The Hallberg-Rassy 37 Sailboat
Specs & Key Performance Indicators

The Hallberg-Rassy 37, a centre cockpit sloop, was designed by German Frers and built in Sweden by Hallberg-Rassy.

The Hallberg-Rassy 37

Published Specification for the Hallberg-Rassy 37

Underwater Profile: Bulb fin keel & spade rudder

Hull Material: GRP (Fibreglass)

Length Overall: 37'2" (11.3m)

Waterline Length: 33'6" (10.2m)

Beam: 11'8" (3.6m)

Draft: 6'3" (1.9m)

Rig Type: Masthead sloop

Displacement: 16,534lb (7,500kg)

Designer: German Frers

Builder: Hallberg-Rassy (Sweden)

Year First Built: 2003

Year Last Built: 2012

Number Built: 200

Published Design Ratios for the Hallberg-Rassy 37

1. Sail Area/Displacement Ratio: 18.4

Less than 16 would be considered under-powered;
16 to 20 would indicate reasonably good performance;
Over 20 suggests relatively high performance.

2. Ballast/Displacement Ratio: 42.7

Under 40: less stiff, less powerful
Over 40: stiffer, more powerful

3. Displacement/Length Ratio: 197

Under 100: Ultralight
100 to 200: Light
200 to 275: Moderate
275 to 350: Heavy
Over 350: Ultraheavy

4. Comfort Ratio: 28.1

Under 20 indicates a lightweight racing boat
20 to 30 indicates a coastal cruiser
30 to 40 indicates a moderate offshore cruising boat
40 to 50 indicates a heavy offshore boat
Over 50 indicates an extremely heavy offshore boat

5. Capsize Screening Formula: 1.8

Under 2.0 (the lower the better): Better suited for ocean passages
Over 2.0: Less suited for ocean passages

Summary Analysis of the Design Ratios for the Hallberg-Rassy 37

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1. A Sail Area/Displacement Ratio of 18.4 suggests that the Hallberg-Rassy 37 will, in the right conditions, approach her maximum hull speed readily and satisfy the sailing performance expectations of most cruising sailors.

2. A Ballast/Displacement Ratio of 42.7 means that the Hallberg-Rassy 37 will stand up well to her canvas in a blow, helping her to power through the waves.

3. A Displacement/Length Ratio of 192, tells us the Hallberg-Rassy 37 is clearly a light-to-moderate displacement sailboat. If she's loaded with too much heavy cruising gear and equipment her performance will suffer to a degree.

4. Ted Brewer's Comfort Ratio of 28.1 suggests that crew comfort of a Hallberg-Rassy 37 in a seaway is similar to what you would associate with the motion of a coastal cruiser with moderate stability, which is not encouraging news for anyone prone to seasickness.

5. The Capsize Screening Formula (CSF) of 1.8 indicates that a Hallberg-Rassy 37 would be a safer choice of sailboat for an ocean passage than one with a CSF of more than 2.0.

The Hallberg Rassy 37 Sailboat: A Review

Overview

The Hallberg Rassy 37 is a center cockpit sailboat with an overall length of 11.32 m (37' 2''), a beam of 3.55 m (11' 8'') and a draft of 1.90 m (6' 3'') for the standard version or 1.60 m (5' 3'') for the shoal draft version. It has a displacement of 7.5 t (16,500 lbs) and a ballast of 3.2 t (7,100 lbs) in lead on a deep bilge. It has a sail area of 69.1 m² (744 sq ft) with a jib or 77.4 m² (833 sq ft) with a genoa. It is powered by a Volvo Penta D2-55 engine with 41 kW (55 HP) and a fuel tank capacity of 340 liters (91 US gallons). It has a fresh water tank capacity of 400 liters (107 US gallons).

The Hallberg Rassy 37 is designed for long distance cruising with great comfort and performance. It has a well-protected center cockpit with a windscreen, an aft deck for easy movement on board, an airy aft cabin with a large berth and ample storage, a spacious saloon with a U-shaped sofa and a folding table, a forward cabin with a V-berth and lockers, a head compartment with shower and toilet, a navigation station with instruments and charts, and a galley with stove, oven, fridge and sink. The boat also has an engine room that allows for installation of a generator or other equipment.

The Hallberg Rassy 37 has a slightly fractional rig with forward and aft lowers, combining stability and flexibility. The spreaders do not interfere with the mainsail when sailing downwind over the oceans. The mast is deck-stepped. The boat can also fly a masthead gennaker from a removable bow sprit as an option. The boat is steered by a wheel in the cockpit.

The Hallberg Rassy 37 is built with high quality materials and craftsmanship. The hull is made of solid fiberglass with vinylester resin and isophthalic gelcoat. The deck is made of sandwich construction with Divinycell core and teak surface. The interior is made of mahogany woodwork with satin varnish.

Accommodation

The Hallberg Rassy 37 can accommodate up to six people in two separate cabins and the saloon. The layout is as follows:

Aft cabin: A large double berth on the starboard side, two hanging lockers, four drawers, two opening ports and one hatch;

Saloon: A U-shaped sofa on starboard side that can be converted into a double berth, a folding table with bottle storage, two armchairs on port side, four lockers, four opening ports and two hatches;

Forecabin: A V-berth that can be filled in to make a double berth, two hanging lockers, two shelves, two opening ports and one hatch;

Head: A manual toilet, a washbasin, a shower stall with curtain, a mirror, two lockers, one opening port and one hatch;

Navigation station: A forward-facing chart table with seat, an instrument panel, an electrical panel, two drawers, one locker, one opening port;

Galley: A gimballed two-burner stove with oven, a top-loading fridge with freezer compartment, a double stainless steel sink with pressurized hot and cold water, a cutting board, a trash bin, four lockers, two drawers, one opening port;

The interior is well ventilated and illuminated by natural light from the ports and hatches. The headroom is 1.92m (6' 4'') in the saloon and 1.86m (6' 1'') in the aft cabin. The upholstery is blue and the curtains are beige. The floorboards are teak with holly stripes.

Hull and Deck

The Hallberg Rassy 37 has a white hull with blue stripes. The hull is reinforced by longitudinal stringers and transverse bulkheads. The keel is a lead fin with a bulb and is bolted to the hull with stainless steel bolts. The rudder is semi-balanced and has a skeg for protection. The propeller is a three-bladed fixed type.

The deck is white with teak surface on the cockpit seats, cockpit floor, aft deck, side decks and coachroof. The deck is fitted with stainless steel handrails, stanchions, lifelines, cleats, fairleads, bow roller, stemhead fitting, pulpit, pushpit, boarding ladder and davits. The cockpit has a windscreen with sprayhood and extension, a pedestal with wheel, compass, engine control and instruments, a folding cockpit table, a locker for gas bottles, two lockers for storage, a locker for life raft, a manual bilge pump and an emergency tiller. The aft deck has a locker for fenders and lines.

The deck equipment includes:

A Lewmar electric anchor windlass with remote control
A Delta anchor with 60 m (197') of 8 mm (5/16'') chain
A kedge anchor with 40 m (131') of rope
Six mooring lines and six fenders
A sprayhood extension that covers the entire cockpit
A cockpit tent that attaches to the sprayhood extension
A bimini that covers the aft part of the cockpit
A cockpit cushion set
A teak outboard bracket on the pushpit
A flagpole with flag

Mast and Rigging

The Hallberg Rassy 37 has a silver anodized aluminum mast and boom from Seldén. The mast is deck-stepped and has two sets of spreaders. The boom has in-boom reefing with single line control for the first two reefs and a separate line for the third reef. The vang is a gas spring type. The spinnaker pole is stored on the mast.

The rigging is stainless steel wire with swaged terminals. The forestay has a Furlex furling system for the jib or genoa. The backstay has an adjuster for tensioning. The shrouds have turnbuckles for tuning. The running rigging is made of polyester rope.

The sails are made of Dacron by Elvström Sails. They include:

A mainsail with three reefs and battens;
A furling jib (105%) with UV protection;
A furling genoa (140%) with UV protection;
A gennaker with snuffer;

The sail area is 69.1m² (744 sq ft) with the jib or 77.4m² (833 sq ft) with the genoa.

The winches are from Lewmar and include:

Two 48 CST self-tailing primary winches for jib or genoa sheets;
Two 40 CST self-tailing secondary winches for mainsheet or gennaker sheets;
Two 16 C winches on the mast for halyards and reefing lines;

The sail handling equipment includes:

A mainsheet traveler on the coachroof;
Two genoa tracks with adjustable cars;
Two gennaker blocks on the toe rail;
Four rope clutches on each side of the coachroof for halyards and reefing lines;
Two rope clutches on each side of the cockpit coaming for gennaker sheets;

Conclusion

The Hallberg Rassy 37 is a solid, comfortable and seaworthy cruising sailboat that can take you anywhere in style and safety. It has a spacious and well-appointed interior, a protected and ergonomic cockpit, a sturdy and easy-to-handle rig, and a reliable and powerful engine. It is built to last by one of the most respected boat builders in the world. If you are looking for a boat that can fulfill your dreams of sailing around the world or just exploring your local waters, you should definitely check out the Hallberg Rassy 37.

The above text was drafted by sailboat-cruising.com using GPT-4 (OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model) as a research assistant to develop source material; we believe it to be accurate to the best of our knowledge.