Nautor's Swan

A Swan 53 (2004–2015) at the Swan Cup 2008.

Oy Nautor AB is a Finnish producer of luxury sailing yachts, based in Jakobstad. It is known for its Swan range of yachts. The company was founded in 1966 by Pekka Koskenkylä. In August 2012, a Swan 90S named Freya was the 2000th Swan to be built and launched by the yard.

The Designers

Nautor has worked with three design firms since its founding.

Sparkman & Stephens were the designers of the first 775 Swan yachts sold by Nautor, including the original Swan 36. These early designs combined a luxurious interior in a fiberglass hull with features that were then current in successful racing boats, such as the separation of the skeg-hung rudder from the keel. They won numerous races including the Cowes Week in 1968,[1] the Bermuda Race in 1972 (Swan 48), followed by even bigger success in 1974, when a ketch rigged Swan 65 by the name Sayula II won the first ever Whitbread Round the World Race.[2] In 2016, this adventure will be presented in a documentary film called The Weeked Sailor[3]

During the mid to late 1970s the designs from the American company were not as successful as those from relatively new designers from New Zealand (Ron Holland and Bruce Farr) and Argentina (Germán Frers). They were more focused on performance than comfort. The tie with Sparkman & Stephens was broken, and between 1978 and 1981 Ron Holland started his cooperation with Nautor's Swan, designing five models of which 283 yachts were sold.

In the 1980s, Nautor's Swan entered a new era with the appointment of Argentinian Germán Frers as designer. Over 900 yachts have been produced on the design of Frers. The yard has continued to stay with Frers, and the hull designs have continued to follow modern trends, becoming more and more like a racing skiff in appearance, with bowsprit, vertical bow, shallow hull, flat run aft and wide stern. Narrow fin "bulb" keels and twin rudders (one each side of stern) are now present in racing-oriented Nautor Swan models. In recent years, the average size of the boats has increased.

Frers has also collaborated with other design houses during his tenure. Notably Andrew Winch on the styling of the Swan 36 and Swan 44Mk1 produced in the late 80s to mid 90s. Most recently Beiderbeck Design undertook the overall concept, and interior design of the first semi-custom Swan 105, with naval architecture by Frers.

Ownership

In late 1969 the assembly hall of the Nautor's Swan boat yard burnt to the ground, destroying a dozen hulls in various stages of production. As a result, Pekka Koskenkylä was forced to sell stakes of Nautor's Swan to Wilhelm Schauman Oy (UPM) in order to finance the rebuilding of the yard and to restart production.

From 1998 on, Italian businessman Leonardo Ferragamo and a group of investors have controlled and managed Nautor's Swan, continuing to push forward innovations and changes intended to place Swan yachts at the forefront of the international sailing world.

The Nautor Yard

Since the foundation of the company in 1966, a little over 2,000 Swan yachts have been produced, ranging from 36 to 131 feet in length. The firm employs about 400 staff, and an almost similar number of indirect staff.

The historical plant in Kållby, just outside Jakobstad, is dedicated to plug and mold fabrication and the lamination of all Swans' hulls, using an advanced and fully computerized milling machine to shape the moulds. Another part of the plant is dedicated to the assembly of the smaller size yachts from "Swan 42" to the "Swan 53". The Kållby plant also includes an in-door water facility to test the yachts prior to delivery.

In 2002, a new yard, close to the sea, has been opened in Jakobstad. The new yard is dedicated to the assembly of "Maxi" Swan Yachts, from the "Swan 60" to the "Swan 100".

The third plant is in Kronoby, close to Jakobstad, and it is here that expert carpenters work, dedicated to the hand-made preparation of the wood interiors, which have become a feature of all Swan yachts. A sample of the wood of each yacht is kept at the factory so that an exact replacement could be made if required.

Club Swan

ClubSwan is a non-profit organization whose members are present, past and future Swan yacht owners. The club house is located at the Segelsällskapet Yacht Club in Jakobstad, Finland. Leonardo Ferragamo is the chairman of the club. Among the honorary members are the former King Juan Carlos I of Spain, Pekka Koskenkylä, German Frers, Ron Holland and Lady Pippa Blake, wife of deceased Peter Blake.

The highlight of the racing calendar for Swan owners is the biennial "Rolex Swan Cup", held in Porto Cervo, Sardinia in association with the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, which traditionally embodies "The Spirit of Swan" in its glamour and quality of sailing. Two other well known events are the "Swan European Regatta", usually taking place in the waters of Cowes in association with the Royal Yacht Squadron; and the "Swan American Regatta" taking place in the waters of Newport Rhode Island, in association with the New York Yacht Club.

ClubSwan has been also the entity that has favoured the creation of some special racing classes, like the "Swan 45 Class", the "Club Swan 42 Class" and more recently the "Swan Maxi Class".

"ClubSwan" also organizes a series of annual cruising rendezvous in some of the most spectacular sailing areas.

Current Swan Line - Models

Nautor is globally recognised as a producer of exquisitely crafted yachts capable of offering style and performance. Apart from the recently announced ClubSwan50 model designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian, the current range of Swan yachts are all designed by fellow Argentinian yacht designer Germán Frers. The larger models (from the Swan 66 upwards) are available in either flush deck (FD), semi-raised saloon (S) or raised saloon (RS) versions.

Current Swan Line - Model Sizes (Imperial)

LOA: Length Overall, LWL: Length of Waterline, Beam: Width, Draft: Underwater Depth, Disp: Displacement, Ballast: Leverage Weight, Ratio: Ballast/Displacement, I: Headsail Height, J: Fore-Triangle Length, P: Mainsail Height, E: Mainsail Length, Main: Mainsail Area, Gen: Genoa Area, SA: Working Sail Area, Spin: Spinnaker Area

Model LOA LWL Beam Draft Disp Ballast Ratio I J P E Gen Main SA Spin
ClubSwan 50 50.00 45.93 13.78 10.49 20,503 TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC 3,186 TBC
Swan 54 54.07 47.24 15.58 8.01 48,500 18,100 37% 71.95 19.52 65.88 21.98 665 873 1,538 2,260
Swan 60 61.89 54.80 16.70 11.81 41,200 17,000 41% 83.53 23.19 79.79 27.88 1,455 1,355 2,810 3,444
Swan 66 66.01 56.40 17.68 10.50 66,000 20,720 31% 90.22 24.44 82.84 24.93 1,653 1,309 2,962 4,166
Swan 78 78.67 72.77 20.96 9.84/14.11 90,390 30,865 34% 105.64 30.68 104 31.99 1,656.57 2,084.97 3,741.54 TBC
Swan 80 82.28 72.80 19.95 13.12 79,150 - - 104.98 30.84 99.41 34.10 2,421 2,030 4,451 6,166
Swan 95 94.72 87.14 22.70 14.43 127,868 44,092 34% 125.49 36.42 122.36 37.07 2,323 2,850 5,173 TBC
Swan 105 104.85 92.06 24.34 13.12 160,050 56,770 35% 123.75 39.14 119.10 41.67 2,468 2,911 5,379 6,243
Swan 115 115.50 107.70 26.60 18.86 216,906 70,547 32.5% 145.70 43.80 141.10 44.60 4,786 3,755 8,541 6,781

Current Swan Line - Model Sizes (Metric)

Model Length LWL Beam Draft Disp Ballast Ratio I J P E Gen Main SA Spin
ClubSwan 50 15.24 14.00 4.20 3.20 9,300 TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC 296.0 TBC
Swan 54 16.48 14.40 4.75 2.44 22,000 8,200 37% 20.87 5.95 20.08 6.70 61.8 81.1 142.9 210.0
Swan 60 18.86 16.70 5.09 3.60 18,700 7,700 41% 25.46 7.07 24.32 8.55 135.1 125.8 261.0 320.0
Swan 66 20.12 17.19 5.39 3.20 30,000 9,400 31% 27.50 7.45 25.25 7.60 153.6 121.6 275.2 387.0
Swan 78 23.98 22.18 6.39 3.0/4.3 41,000 14,000 34% 32.20 9.35 31.70 9.75 193.70 153.90 347.60 TBC
Swan 80 25.08 22.19 6.08 4.00 30,900 - - 32.00 9.40 30.30 10.40 225.0 188.6 413.6 572.8
Swan 95 28.87 26.56 6.92 4.40 58,000 20,000 34% 38.25 11.10 37.30 11.30 215.8 264.8 480.6 TBC
Swan 105 31.96 28.06 7.42 4.00 72,600 25,750 35% 37.72 11.93 36.30 12.70 229.0 270.0 499.0 580.0
Swan 115 35.20 32.84 8.12 5.75 98,387 32,000 32.5% 44.42 13.35 43.00 13.6 444.7 348.9 793.6 630.0

Nautor Swan Production History

Swan Production Yachts

Swan production yacht models are listed below:

Model Version Years Designer Built
Swan 36 1967–1970 Sparkman & Stephens 90
Swan 36 1988–1996 Germán Frers 55
Swan 37 1970–1974 Sparkman & Stephens 59
Swan 371 1979–1986 Ron Holland 87
Swan 38 1974–1979 Sparkman & Stephens 116
Swan 39 Racing 1978–1979 Ron Holland 12
Cruising 1978–1980 Ron Holland 21
Swan 391 1981–1987 Ron Holland 52
Swan 40 1970–1972 Sparkman & Stephens 51
Swan 40 1992–2001 Germán Frers 58
Swan 41 1973–1977 Sparkman & Stephens 61
Swan 411 1977–1979 Sparkman & Stephens 42
Swan 42 1980–1985 Ron Holland 38
ClubSwan 42 2006-2013 Germán Frers 57
Swan 43 1967–1972 Sparkman & Stephens 67
Swan 431[4] Racing[5] 1976 Sparkman & Stephens 1
Cruising 1976–1978 Sparkman & Stephens 31
Swan 43 1985–1990 Ron Holland 28
Swan 44 1972–1975 Sparkman & Stephens 76
Swan 441 Racing 1978–1979 Ron Holland 5
Cruising 1979–1982 Ron Holland 40
Swan 44 Mk I 1989–1994 Germán Frers 19
Mk II 1996–2002 Germán Frers 69[6]
Swan 45 2002-2010 Germán Frers 51
Swan 46 Mk I 1983–1989 Germán Frers 81
Mk II 1990–1997 Germán Frers 28
Mk III 2004–2007 Germán Frers 24
Swan 47 1975–1984 Sparkman & Stephens 70
Swan 48 1971–1975 Sparkman & Stephens 46
Swan 48 Regatta 1995–2003 Germán Frers 1
Cruiser/Racer 1995–2003 Germán Frers 56
ClubSwan 50 2016– Juan Kouyoumdjian Concept
Swan 51 1981–1985 Germán Frers 36
Swan 53 Mk I 1986–1994 Germán Frers 50
Mk II 2004-2015 Germán Frers 25
Swan 54 2016– Germán Frers In Build
Swan 55 1970–1974 Sparkman & Stephens 16
Swan 55 1990–1996 Germán Frers 22
Swan 56 Regatta 1997–2006 Germán Frers 1
Cruiser/Racer 1997–2006 Germán Frers 45
Swan 57 1977–1984 Sparkman & Stephens 49
Swan 57 CC 1996–2000 Germán Frers 5
RS 1996–2000 Germán Frers 5
Swan 59 1984–1990 Germán Frers 21
Swan 60 Mk 1 1994–2003 Germán Frers 28
62 RS 2001–2003 Germán Frers 3
62 FD 2004–2006 Germán Frers 4
Swan 60 Mk II FD 2009- Germán Frers 10
Mk II RS 2015- Germán Frers 1
Swan 601 2004–2007 Germán Frers 7
Swan 61 1985–1990 Germán Frers 14
Swan 65 1972–1989 Sparkman & Stephens 41
Swan 651 1982–1991 Germán Frers 19
Swan 66 FD 2007- Germán Frers 7
S 2007- Germán Frers 4
Swan 68 CC 1991–2004 Germán Frers 2
FD 1991–2004 Germán Frers 22
Swan 70 2001–2008 Germán Frers 7
Swan 75 FD 2004-2012 Germán Frers 5
RS 2004-2012 Germán Frers 2
Swan 76 1979–1981 Sparkman & Stephens 5
Swan 77 1992–2003 Germán Frers 10
Swan 78 S 2017– Germán Frers Concept
Swan 80 Mk I 1999–2004 Germán Frers 8
Mk II FD 2010- Germán Frers 4
Mk II S 2012- Germán Frers 1
Mk II RS 2014- Germán Frers Concept
Swan 82 FD 2000–2008 Germán Frers 7
RS 2000–2005 Germán Frers 7
S 2002-2012 Germán Frers 7
Swan 86 1988–1990 Germán Frers 3
Swan 90 Mk I 1991 Germán Frers 1
Mk II FD 2008-2015 Germán Frers 5
Mk II S 2008-2015 Germán Frers 6
Swan 95 FD 2017– Germán Frers Concept
S 2017– Germán Frers In Build
Swan 100 FD 2002-2012 Germán Frers 3
RS 2002–2006 Germán Frers 1
S 2002-2012 Germán Frers 2
Swan 105 RS 2014- Germán Frers 1
FD 2015- Germán Frers Concept
Swan 112 RS 1999–2006 Germán Frers 5
Swan 115 S 2015– Germán Frers 1
FD 2016–Present Germán Frers In Build
Swan 131 2006 Germán Frers 1
Total: 88 Models 50 years 4 Designers >2010

(CC = Centre Cockpit; FD = Flush Deck; RS = Raised Saloon; S = Semi-Raised Saloon) (Current Swanline in bold)

One Off - Custom Yachts

Model Launch Year Designer Launch Name Notes
Nautor 102 1986 Ron Holland Garuda
Volvo 60 OD 2000 Mani Frers Amer Sports One / Nautor Challenge Built by Composite Works
Volvo 60 OD 2000 Farr Yacht Design Amer Sports Too / Nautor Challenge Built by Composite Works
Nautor 76 2006 Luca Brenta Silandra V
Nautor 78 2007 Bill Tripp Valkyrie

Motorsailers & Motorboats

Model Years Designer Built Note
Nautor 39 1977 - 1978 Sparkman & Stephens 4 Motorsailer
Nautor 40 1972 Don Shead 2 Planing
Nautor 43 1976 - Sparkman & Stephens 24 Motorsailer
Nautor 47 1971 - 1972 Don Shead 7 Planing
Nautor 50 1976 - 1978 Sparkman & Stephens 9 Motorsailer

See also

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nautor's Swan.

Reference List

  1. ↑ http://bluewaterboats.org/sparkman-and-stephens-swan-36/
  2. ↑ http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/history/1_history_1973-1974.html 1973–1974 / Overview, Volvo Ocean Race History.
  3. ↑ http://www.theweekendsailor.com/
  4. ↑ http://sparkmanstephens.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/swan-431-racing-design-2238.html
  5. ↑ http://sparkmanstephens.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/swan-431-racing-design-2238.html
  6. ↑ http://www.nautorswan.com/en/company/heritage/1982-1995
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