Nautor's Swan

File:Vela Parasailor.jpg

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, 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. In 2016, this adventure will be presented in a documentary film called The Weeked Sailor

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 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 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	Racing	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
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	9
	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 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: 87 Models		49 years	4 Designers	APPROX 2000

(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

• List of sailboat designers and manufacturers
• List of large sailing yachts

External links

• Nautor's Swan
• S&S Swan Owners Association
• Swan 42 Class Association
• Swan 45 Class Association
• Gazprom Swan 60 Class Association
• A quick look at the very first Swan (S&S Swan 36)