The smallest boat that will take you anywhere… interiors are cosy, rational and incredibly spacious

Nardi’s Nods – By Federico Nardi of Cantiere Navale Dell Argentario. Translated by James Robinson Taylor

She’s the smallest boat that will take you anywhere; neither especially fast nor a high pointer, she’s the Hallberg-Rassy Monsun 31. With more than 900 built in Sweden, she has sailed everywhere, from the Labrador to the Beaufort to the Bering Seas (just to mention where it’s cold). On YouTube you can see them sailing in every ocean. Designed by Olle Enderlein (who also did the interiors on the Swan 36), production began in 1974 and coninued for eight years.

Solid wood mahogany throughout below- decks, with ample storage

Her full keel has the internal ballast ‘encapsulated’ with abundant layers of uni-directional cloth and resin, with thicknesses up to 25mm that decrease to 15mm at the waterline and 10mm above the waterline. This makes her a very sturdy boat that can tackle challenging voyages quite comfortably: her cockpit is well protected by the permanent windscreen in shockproof glass and bikini top (a characteristic of all Hallberg-Rassys) and the interiors are cosy, rational and incredibly spacious.

Belowdecks the layout is super-classic: the navigator’s bunk is to starboard tucked away behind the chart table, while the galley is to port in a nicely laid-out ‘L’ shape, with the sink intelligently placed in the middle near the companionway steps.

Amidships we find the L-shaped dinette to port, which converts into a twin bed, and a settee to starboard which doubles as a bunk. The backrests are upholstered and at night they swing up giving you some remarkably good-sized bunks for sleeping.

The saloon is separated from the forward cabin by the head, with a sliding door aft and twin swinging doors forward. Mahogany is used throughout; the beautifully done carpentry almost completely utilises solid wood. There is an abundance of doored storage lockers with drawers and shelves. In the passageway leading from the saloon to the forward cabin we have the large hanging locker, divided in two.

Aesthetically, her lines are definitely those of a cruiser, but harmonious. The sheer is pronounced and the deckhouse is nicely shaped, while the gunwale is completed by a teak cover-board which gives her a very elegant air; this is also the perfect construction method to join the deck and hull. The single spreader mast is by Selden; it’s very robust and stepped on deck. The original engine was a 25hp, twin-cylinder Volvo MD 2B that managed to push her at 7.2 knots at 2,300 rpm.

Her market price at present is around €30-35,000. ★

MONSUN 31                    
LOA: 30ft 9in (9.4m)
LWL: 24ft 8in (7.5m)
Beam: 9ft 5in (2.9m)
Draught: 4ft 7in (1.4m)
Displacement: 9,250 lbs.