Halmans

Details for Manufacturer Identification Code ZHL

It was only a matter of time to get more of the photos and information organized so that those of you who are owners and admirers of the Halman boats could go directly to what interests you the most. While the primary focus on the site will remain with the Nordica’s, there’s no doubt that many readers see them as “exchangeable” for most purposes. Stories about how the Nordica factory was “bought out and taken over” by the Halman company will continue and we will try to serve both groups with reliable and (as much as possible) factual information about both. Whether boiling down the details and personal preferences for the Halman or the Nordica helps you to legitimize your own decisions or helps the next buyer focus in on what makes the most sense to them, the process will find it’s own audience and hopefully prove to be valuable for all who take part. When it comes down to the bottom line, you really wanted to go sailing didn’t you?





		The new - “Fandango”




		“Farfarer”




		“La Jeanne”



		1024 x 768 for best resolution


	H-27

These three photos were just sent in by the new owners of “Muffin” - Their pride and joy! She’s a 1980 Halman that has been recently restored by a marine surveyor in Maryland who has brought her back to like-new condition. Sounds like the owners are going to sail her in some midwest land-locked (but large) lakes. The owner said “she didn’t come with too much equipment, but that was alright... she was in such good condition, that it didn’t matter!” Thanks to Cap’n Carolyn

Halman 20 Owners - Check this out!!!! Seems that “Mr. Halmans” factory built a lot of 20 ft. boats, but didn’t build too many manuals - and probably because people were so eager to go sailing, they weren’t going to take the time to do any serious writing or reading. If he was wrong, and you really do like to read and learn something new.... then here’s something make your day! Mr. Colin Starratt has compiled a manual of notes from being a Halman owner and has graciously offered to share that with us. If you’d like a copy, send me an e-mail at [Lmay@nordicaboats.com] and I’ll forward it to you. He’s done a great job in combining photos, sketches and real “meat and potatoes” perspectives from an owners viewpoint. The price to you for his work is simple, you have to send him a note of thanks and appreciation for his efforts. Absolutely the best deal you’ve run across for a long time I’d bet. The file is a “PDF” document and is about 40+ pages long.

Thanks Colin for all of your work. Your efforts will be appreciated many times over by all of the existing and new Halman owners who read and learn from your work. As an update to this “better than free” offer, there have been a lot of requests for his manual and I hope Colin is getting his e-mail box stuffed with your notes of appreciation.


	The story that Colin wrote about some of his observations, adventures and experiences with his Halman 20 used to be on the N-20 page - Click on the icon to the left to locate it now.

Here’s a recent question for the Halman owners - especially those who believe they know the finer details about their boats.... What is the length of the original Halman mast? - Have received a good measurement from another Halman owner who says “from top of the mast to the bottom - is 25 ft. 6 and 1/4 inches.” Now go write this down somewhere so you can find it when you want to know the next time! Thanks Peter for your help...




	Just heard that John has sold “Fandango” - hope we’ll hear from the new owner soon!


	We’ve got a couple of interior photos from Skipper John, who has been working hard for the last year in bringing his “Fandango” up to super condition. He’s not done with her yet and said after spending so much prime time this summer, he just wanted to go sailing!!! So the next round of changes will have to wait. Good advice John [http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/deolinda/fandango]

Halman-20’s were first built in 1977 and were manufactured in Beamsville, Ontario Canada. In 1989 they brought out the Halman 21 which included a bowsprit and a few more bronze fittings than were offered previously. They also produced another model known as the “Halman Horizon” that was a 27 foot model (shown to the left.). Unlike the full keel versions on the smaller boats, this model was designed with a fin keel plus skeg and rudder.


	L.O.A - 27’ L.W.L - 23’ Beam - 9’8” Displ. - 7,000 lbs. Draft - 4’ Ballast - 2,250 lbs. Sail Area - 320 sq. ft.

Here’s a couple of nice close-ups of some more Halman-21 details. You can use this to get some better ideas of how to make your new bowsprit and incorporate the anchor roller for your “easy to love, but tough to hold” Bruce anchors! The photo of the stern shows how the hull could look after you sell your outboard and get that diesel installed. Clean installation and the exhaust should be high enough yet to fill your dinghy when you’re craving that hot bath! Thanks Mitch

MIC:ZHL

Status:Out of Business

Company:HALMAN MFG

Company Official:,

Parent Company:

Parent MIC:

Address:DURHAM ROAD, POB 659

City:BEAMSVILLE

State:ON

Zip: L0R1B0

Country:CANADA

Phone: None Listed

Fax:None Listed

In Business:12/12/78

Out of Business:12/9/97

Date Modified:6/29/95

Type:Sailboats, (with or without engine) Catamarans, Trimarans

Additional Address:

Comments:OOB PER BSC


	The information shown above is the “MIC” listing for Halman Mfg. showing the start and end dates that they were legally in business. The “ZHL” code is the prefix identifier for every boat that Halman produced and were required (at first requested) to include in their “HIN” (Hull Identification Number) that is imbedded in the hull - usually on the stbd-stern area, but not always.

Several owners have provided their HIN numbers for their Halman-20’s and at first I thought someone had read the numbers wrong, but apparently some Halmans are in fact registered with the prefix of “ZML” as well as the “ZHL” information shown above. If there were two different physical locations where the same hulls were built, this would account for why we might see two prefixes. I’ve not found where the second location (other than Beamsville) might be yet... if you know, send me an email.


	Can’t tell whether that’s a GPS or a cold can in captain Andy’s right hand, but I thought this was a “dandy” of a picture - plus it’s a good picture of “Dandy” - a 1980 Halman 21. The previous owner has made some very useful additions - added the bowsprit and roller furling as well as a unique motor mount that works really great and a handy mid-cockpit traveler. Thanks Andy for these great photos. This is what we’ll all be dreaming about for the next few months!






	Be sure to check out the view of the custom motor mount arrangement thats been done.. Looks like someone did some really good planning on this one. If you’ve done it another way to keep your engine high and dry and easy to drop andwould like to show us how, send me your photos. -LM

Does this make you wonder when you’ll be able to see your boat in the water again. The weather patterns for a lot of places have been unusual this winter. Not everyone has had this much snow - guess that’s good but with this keel it’s hard to tack over on the ice!

If the seasons continue as they have, she might be in the water (no ice please) in two or three more months! Aren’t sailors supposed to be patient?

Thanks Larry.




		Is this why people buy sailboats?

Seems that Larry’s boat finally melted out of the snowbank and while he was cruising this summer, he took these nice photos. He also wrote that he (skipper) and his wife (galley slave) were very lucky to have been able to go along on this trip with their dogs. When you realize that the Lab in the vee berth (one of your very best friends) and the border collie on the sole are quite happy to let you pick either side berth to sleep on, you realize how fortunate you really are. The dogs made the skipper bring along his old plywood dinghy so he could go ashore with them when they felt like exploring. Larry says they’ve learned an easy system that works well for two dogs and two people.. “When we are OUT, the dogs are IN... When we are IN - the dogs are OUT! Yep, it’s simple!

These pictures are from his recent 5-day cruise on the Bras D”Or Lakes and aside from learning all those things that are necessary to keep the dogs happy, they also learned a lot about having a 10 gallon water tank and a 3 gallon PortaPotti! He said something about “water, water everywhere but my dogs won’t let me drink” or something like that..... that’s probably another story though. Look for more of his great photos below.......

Thru several different conversations this spring and a fortunate find on another web site - here’s what I believe are the correct sail dimensions for your Halman 20. If anyone believes they have anything significantly different from this, please let me know.

I - 26.5 ft J - 6.7 ft P - 22.0 ft E - 8.17 ft.

Here’s a photo from a reader who says he’s still regretting his choice to pass up this deal. Some good detective work might get you in touch with the “bait shop” or “boat shop” in Florida that shows in the background and if you send them some donuts they just might walk over and see if there’s a phone number to call. Or if you know the owner of this boat, have him send an email and we’ll get his boat into the User Ads section real soon!




	If you’ve wondered what your boat looks like from the top of the mast (but just didn’t want to find out that bad) - here’s a couple of “birds eye” views for you. The photo on the left is of “Puffin” - a good looking Halman 20 owned by Elaine in sunny Florida. The one on the right is of my Nordica 30 (Atlantis) that was also taken in sunny Florida before the move to the Pacific Northwest. It’s one of the few views you don’t get too often and is about the only time you get to see the actual hull outline. (Elaine has assured me that she has some much better looking photos of “Puffin” so look for them soon.)


	Jean-Guy sent these photos of his H-20 that he bought in 1981 called “Camiste.” In the first photo, she’s sailing on an nice Spinnaker type of day, anchored with “like kind” in the second and the third he’s trying to knock down some of those whitecaps. It’s easy to see she’s not heeling much in spite of the water conditions. Thanks Jean-Guy




	See this container........ See this boat ---------->

Now picture this boat as you see it, loaded into the container and then onto an even larger boat where she’s transported quite nicely from one side of the Atlantic to the other. Email from “Capn’ Diane” says the boat is getting settled into Cardiff Bay (in Wales) and is quite possibly the only Halman in the area (atleast until we hear from another one there.) She used to sail under the name of “Lady Ester” but will be going thru the entire ceremony of renaming her to “Dragonfly” - (I’m not sure if that calls for pints or litres over the deck, but it will be done correctly I’m sure.)

I’ve been expecting to hear from the owners of “Dragonfly” since their arrival in England and in the mean time, I received an very interesting email from one of her previous owners who just happened to see the photos above.

Seems that “Dragonfly” - ex “Lady Ester” used to be called “Lady Esther before dropping the “h.” The story from “Kevin” is that she was built specifically for the the company owners (Richard Navins’) father and was named after Richards mother. After Kevin bought the boat, he contacted Richard Navin and was told that she was one of only two dark green hulls that had been built in the period between 1978 and 1981. (I raised the question of the “mystery boat” for sale in Florida with the green hull as well... would sure like to hear from that owner.)

Kevin and his wife eventually sold her to a “Swiss chap” living in Barrys Bay Ontario, and they replaced her with another green hull Halman that they still sail under the name of “Lady Di” - she was a couple of years newer and eventually had the bowsprit conversion done to make her an official “21 footer.”

Seems that Kevin did see Richard Navin “cruising” at Mosport last year driving in some vintage races in his MGB. Maybe we’ll hear from him sometime and will get a chance to learn some of the details about the Halman manufacturing years.

By the way... if you’re looking for a replacement set of rigging for your N-20, check the User Ads... Kevin’s listing is there.

Thanks again to Kevin for sharing his information with us... it’s always interesting to learn some of the background stories about the boats we know of today and find that in some cases they’ve had several previous lives already.

With a little time and patience, I was hoping to hear from the Cap’n and crew of “Dragonfly” and they’ve kindly sent these follow up photos of their transition of “getting out of that shipping box” and back into the water where she belongs. Her new home in Cardiff Bay seems to suit her well and it sounds like she’s the talk of the pubs with lots of questions about her. Seems that her lines are not that familiar but has already drawn in some very eager admirers.

The photos show the late arrival at the marina on a stormy night and from that time she progressed quite smoothly into the marina. From the time she left Canada, it was about 7 days until she was in the water on the other side of the Atlantic. Must be a record crossing here somewhere.

The Cap’n and crew have some clean up, fix up and tidy up work to do and we may get to see a few more photos of her during this progress. Like I said, with a little patience, a lot of great things can happen... so stay tuned for more! Thanks Diane

We’ve got a real bonus to share with you from one of the readers who took the time to find the location of the Halman factory and actually go see what was there. Boy was he surprised!!! Not only are the buildings still standing and in good shape, but in a little further exploration, he found the “beginnings” of your Halman boat - the MOLDS! Over the last couple of years, I’ve received emails from several people who reported that they had seen the molds in several different places, but I believe our friend - Andrew Tulner at [atulner@look.ca]) has truly hit the jackpot! Thru his efforts we can all check out what he found. There are a number of photos so be patient - I’ve tried to keep the photo size a bit larger than usual and they will load a little more slowly.

Andrew sails his own Halman 20 called “NIC MEG” and is in the process of several new updates on her, so getting these photos was a real treat for him as well.

Thanks, Andrew for your time and efforts and for sharing these with all of us.

When you look closer at some of these photos, you’ll see the plywood panels that were used to provide stability for the molds they were fastened to. Molds (or “moulds” for our more northern friends) are the real assets of any boat building company. They take a lot of time to develop and built accurately and are usually “taken good care of” due to their value. As you can see, many of these appear to have been sitting outside for quite some time and in some cases appear to be in less than optimum condition.

You might have to study some of the photos closely to be able to tell exactly what they made. Remember you’re looking at what represents the “reverse pattern” of what you would expect to see on your boat. It’s also typical to see some areas cast (or laid up) in what appears to be a solid panel but that panel may be cut out later for actual use. Laying it up solid may have provided more stability for the resin and cloth to setup and harden without excessive warping or deformation while curing..

Here’s an interesting photo of how one owner made his “home away from home” seem a lot bigger!!! Seems that the boom was moved higher, main sail shortened, dodger added, full enclosure added, and if this wasn’t enough, he chisled, chipped and chewed out the 1000 lbs. of steel punchings that he had for ballast and put back only 700 lbs. of lead! Since the lead was more dense than the steel punchings, it took less space and not too surprisingly, he used the space to lower the cabin sole so he wouldn’t be a knockin his head so often! Rumor has it that the boat has about the same righting moment with almost 300 lbs. less ballast, so he is a bit faster on the tacking and acceleration. I always thought the racing batch was intense, but this one takes the cake!


	If you’re the owner of a Halman 21.... there’s another experienced owner who would appreciate an email from you. You can reach him at [ptaggett@inteliport.com] - (“Pete” has been very generous in sharing some original literaure pages along with some exceptional sketches of sails and dimensions for the H-21.


	Here’s the details from Pete about the sails for Halman 21’s - He took the trouble to document them (very nicely done) and if you’re wanting a new set, it’s worth checking out with your sailmaker. Thanks Pete... LM

Cap’n Steve sent this nice photo of his cherished 1989 Halman 21. I believe this is the “newest” one I’ve heard from to date. She’s aptly equipped with bronze ports, bowsprit, teak rub strakes, a custom main sheet traveler and Harken blocks. She’s served a couple of previous owners but Steve says he’s the right one for this lady. He’s been a Halman fan since he first saw them at the Toronto boat show and feels very lucky to have found this gem waiting for him (stored indoors on a trailer with no road miles) - seems that she called and he answered at just the right time in life for both. Who says you can’t find a great deal once in a while!

Thanks Steve ... LM

It looks like we’ve got another record holder here in this nice 1979 Halman 20. She joins the ranks with “Dragonfly” (shown above) in being the the “furthest away from home” award to the South this time.

“Talisman” is owned and cared for by Melody Hamilton and John Thurman and this location is going to be hard to beat. Seems that she’s tied up near Bonaire which is (2) islands east of Aruba, just North of Venezuela and like Dragonfly, the owners wanted their Halman with them and shipped her there by cargo container. It’s too bad they don’t get any extra rations for winning, but there’s always the chance that they’ll meet up with another Halman owner in the area.


	Sorry to share this with Melody and John but I believe they just lost the record for being the furthest away from home, but on the other hand, it depends on where you call “home.” Check out the story below from Cap’n Andrew in Australia.....

If you’d like to send an email to Melody and John to find out what to wear when you arrive in YOUR Halman... you can reach them at [melodyandtom@bonsea.com ] Now the challenge is on to find the most Northern and the most Western located Halmans (will probably throw in a Nordica too if they send us a line.) Pass the word along if you know someone cruising in Hawaii or Tonga or the top end of Great Slave Lake or ??? Thanks. - LM


		Cap’n Larry has sent me some more outstanding photos of his interior re-work on “Petite Gitan” and I’m glad to share these with you. The thumbnails won’t do credit to how nice it looks I’m sure. He’s proud of the work and gets to enjoy it with his wife and dogs in their home away from home. Very nice work Larry... LM


	Here’s a photo of Cap’n Steve taken last summer after his trek across country from Montana to Washington with his great looking H-20 - He just wanted to see some of the sites from a different perspective and found a great location (a short distance north of Seattle) in “Oak Harbor” to use as his home base. We got to visit and look over his boat on one of the nicest days of the summer just before he was heading back to Montana. He pulled the boat the next day (with some overcast sky and light rain) and the rest of the fall “w-t-h-i-a-h” with one of the wetter fall seasons we’ve had in a long time. I hope he’ll come back for another tour of the Pacific Northwest by boat... it’s a great place to visit.

	Click on the photo for a couple more views.... Thanks Steve.

Records are made to be broken... somebody said somewhere! Maybe it was Cap’n Andrew who took such great care in telling me about the Halman he was going to buy and then sent me some history on her that is a real treat to read about. All this from a hull laid up in Canada probably almost 30 years ago. If the hulls could speak, we’d probably never run out of questions.

Andrew and I had exchanged several emails about his pending purchase and then the one came that the boat was finally his. He knew that she had come to Australia by way of New Guinea and the Louisade Islands and was excited to know that he was really going to finally own this particular piece of history. As he put it, “Success has attended my efforts and I have what may be the only Nordica/Halman in Australia. Here is what I know of her almost incredible journey. She has the serial No.ZHL 00221-0478 (hull 221 - built in 1978)

Sold to Mr. Barry L. Richardson in Ontario on 25/5/78. (where are you now Barry?)

Sailed on Great Lakes and in Newfoundland waters.

Shipped to England and based in Hull.

Shipped to Papua New Guinea,arrived 22/8/83

Sailed on Fairfax Harbour

Sold 3/4/89 to William Dare Rochaix (RAN,Retired) of Alotau.(PNG)

Sailed in Milne Bay and Milne Bay Islands.

Sold to Eric John Lugg on 19/7/91

Shipped to Brisbane (Australia) on 16/1/92 ..... Registered as "Nordic" JG843Q.

Now she is mine and will continue her world tour via a special road trailer I am having built. She will sail on various parts of the East and South coasts of Australia and will probably sail across Bass Strait next summer....no easy undertaking....see pictures of the various Sydney to Hobart yacht races since 1945. This is my entry in the farthest travelled correspondence. I now await a more competitive submission possibly from Outer Mongolia. He later added this information:

.... I think the prize goes to the designers and builders of these fine little craft. It is difficult to think of a more seaworthy package in just 20 ft...not influenced by fads or fashion but shaped by many hundreds of years of Norse experience in some of the worst waters where getting wet was getting dead. In 1904 my 40 year old Grandfather...a Norway citizen living on Shetland rowed and sailed the 176 miles to Norway in an open 30ft boat that shared the same basic hull shape as the Nordica/Halman He went with four of his friends,including the Best Man, to bring his mail order bride,the very plain Agnes Olsen, back to Shetland along with a load of boatbuilding timbers so that they didn't entirely waste the trip on poor Agnes ( ! )..who did not long survive the birth of my Mother in Scotland. What a difficult life they had...soon to be swept away by the First World War when nearly all these fishermen perished at sea on doomed northern convoys. Nothing remains but the eternal sea and the enduring shape of these fine little craft. I think I will have to name my new boat the “Agnes Olsen.”

Thanks very much for sharing this information with us Andrew and we will all look forward to hearing about your adventures in the land down under. When you have some nice photos of “Agnes Olsen” please send them to me and we’ll make sure the rest of the world get’s to see your claim to the record. Until the boatload of money comes in, consider yourself the winner......LM

Cap’n Al sent in these great shots of his Halman-Horizon-27. They purchased her in the fall of 2006 and sailed up to Tobermory the next spring.

Their home port is Big Tub Harbor and they enjoy cruising the North Channel of Georgian Bay.

He’s done some upgrades along the way and finds the boat to be very seaworthy and has crossed Georgian Bay several times just to back that up.

She’s a 1981 model and has an OMC saildrive. He’s had a puzzling problem with her at times... seems that the saildrive is a two cycle power head off an outboard motor and he sometimes has problems with the sparkplugs fouling and running rough when the engine is first started.

If there’s any other readers who have some experience with this arrangement, he would really appreciate hearing from you.

Until then, he’s going to keep on sailing and enjoying places such as these shown in his photos.


	Thanks for the great photos Al, and if you want to reach him, send your email to me and I’ll forward it on. - LM

I received this great looking photo recently from Cap’n Ray - at the helm of his very nice looking Halman-27 under sail. Everyone who has sailed their boat anywhere knows that there are certain times when the wind is right, the sails are right, you’re hair is right (probably under a cap anyway) and if there were someone taking photos that day, your entire boat photo would be right as well. This is one of those days.

Cap’n Ray sails his 1986 H-27 cutter around Cold Lake, Alberta. The original owners were from Fort Erie, Ontario. He say’s she’s not an overly “speedy” boat but certainly sails well in heavy winds. Thanks Ray.


	[Home] [N-16's] [N-20's] [N-30's] [Q-n-A] [Photos] [Projects] [Ads] [Feedbk] [Links] [Halmans] [HIN's]