Hanse 540e Pandora Highlights
Equipped for Bluewater cruising
Huge refit 2022 to 2023
New standing rigging 2019
New genoa and mainsail (Calibre) to be installed brand new October 2023
New Code 0 2019 with UV strip protection (used twice)
All new B&G electronics 2022 including Zeus 12 and Halo20 + radar kit, Triton digital display multi-display 4.1 inch colour, Triton speed / depth/ wind instrument pack, ZG100 GPS antenna with integrated compass sensor for heading, heel and trim, Triton pilot controller and autopilot with WR10 wireless autopilot remote. NMEA2000 connected Bluetooth base station, NAC-3 autopilot core pack, B&G marina VF radio, NAIS – 500 Class B AID including NPSL500 VHF / AIS antenna splitter and GPS500 antenna. Full Discover Pacific maps, VHF masthead antenna.
New fridge compressor (top loading fridge)
Added new 130LL INOX soft touch stainless steel fridge 2022
New 130L INOX Soft Touch stainless steel freezer 2022 with custom cabinet
New Force 10 4 burners stove with oven and broiler
All new deck hatches 2022
All new AGM house batteries 2020
New sail bag to be installed October 2023
New cockpit cushions to be installed October 2023
New dodger 2023
All new 900 watts Monocrystalline solar panels on custom made Bimini 2022
Immaculate Yanmar 110HP diesel engine with only 2200 hours approx.
Rarely available shaft drive model with PSS dripless shaft seal
Dive compressor, full set of scuba diving equipment (X2)
New 3.10m aluminium RIB and Yamaha 15HP outboard 2019
New Dyneema running rigging 2022
Electric primary winches X 2
New 1100W anchor windlass with double drum and remote control 2018
Re-engineered anchor bowsprit for added strength (original collapsible Hanse model not suited to cruising)
240V shore power with upgraded shore power plugs to stainless steel
Cabins professionally re-sprayed 2022
Beautiful presentation
3 cabins, 3 heads layout
Fresh water toilet in master cabin ensuite
New top of the range custom-made mattress for master queen bed 2023
All berths with adjustable lift system to incline at sea (no need for lee sheet)
Tax paid in Australia. Can import in NZ as part of a purchase agreement.
No accidents or grounding
Never chartered. Only 2 owners since new.
Full bottom strip of antifoul including rudder 2022
Last antifouled at Bay of Islands Marina September 2023
Currently in Opua. New Zealand.
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A Word From the Owners:
Pandora has been our home for close to 10 years, and taken us from Sydney, along the East coast of Australia to far north Queensland, then onto PNG, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji, where we remained for 5 years. We both worked, but enjoyed exploring Fiji's beautiful islands at each break. In November 2023, we brought Pandora to Opua, NZ to spend time in the Bay of Islands, where planning for another Pacific trip we ordered a new set of sails, sail bag, dodger and cockpit upholstery. (These are still in the loft and will be installed in late October).
In the end we decided on a change of plan, and as our next project is more land-based, it is now time to find a new home for our beautiful Pandora, which has kept us safe through so many adventures and discoveries, never failing us, and over which we lavished so much loved in return. To part with Pandora is a difficult decision, but we feel that a boat like her deserves to continue exploring the world, and not sit in a marina for occasional weekend sails.
A Hanse 540e is a high-performance cruising yacht, which can be sailed with a champagne glass in hand, with her self tacking Genoa, electric winches, remote control steering, Bluetooth repeated instruments which you can see from your phone or iPad anywhere away from the cockpit, yet with a responsive, dynamic touch and extraordinary turn of speed.
As a live-aboard she is a luxurious home, with privacy and space for even a large family, and with all the storage we needed as our forever-home when we first set out with our 9 years old daughter on a 6 year adventure plan.
However, if she is very strong and can handle even difficult weather with ease, she lacked certain necessary improvements to made her more independent being away from land for long periods of time. Throughout our travels and desire to explore very isolated locations, our need for improving the boat's original set up became obvious, and throughout our 6 years of solid cruising we continued to improve Pandora's equipment and comfort.
Hanse 540e typically have a collapsible anchor arm / bowsprit, perfect for fitting snugly in a marina berth or for racing, but not when anchored in 50 knots of wind. An engineer re-designed the whole system in 2017 and made it a lot stronger, and although it is no longer collapsible, it has withheld rather extraordinary squalls at anchor without complaints.
To avoid the dramas with through-hull fittings we had heard about, we had every single one of them replaced with Nulon, a reinforced plastic / nylon material that does not corrode and doesn't fail.
The steering cables were replaced and upgraded, all the lifelines replaced, and the rigging completely renewed with Dyform stainless steel wires and Hammer Pro turnbuckles in May 2019.
To keep the elegant lines of the Hanse 540e, we preferred not to add an arch and davits, instead having an engineer design a frame above the Bimini to install our 900w Monocrystalline solar panels in 2022, which bring us so much power that we did not need purchase a wind generator, as was originally planned, or any other power generating equipment. We have high needs for power running a business from the boat, and we love having a lot of cold storage in order to stay away from stores for weeks on end. We have found that the current set up met our needs comfortably even during the wet and cloudy summer months in Fiji.
In 2022, preparing to move to NZ and at the time not thinking to sell the boat, we did a huge refit, renovating the galley and adding a separate fridge and freezer, as well as a much larger stove. All the deck hatches were replaced, the interior was re-sprayed, and two of the bathrooms re-modelled. Our old Raymarine ST60 still worked, but we also completely replaced all the electronics with top of the range B&G.
After arriving in NZ, we commissioned brand new sails from Calibre Sails in Whangarei. These sails are still at the loft and will be fitted later this month (October), as well as a new Sunbrella sail bag and cockpit cushions. The Bimini was replaced in 2022, as were the deck hatches covers (one for each hatch).
Something we had always wanted was a really conformable mattress, and we eventually had one purpose-made in NZ. It was a costly improvement... and yet another one which we didn't get to enjoy as we are no longer living on board. Since April, Pandora is taken care of by a professional caretaker who commutes back and forth to the boat.
We are Pandora's second owners, the first one having purchased her new from Hanse Yachts in 2009 just in time for the 2009 Sydney Boat Show, in which she was Hanse's flagship. Her first owners owned the Pandora Jewellery rights in Australia (hence the name), and purchased her as a corporate yacht to race at Hamilton Island Race Week, in which she impressively competed twice. She was seldom used and when not being delivered to or from the Whitsundays, was professionally taken care off at the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, where we purchased her in 2013, and where she remained during our first 4 years with her, before beginning our South Pacific journey.
Pandora has a wonderful layout for families or those who enjoy cruising in company, with 3 staterooms, all with their private head and showers. The master stateroom is a show stopper, with her queen size island bed beautiful cabinetry, powder desk, small settee and private access to the ensuite head and shower, which is fitted with a fresh water electric toilet. There is a second stereo just for that room, as well as a flat screen TV on the wall (please note there is no TV antenna) and a full length mirror behind the door.
The two aft cabins each have their own heads and showers, one manual and one electric. Each head is fitted with a holding tank. All are generously outfitted with storage lockers and hanging wardrobes, good cross ventilation and nice portholes which give a view over the water.
There is abundant storage throughout for everything you need, months worth of supplies and your entire wardrobe. There is also a giant sail locker forward, accessed via a deck hatch and ladder, and which can house a veritable chandlery.
The deck of the Hanse 540e is uncluttered, with all the lines ran beneath the coachroof into designated channels, and the anchor winch hidden from sight. To avoid having Davits we use the power winch to haul out the dinghy, which aluminium bottom makes it strong but light, and which fits well on the foredeck while on a passage without encumbering the self-tacking Genoa. (Beneath the boom is another option but found that we preferred the foredeck.) In the sail locker is an outoard storage pad, on which the engine can simply be lowered via the power winch, and which can allow it to rest upright and away from harm.
The cockpit is gigantic and designed to let your guests enjoy a peaceful spot when sailing, with all the action taking place near the steering station, or behind on the raised aft deck.
The hydraulic garage door is a dream, allowing you all the comfort and extra space of a huge swim platform, great for fishing or sunbathing away from the wind. The 'garage' itself is gigantic, and big enough to stow a dinghy and a lot of gear. This is where we keep all our diving and fishing gear, dive compressor, wet suites, additional surf boards, jerrycans. ect. All of this gear occupy about 40% of the whole space, which could be further organised to accommodate even more (we haven't needed to but good shelves and storage racks would be fantastic to install if you really have a lot of gear.
The engine is always kept immaculate and religiously maintained. We changed the oil and filters twice as often as recommended, and always professionally by Yanmar accredited mechanics. It has never missed a bit in all our years of ownership and is very powerful, yet economical to run. We go along easily at about 9-10 knots, and our cruise speed is at around 6-7 knots when needing to cover a large distance while reducing fuel consumption. We twice had passages with no wind at all in the very low latitudes, and when the wind did come, it was in squalls and with the wind always in a contrary motion (the price to pay for going around the South Pacific the wrong way). This meant days of motoring, but we were impressed with how little fuel used at that speed, and we always had a clean bottom, diving under the boat every couple of weeks to give it a throughout rub ourselves.
Pandora was surveyed in July 2022. There was an Australian surveyor visiting Fiji and we decided to do a full check up. The survey included in and out of water inspections, as well as mechanical and a full rig check. The report is available on request.
On arrival in NZ we had another rig check done, as well as the electric fitness inspection. The electrical inspection was fine, but the rig check revealed that our shrouds were cut a little long. The rigger in Opua is currently fitting new turnbuckles to better balance the rigging.
Pandora is perfect health and we have spent close to $200,000 on her refit over the past 5 years, but here are still a few blemished. Her teak deck needs a few of the more weathered planks replaced. This is easily done but we simply haven't had time to organise it. Someone handy can do it themselves. Also, 5 years in the tropics have damaged some of the interior laminate, where moisture and condensation (that was winter in NZ) has infiltrated itself beneath the laminate where the edges were not sealed properly at the factory . We organised for shipwrights to replace already a lot of them over the past year, but there are still a few more to do. Panelling is easy to get from Hanse, or it can be replicated and blended in with the non-damaged panels by a good shipwright.
Read on for the full description and for more information please contact our friendly team at Nautilus Yacht Management. We are cruising yacht specialists and carefully check all our listings for seaworthiness, consistent maintenance by their owners, seagoing capabilities and specific qualities to be suitable as live-aboard.
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