ON TEST // SWAN 55
CAN A MODERN FAST CRUISER BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE? TO BY HODGES TRIALLED THE FIRST SWAN 55 TO FIND OUT IF NAUTOR'S DECADES OF EXPERIENCE CAN ACHIEVE SUCH A FEAT
TOBY HODGES
Where: Scarlino, Tuscany Wind: 5-20 knots, flat to 1.5m waves Model: Hull No1. High standard of spec, including 3.5kW Whisper Power genset, bowthruster, electric winches, 340Ah batteries at 24V. Extras include carbon rig, inner staysail, selftacking jib
When it comes to choosing a modern performance cruising yacht, it could be argued that many of the current crop of designs share very similar trends, particularly those from Med-based brands or those aimed at warmer weather sailing. And for good reason: there are multiple attributes gained from long waterlines, voluminous hull shapes with beam carried aft, twin wheels and rudders, and spacious decks and cockpits. All of which may lead you to assume the new Swan 55 is simply following suit, another one of many. But that would be forgetting something crucial, a one liner that can still close most arguments: ‘It’s a Swan’.
The most famous pedigree in modern cruising, the Finnish yard already has over 50 years’ experience of building at this size. Its first S&S 55 launched in 1970, while back in the late 1980s the Swan 53 was drawn by the same Mr Frers as today’s 55. The Italian-owned builder and its long favoured Argentinian designer know their market and are exceedingly comfortable with producing this size and type of yacht.
Nautor Swan very much pitches this model as a bluewater cruiser, albeit with an emphasis on ‘fun’. Where some may consider a centre cockpit or more protected helming position crucial to ocean sailing, Swan knows many more seek the helming pleasure and deck space its more modern format provides. That’s not to say this 55 is not fit for distance cruising, just that its primary purpose might be aimed more at enjoyable sailing than bashing around a horn. We got to try the former when sailing the first to launch out of Tuscany in June.
We sailed Alegher from Scarlino, Swan’s Med base resort, 100km south of Pisa. Thankfully, the frustrations of a breathless morning evaporated as quickly as the forecasted breeze filled in during the afternoon – it went from a vacuum of glassy seas to a Force 4 south-westerly in less time than it took to trim accordingly.
The 55 responded by heeling over, accelerating on to its full waterline before remaining on a consistent angle. Indeed Swan confirmed that Frers designed the boat to minimise heeling to around 20° and that this is the optimum heel angle for the 55’s hull, to give maximum powe
