- Nautor's Swan
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Oy Nautor AB is a Finnish producer of luxury sailing yachts, based in Jakobstad. It is known for its Swan line of fiberglass yacht. The company was founded in 1966 by Pekka Koskenkylä. Since its inception, Nautor's Swans have had an enviable reputation for their combination of seaworthiness, performance, and high quality interiors.
Contents
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 in a fiberglass hull a luxurious interior 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 Bermuda Race in 1972 and the first Whitbread Round the World Race (now the Volvo Ocean Race) in 1973/74.
During the mid to late 1970s, the designs from the American company were not as successful as contemporary designs from relatively new architects from Northern Ireland (Ron Holland), Argentina (Germán Frers) and New Zealand (Bruce Farr). The new designers were more focussed 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 1980’s, 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 skiff-like in appearance, with shallow hull, flat run aft, almost vertical bow, and narrow fin keels. In recent years, the average size of the boats has increased greatly.
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 was forced to sell stakes in Nautor’s Swan to finance the rebuilding of the yard and to re-start 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, almost 2,000 Swan yachts have been produced, ranging from 36 to 131 feet in length. About 400 staff, and an almost similar number of indirect staff, are employed by the firm.
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 HRH Juan Carlos de Borbone King of Spain, Pekka Koskenkylä, German Frers, Ron Holland and Lady Pippa Blake, wife of deceased Peter Blake (yachtsman).
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. The current Swan yachts are all designed by Germán Frers and come in several different models |}
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 Swan CS42 42.58 37.04 12.89 8.86 15,983 7,046 44% 59.06 16.34 56.56 18.95 727 661 1,388 1,647 Swan 53 54.07 47.24 15.58 8.01 48,500 18,100 37% 71.95 19.52 65.88 21.98 1,053 840 1,893 2,833 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 75 76.44 63.98 19.00 9.50 83,800 27,600 33% 94.16 27.82 88.68 30.22 1,965 1,591 3,556 4,811 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 82 81.66 69.75 19.22 12.40 90,400 29,300 32% 105.48 29.66 102.79 34.12 2,346 1,754 4,100 5,631 Swan 90 90.91 80.54 21.19 14.44 117,400 40,500 34% 120.73 35.30 116.47 37.56 3,195 2,730 5,925 8,288 Swan 100 99.11 86.81 23.15 13.19 170,638 65,477 38% 131.23 35.10 126.31 40.88 3,454 2,583 6,037 8,582 Swan 110 110.04 96.16 24.11 17.72 209,440 - - 145.44 41.5 137.63 44.78 4,500 3,082 7,582 11,656 Swan 130 131.23 113.81 27.23 15.25 385,800 - - 165.09 49.21 154.20 51.31 6,200 4,822 11,022 15,680 Current Swan Line - Model Sizes (Metric)
Model Length LWL Beam Draft Disp Ballast Ratio I J P E Gen Main SA Spin Swan CS42 12.98 11.29 3.93 2.70 7,250 3,196 44% 18.00 4.98 17.24 5.78 67.6 61.4 129.0 153.0 Swan 53 16.48 14.40 4.75 2.44 22,000 8,200 37% 21.93 5.95 20.08 6.70 97.5 78.0 175.5 263.0 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 75 23.30 19.50 5.79 2.90 38,000 12,500 33% 28.70 8.43 27.03 9.21 182.5 147.8 330.3 447.0 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 82 24.89 21.26 5.86 4.02 41,000 13,300 32% 32.15 9.04 31.33 10.40 217.9 162.9 380.8 523.0 Swan 90 27.71 24.55 6.46 4.40 53,250 18,350 34% 36.80 10.76 35.50 11.45 297.0 253.8 550.8 770.0 Swan 100 30.21 26.28 7.06 4.70 77,400 29,700 38% 40.00 10.70 38.50 12.46 321.0 240.0 561.0 797.0 Swan 110 33.54 29.31 7.35 5.40 95,000 - - 44.33 12.65 41.95 13.65 418.2 286.3 704.5 1,082.9 Swan 130 40.00 34.69 8.30 4.65 168,000 - - 50.32 15.00 47.00 15.64 576.0 448.0 1,024 1,456.7 Swan production history
Swan production yacht models are listed below:
Model 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 Swan 39 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 Swan 42 One-Design 2006- Germán Frers 56 Swan 43 1967–1972 Sparkman & Stephens 67 Swan 431 1976–1978 Sparkman & Stephens 32 Swan 43 1985–1990 Ron Holland 28 Swan 44 1972–1975 Sparkman & Stephens 76 Swan 441 Racing 1978–1979 Ron Holland 5 Swan 441 Cruising 1979–1982 Ron Holland 40 Swan 44 Mk I 1989–1994 Germán Frers 19 Swan 44 Mk II 1996–2002 Germán Frers 69 Swan 45 2002-2010 Germán Frers 51 Swan 46 Mk I 1983–1989 Germán Frers 81 Swan 46 Mk II 1990–1997 Germán Frers 28 Swan 46 Mk III 2004–2007 Germán Frers 24 Swan 47 1975–1984 Sparkman & Stephens 70 Swan 48 1971–1975 Sparkman & Stephens 46 Swan 48 1995–2003 Germán Frers 57 Swan 51 1981–1985 Germán Frers 36 Swan 53 Mk I 1986–1994 Germán Frers 50 Swan 53 Mk II 2004- Germán Frers 17 Swan 55 1970–1974 Sparkman & Stephens 16 Swan 55 1990–1996 Germán Frers 22 Swan 56 1997–2006 Germán Frers 45 Swan 57 1977–1984 Sparkman & Stephens 49 Swan 57 CC 1996–2000 Germán Frers 5 Swan 57 RS 1996–2000 Germán Frers 5 Swan 59 1984–1990 Germán Frers 21 Swan 60 Mk I 1994–2001 Germán Frers 28 Swan 60 Mk II 2009- Germán Frers 5 Swan 601 2004–2007 Germán Frers 7 Swan 61 1985–1990 Germán Frers 14 Swan 62 FD 2004–2006 Germán Frers 2 Swan 62 RS 2001–2005 Germán Frers 4 Swan 65 1972–1989 Sparkman & Stephens 41 Swan 651 1982–1991 Germán Frers 19 Swan 66 FD 2007- Germán Frers 7 Swan 66 S 2007- Germán Frers 8 Swan 68 1991–2004 Germán Frers 24 Swan 70 2001–2008 Germán Frers 7 Swan 75 FD 2004- Germán Frers 4 Swan 75 RS 2003- Germán Frers 2 Swan 76 1979–1981 Sparkman & Stephens 5 Swan 77 1992–2003 Germán Frers 10 Swan 80 1999–2004 Germán Frers 10 Swan 80 FD Mk II 2010- Germán Frers 4 Swan 82 FD 2000–2008 Germán Frers 10 Swan 82 RS 2000–2005 Germán Frers 7 Swan 82 S 2002- Germán Frers 6 Swan 86 1988–1990 Germán Frers 3 Swan 90 Mk I 1991 Germán Frers 1 Swan 90 FD Mk II 2008- Germán Frers 7 Swan 90 S Mk II 2008- Germán Frers 9 Swan 100 FD 2002- Germán Frers 3 Swan 100 RS 2002–2006 Germán Frers 1 Swan 100 S 2002- Germán Frers 3 Swan 110 2010- Germán Frers 0 Swan 112 RS 1999–2006 Germán Frers 5 Swan 130 2010- Germán Frers 0 Swan 131 2006 Germán Frers 1 Total: 71 Models 45 years 3 Designers 2,014 (FD = Flush Deck; RS = Raised Saloon; S = Semi-Raised Saloon)
See also
External links
Categories:- Companies established in 1966
- Shipbuilding companies of Finland
- Boat builders
- Keelboats
- Sailing in Finland
- Jakobstad
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