill-ing to learn,” he informed them in hisdirect manner. “You’ve lived on an

The Greifswald boatyard that Schmidt bought had been nationalized by thecommunist East German government, and employed far more people than therewas work for. The yard mostly built commercial boats, but also a few yachts suchas these two yawls.

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The DesignersBilling itself as “Judel/Vrolijk & Co., yacht design & engi-

neering,” this firm is based in Bremerhaven and was foundedin 1978 by Friedrich Judel and Rolf Vrolijk. A third partner,Torsten Conradi, joined in 1986. Over the past quarter cen-tury, this office has designed production boats (for such com-panies as Dehler, Najad, JVC, Baltic, and Hanse), raceboats(Judel/Vrolijk designs have won Admiral’s Cups), powerboats,catamarans, ferries, cruising sailboats, and luxury yachts.

Judel and Vrolijk were each asked to contribute their exper-tise to the last America’s Cup contest—but for different con-tenders. To avoid any conflicts of interest, the two designerssplit their offices for several years. Judel designed the Germanchallenger under the major sponsorship of Illbruck, aGerman-based international building-supply company. “Wefinished about 90% of the project,” said Judel. “Then themoney ran out.” Concurrently, Vrolijk designed the Swissentry and eventual winner, Alinghi. It speaks volumes aboutthe integrity and probity of the J/V principals that each couldbe engaged to design an America ’s Cup yacht for competingcountries without becoming embroiled either in the contro-versies of crew configuration (high-profile New Zealanders“jumping ship”) or the series of prerace protests (one syndi-cate’s alleged theft of technical secrets from another).

After Alinghi won, the low-key partners simply went back towork—together. —Marianne Scott

Designer Friedrich Judel (left) discusses the three-bladed folding prop with a Hanse client.


island and think you’re great. Butnow you’re entering the wider world.You’re expected to work hard. And ifyou do, I’ll promise not to lay anyoneoff for 10 years.” Schmidt clasped hishands and leaned back, smiling a bit.“They thought I was just a stupidWessi.” (A reference to the East-Westcultural split that continued after theBerlin Wall fell, dividing Germans into“Ossis” and “Wessis.”) Schmidt hired aSwedish manager—an outsider toreunification politics—who mitigatedsome of the hard feelings, and theyard continued its repair operationsuntil 1993, when the work dried up.

Schmidt was then confronted withhis own promise to keep the yard’semployees employed. Movingquickly, he purchased molds from abankrupt Swedish sailboat company(Rex Marin), and within a month pro-duced what is now called the Hanse291—a 29-footer (8.8m)—just in timefor the Hamburg Boat Show. Schmidtcalls it a “good fiberglass boat withoutgimmicks but less expensive thanboats of similar size.” He was notaverse, however, to using a gimmick

of his own to sell his first Hanse. Atthe boat show, he hung a giant ham-mer off the stern pulpit, calling it the“price hammer.” It worked. Schmidtreceived 30 orders at the show andhas sold about 250 units since. Afterupdating the tooling and renamingthe boat the 301, another 275 boatswere built, and production continues.He also found molds for a 33-footer(10m), tweaked the tooling, rechris-tened the model the Hanse 331, andsold 230 units of that version.(Production of this particular unit hasceased). All this was accomplishedwhile he maintained his brokerageand yard businesses in Hamburg.

But, being an absentee boss hadserious drawbacks. “There were toomany ventures. It all became very dif-ficult to supervise,” said Schmidt. “By1996, I had troubles. The Greifswaldmanager had fudged the figures, andsuddenly I was facing bankruptcy.”For a guy who likes to win, this wasunacceptable. He sold the businessesin Hamburg and moved his family toGreifswald—a shift his Hamburgfriends compared to moving to

Siberia. But Scmidt’s on-site presenceand restructuring of the workplacenot only saved the company, itenabled it to flourish. He againcleaned house by firing more of thestaff (nine are left from the GDRdays), then hired and trained newcraftsmen. “I’m not the most popularguy in town,” he admitted. A down-turn in local construction activityallowed him to hire certified carpen-ters, and he found that graduates oftechnical and boatbuilding programswere eager to work at the yard.

New DesignsDuring the turnaround, Schmidt

attended a sailboat race, the first forhim in a decade. “I was so busy Ihadn’t paid much attention, and wassurprised by how much raceboats hadchanged. They’d been long and nar-row. Now they were beamy, fat-assboats. Especially the French ones. Butthose beamy boats could sail! So Iwent to my old friends at Judel/Vrolijkand said, “I need a new design, fastupwind, comfortable, with an appealinginterior like the Hinckleys—a boat


that can be handled by a couple evenin rough seas.” In 1999, the companyintroduced its first original design, theHanse 371 (37'/11m). It features a fineentry, nearly plumb bow, walk-through transom, 9/10 fractional rig,double swept-back spreaders, wire

rigging, and a self-tacking jib, thoughinboard sail tracks are standard for acustomer desiring an overlappinggenoa. The following year, the 312and 341 (31'/9.4m and 34'/10.4m)were launched; the 411 (40.5'/12.3m)was added in 2001, which was also

the year of Hanse’s first export toNorth America. The 531 (53'/16.2m)was introduced in 2003 and hasalready sold more than 35 units. Anew 46-footer (14m) was scheduledfor launch in July 2004, and the firmis developing a new 28-footer (8.5m).All are sail, and all are Judel/Vrolijkdesigns.

One thing Schmidt wants to influ-ence: the way many women seem tofeel about sailing. “I asked myself,‘How can sailboats appeal to morewomen and families?’ I puzzled aboutthat. We produce a classic raisedcabin, but we instituted a number ofchanges. For example, we were thefirst to eliminate the dedicated charttable. In the 371 and 411, we stillhave a table, but there’s a seat on

Hulls are laid up by hand. Bottomsreceive solid glass; balsa or Airex cores are applied to the topsides only. Plywood bulkheads get tabbed to the hull. The 371 is shown here.


either side. That’s in addition to thedining table. If you’re with a family,one table isn’t enough for games, eat-ing, projects, and chart reading. Theelectrical panel and CD player arejust above it. So the chart table dou-bles as entertainment center. In the411, we also added a vanity table inthe forepeak.”

Schmidt likes clean deck plans.Walking forward there are no obsta-cles. A single-line reefing system ishandled from the cockpit, and allother lines, such as halyards, lead tothe cockpit as well. Mainsheets aremidboom with the traveler ahead ofthe companionway, eliminating theclutter and obstruction of a traveler inthe cockpit. The self-tacking jib,which obviates the need for haulingsheets and grinding winches, isanother aspect of the family-friendlyapproach. True to his racing back-ground, Schmidt shuns in-mast furlingbecause, without battens, sail shapeis “raggedy.”

The interiors have more than 6' 2"(1.9m) headroom. “I want to addvalue, try new things—not newness

for its own sake, but for making theboats either faster or more livable,”Schmidt said. He therefore installscabinet doors inset with wicker, bothto brighten the interior and to reducecondensation inside lockers. Thefusion of varnished mahogany andoff-white bulkheads and deckheadsevokes the time-honored finishes oftraditional yachts.

Yanmar engines are standard, asare the Sparcraft mast and solid vang.Moreover, unlike many productionboat builders, Hanse offers ownersnumerous options: more than onehead in the bigger models, separateshowers, extended galleys, shoal ordeep keels, different hull colors. Therecent 53-footer’s interior layout,designed by Birgit Schnaase ofHamburg, can be semicustomized forthe buyer. “The bigger the boat, themore the owner wants to be incharge of the final design,” saidSchmidt.

ConstructionInterior installations and finishing

of the Hanse product line take place

at the riverside facility. One large stor-age shed contains stacks of foot-thickslabs of mahogany that will be milledand sawn for cabinets; another storessome of the hulls awaiting comple-tion. In the remaining three buildingsabout 170 people work two shifts daily.Offices for 30 additional personnel—in sales, marketing, design, and book-keeping—are scattered throughout ajumble of converted containers. “Wedon’t spend money on fancy officesor company cars,” said Schmidt,whose own digs demonstrate the aus-tere furnishings and creaky floors ofthe rest of the buildings.

Hulls and decks are molded off-site. The 312, 341, and 371 get lami-nated in a rented facility in Szczecin,a once-Prussian city on the OderRiver in northwest Poland. (Poland,with its lower wages, fewer bureau-cratic impediments, and workerseager for jobs, has become a popularplace for German outsourcing.) The411 and 531 are presently laid up in a100 ' x 400 ' (30.5m x 122m) shedattached to a decommissioned nuclearpower plant just outside Greifswald.


It’s a well-lit space, kept heatedbetween 64°F and 77°F (18°C and25°C) for proper resin curing and, asa legacy of its former purpose, isalways guarded. Nevertheless, toimprove quality control and to cen-tralize all lamination, Schmidt plans toconsolidate hull-and-deck construc-tion at the Szczecin site later this year.

Hull laminates have been engi-neered in the traditional manner; theemphasis is on sufficient structuralintegrity to survive ocean storms.Hulls and decks are laid up by hand.“It’s a process that is easy to controland oversee,” said Schmidt. “Theexotic materials and processes costtoo much for what we want.” Foreach boat, the female molds arecleaned, polished, and waxed beforethe gelcoat covestripe and boottopare brushed on. The rest of the0.6mm (24 mils) of isophthalic poly-ester gelcoat is sprayed; off-white isHanse’s stock color for the large parts.

“We never begin a gelcoat unlesswe have enough time to complete theentire layup,” said Gregor Breden-beck, Hanse’s production manager.

Left—A molded grillage tabbed to the hull stiffens the bottom. Right—Productionmanager Gregor Bredendeck.


“Inside the gelcoat, we apply twolayers of 300-gram/m2 [1 oz/sq ft]chopped strand mat to prevent print-through. This is followed by a combolayer of 300-gram/m2 CSM and 300-gram/m2 woven roving. Then comesfiberglass cloth, laid up horizontallyand vertically with 3cm (1.2" ) over-laps. Next, we place 900-gram/m2

[3 oz/sq ft] of 0/90 roving. For the 371and 411, we then position sheets of18mm (0.7" ) resin-impregnated balsa,installed from the waterline to 10cm[3.9" ] below the deck line. On the531, instead of balsa we vacuum-bagAirex foam to the hull. After the resinhas cured, we apply balsa and foam

triangles to close out the core panels,before adding three more 900-gram/m2 layers of combined CSM androving.”

In the keel area, additional layers offiberglass and resin are laid down

until the hull thickness there isbetween 30mm and 45mm (1.2" and1.8" ). Then aluminum plates 12mm–20mm (0.5" –0.8" ) thick are epoxiedinto those areas supporting the keeland mast, and at winch and rigging

Hanse offers shoal- and deep-draftkeels for each model. Shafts are castiron and the bulbs, lead. The companyoffers its customers additional variations,as well as alternate accommodationplans—more options overall, in fact,than many production builders.


points. The plates’ footprints arelarger, by a couple of centimeters allaround, than the equipment they backup. Pretapped steel plates receive theengine mounts.

Keels are cast-iron shafts carrying

lead bulbs; these are attached to thehull with at least 10 stainless steelbolts.

All Hanse boats get sail-drive trans-missions. I asked Judel about NorthAmerican perceptions that sail drives

are more prone to corrosion than ashaft drive. “Everyone here uses saildrives rather than struts,” he said. “Noleaks at the stuffing box. We believesail drives are better. And, as copper-based paints are now prohibited inmany European harbors, corrosionisn’t much of an issue. What must betreated against corrosion, though, isthe cast iron keel shaft.”

Keels are built by Hacon inHamburg; the longest measures 2.8m(9.2' ). The lead bulb is glued to theshaft with epoxy, and mechanicallyfastened with three heavy-duty stain-less bolts. Bolt bores are slightlylarger than the bolts to allow for some(0.6" /1.5cm) movement aft should the

The deck mold incorporates a flangedtransom. Its open design eliminates theexpense and complication of scuppers,and caters to a decidedly performance-oriented clientele.


boat hit bottom, hard; the hope is thathull damage will be minimized.

I asked Bredenbeck why Hanseuses polyester instead of vinyl esterresin when the latter is known to bemore resistant to osmotic blistering.He said Hanse chose polyesterbecause of its lower cost, and because

Hanse’s own tests suggest that isoresins resist osmotic blistering aboutas well as the vinyl ester. “In addition,our research indicates that vinyl estershrinks more in the high-temperatureplaces where many of our boats sail,like the Mediterranean. There’ve beenno failures in the nearly 1,400 hulls

built.” That said, he advocates thatthe hull below the waterline becoated with epoxy to increaseosmotic resistance.

Decks receive 22mm (0.86" ) balsacoring, except for those areas carryinghardware such as rope clutches.(Schmidt believes that, generally,

Left—Cabinets are readied in the carpentry shop before being installed. Right—A carpenter prepares stock for an interior component. Rounded-wood pieces are manually sanded.


balsa bonds better than foam.)Sikaflex adhesive-sealant is gunnedinto the hull-to-deck joint; an alu-minum toerail and stainless boltscomplete the job. The flanged tran-som is part of the deck and of coursegets glassed to the hull. Overhead

liners are the only componentsfabricated by chopper gun.

During this period of rapid growth,Hanse is experimenting with a num-ber of new approaches to engineeringits laminates. For example, the companyis making its own pre-pregs and

testing them in the 341 and 371.Explained Bredenbeck, “If we’re satis-fied with the results, we’ll still beusing the same number of layers ofglass fiber, but less resin—savingweight, overlapping less, and achievinggreater accuracy.” To reduce weight

Left—Wood cabinet parts pass through the Rotoclean Cattinair spray varnish machine, on a conveyor belt. The same machinealso dries the varnish. Right—An aluminum grid holds the hull shape while workers tab the grillage in place, which will be followed by bulkheads.


in the 531 and 461 (46.5'/14.2m),Hanse is also considering substitutingSP epoxy for the polyester resin; thatswitch may occur this year. “We thinkthat for the higher-end boats, buyerswill pay more for the quality ofepoxy—and lighter weight,” he said.“Our first 461 epoxy hull was

launched last July. The cost increaseto customers will be somewherearound €7,000 [$9,100]—not a hugeamount, as we do save on time andmaterials. We’ll also offer a long-termosmosis warranty. Remember, we’rebuilding our boats for the fast-cruisingmarket. We don’t want the weight of

some of the Scandinavian-built boats.”Schmidt is also considering various

combinations of carbon and Kevlar,but remains cautious about so-calledexotics. When asked how much isgained for the cost of these materials,he says, “If I make the boat 10%lighter for a gain of 0.1 knots, there’sno benefit for the buyer. Most sailorscan get that improvement in speed,and more, just by learning how totrim their sails.” For now, Schmidt,like many of his counterparts in pro-duction composite boat building,remains skeptical of resin-infusiontechnology. “It’s all right for smallparts,” he said, “but at this time it’swrong for our decks. It’s just toodifficult to control the resin flow into

To avoid the use of fasteners and theinevitable problems with bungs andleaks, the teak decks on a Hanse 531cockpit are vacuum-bagged in place.


all those corners. To me, infusion isnot yet proven for the long term. Irealize there are environmental rea-sons for it, but I still ask if it’s more ofa marketing ploy.” The company doesuse vacuum to bag Airex core to the531 hull, and to secure a prefabricatedteak overlay to the glass substrate onthe decks of the 411 and 531. Theteak work is performed by a subcon-tractor. Sikaflex seals the teak to theglass; vacuum-bagging ensures agood bond while eliminating screws,popped bungs, and the inevitableleaks.

Finishing Out Once hulls and decks have been

molded either at the Greifswaldpower station or the Polish site,they’re transported to the Greifswaldriverside facility. There, a 400m2

(4,306 sq ft) carpentry shop preparesthe cabinetry, bulkheads, countertops,and other furnishings. CNC programsdirect VEMA sawing, shaping, andplaning machines, and air hoses suckup the sawdust. A Heesemann sandersmoothes flat pieces; trim with

rounded sections is sanded manually.After carpenters fabricate themahogany-veneered cabinetry andfoam-cored doors, the pieces arecoated with a high-gloss varnishinside a Rotoclean Cattinair sprayingmachine (made in Pont de Roide,France). This robotic operation spraysseven to eight coats of varnish on thesurface of wooden parts, then usesultraviolet light to dry them beforethey exit the booth.

In the finishing shed, able toaccommodate from 14 to 17 boats,depending on size, a list on a standbehind each cradle-supported hullitemizes the tasks, modifications, orupgrades for that boat—not unlike thefamiliar patient-chart at the foot ofa hospital bed. Upon completion of adesignated task, a worker must placea checkmark and signature on thesheet. I watched as three workersbegan preparing the interior of a 411.An aluminum grid maintained hullshape at deck level. One workerpositioned fiberglass forms to holdsettees, while a second drilled chan-nels for hoses and conduits in the

hollow fiberglass stringers; theseare premolded as a grid and thentabbed to the hull. The third workercut shallow grooves into the fiberglasshull for landings for the bulkheads,which will be glassed on both sides.The main bulkhead, separating theforepeak from the saloon, is made of7⁄8" (22mm) marine plywood, and is sup-plemented by similar cabin-dividingbulkheads aft. Hanse also installswhat it calls “butterfly bulkheads”—structures about 30cm–50cm (12" –20" )behind the main bulkhead to helpcarry the load of the aft-angledspreaders and rig. The plywood iscoated with off-white Resopal, aEuropean plastic laminate. Glassed-infiberglass berths add to structuralsolidity. “We laminate everything.There are flanges on the premoldedpieces,” said Bredenbeck. Once thetanks, bulkheads, cabinetry, plumb-ing, and wiring have been installed, acrane lowers the boat’s deck onto thehull. In short order, winches, sheetstoppers, lazarette covers, stanchions,vents—all the hardware and gearneeded to complete the boat—are


placed in their proper locations. Itcurrently takes about two and a halfweeks to complete a 411.

A series of padlocked cabinets linethis shed’s walls. When Hanse firststarted production here, the companyprovided an assortment of tools fromwhich the entire pool of workerscould draw. But this open-tool policydidn’t work. Tools disappeared, orbroke at an alarming rate, or were leftbehind in the bowels of boats. Now,

each worker receives his own set oftools, kept in individual tool chests. Abroken tool gets replaced only if theworker has not been negligent. “It’smore expensive to buy so many toolsets in the beginning,” said Schmidt,“but their longevity has more thanpaid for it.”

Bredenbeck calmly oversees all thisactivity, giving instructions, answeringquestions, responding to an ever-ringing cellphone. Although he’s only

33, it’s obvious the men respect himand the knowledge he’s gained frommany years of sailing (including timespent in the Caribbean), from havingcompleted a boatbuilding apprentice-ship in Schmidt’s Wedel boatyard,and, not least, from selling boats. Hehas another advantage: he was bornand raised in East Germany, spentabout a decade in the West[Germany], then returned in the late1990s. “They call me a ‘Wossi,’” hejoked. “A Wessi-Ossi combo.” He’svery proud of the Hanse productioncrew. “We could not have been thissuccessful in the West,” he saidemphatically. “We now have a goodinfrastructure in the East. So muchmoney has been spent to modernizethe region that we’ve come to outstripthe West in the quality of roads andhigh-tech communications. And theyounger workers, once seen as lack-ing a work ethic, are more motivatedthan the Westerners, who’ve grownfat and lazy. Our workers are hungryand look to the future. The Westlooks to the past. Yes, wages arelower here, but so are living costs.The men take so much pride in theirwork—all of them—carpenters,mechanics, painters, fiberglass guys.”One shop-floor problem, though,arose over smoke breaks. Naturally,smoking is not permitted in the flam-mable workshop environment. Butsince smoking is so prevalent inGermany, and especially in the East,many of the men were taking fre-quent breaks, thereby angering thenonsmokers. The solution? Smokebreaks are now strictly regulated—butnot compensated.

Quality ControlIn the early days, Hanse hired staff

to oversee production quality. Thecompany quickly learned that, in asmall town riven by the politics ofreunification, where you run into col-leagues at the beer hall and super-market, it was difficult for a staffer toremain neutral. “Five people weredestroyed by the process,” saidSchmidt. “They’d inevitably take theside of the workers. The bossbecomes the enemy.” So Schmidthired an outside contractor, who hasa financial stake in the finishedyachts. “Whatever’s not up to snuffgets reported back to production,”said Bredenbeck. “If the guy missessomething that eventually requires a


warranty repair, then the travel coststo correct the problem, in the field, arecharged to him. Works wonderfully.”

Hanse’s FutureHanse’s growth has been rapid,

doubling in each of the past fouryears, with buyer waiting lists nowrunning to nine months. To meetdemand, Hanse has outsourced certaintasks, such as upholstery and some ofthe stainless work, creating an addi-tional 50 jobs in the region. Schmidtbelieves the European market forHanses is far from saturated, and he’sbarely introduced his boats to NorthAmerica. (There are currently fivedealers in the United States and two inCanada.) To increase production,Schmidt is working with the Stuttgart-based Fraunhofer Institute, a researchoutfit that helps develop industrialplans. “I gave them a blank piece ofpaper to come up with the most inno-vative and efficient way of buildingtwo boats a day.” As soon as plans arefinalized, Schmidt anticipates he’llerect a new production plant next tothe existing Greifswald facility. He’salso establishing an R&D shop atHanse’s lamination facility in Szczecin.Poland is emerging as a commercialpowerhouse now that the country hasjoined the European Union. Schmidtplans to hire well-educated, young,ambitious engineering and computergraduates capable of “prethinking theyachts.” “Why,” he asked, “should aboat owner have fewer options thana car owner? I want both a productionline and flexibility to serve customers.Judel/Vrolijk draws the lines; thesenew people will computer-generatethe production drawings for the inte-rior and the systems. I want every-thing pre-engineered. And I wantthree-dimensional views of differentconfigurations that dealers can showto customers.”

Schmidt’s chances of reaching thesegoals seem good. His Greifswald facil-ity has only a small mortgage, andhe’s financing his rapid growth out ofcash flow. “We’re privately owned, sowe don’t owe any explanations toshareholders,” he said happily. “We’repleased with the profits. I could makemore money if I didn’t invest in thefuture, but I’d rather reinvest inthe company than take it out forpersonal use.”

At the end of our Hanse plant tour,we strolled through the cobblestoned

streets of Greifswald. Residents, somewith baby carriages, walked briskly inthe cold February wind, stopping atbakeries and butcher shops to pick upthat evening’s dinner. We dined in anoverflowing restaurant on some finebratwurst and sauerkraut. Afterward,we walked toward the Ryck River withits thicket of masts standing out insharp relief against a darkening sky.The blue flashing lights of a police carcaught our eye. Behind the vehicle, a

small truck hauled a large cradle sup-porting a completed Hanse 411, on itsway to a new owner.

About the Author: Marianne Scott isa writer based in Victoria, BritishColumbia, who has specialized inmarine topics since she and her hus-band sailed from Victoria to Tahitiand back. Marianne contributes topublications in the U.S., Canada, andthe United Kingdom.

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