Overview
The Swan 56 is a German Frers design from Nautor’s Swan in Finland, built from 1996 to 2006, with 46 built according to sailboatdata.com. Its place in this catalog rests on its ocean racing record: 8 different boats of the design have finished the Pacific Cup from San Francisco to Hawaii or the Newport Bermuda Race in the official results.
Design and Construction
sailboatdata.com lists the underbody as fin with bulb and spade rudder, 57.51 ft overall on a 49.48 ft waterline, with 15.52 ft of beam and 8.86 ft of draft. Displacement is about 43,000 lb with 13,700 lb of ballast, and the masthead sloop carries about 1,492 sq ft. John Kretschmer, writing in Sailing Magazine, describes the hull as a single uncored skin with Kevlar hybrid fibers in the laminate, a Divinycell-cored deck, and a cast lead keel alloyed with antimony and held by stainless keel bolts cast into it. The rudder is glassed-over foam on a composite E-glass tubular stock, a choice he does not like because carbon and composites lack the elasticity and abrasion resistance of other materials if the bearings misalign or the blade is grounded. Boats came as the cruiser/racer with a draft of 9 ft or the Regatta version with a draft a shade over 11 ft, both from the same hull shape. The Regatta has a fractional rig with a single forestay, while the cruiser/racer carries an inner forestay and a babystay, which Kretschmer says clutters the foredeck and makes close tacking a chore. Wikipedia lists four examples of the Swan 56R built from 1998.
Ocean Racing Record
Mensae (Erling Kristiansen) finished the Newport Bermuda Race (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008). Nova (Mark Distefano) finished the Newport Bermuda Race (2002, 2004, 2006). Clover Iii (Neal F Finnegan) finished the Newport Bermuda Race (2006, 2008). Lolita (Stephan A. Frank) finished the Newport Bermuda Race (2000, 2006). Other finishers include Neva, Falcon, Noonmark VI, Vanish. Noonmark VI (Mike Gilburt) finished the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in 2007. Defiance finished the Marion-Bermuda Race in 2015 and 2017. Azahar finished ARC 2025, from Las Palmas to Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia.
Kretschmer sailed the Swan 56 Neva in 12 to 15 knots on Chesapeake Bay with only a No. 3 headsail aboard. On a close reach the speed went over 8 knots, and close-hauled at 30 to 35 degrees apparent he held 6.8 knots without stalling. The chain-and-cable steering was light and the helm well balanced, and he noticed no pounding in a modest bay chop, concluding that Frers had found the balance between speed and upwind motion. Off the wind they clipped along at 7 and 8 knots, though there was not enough sea or sail to test the boat on a wave. He found the helm isolated from most sail controls. The layout has a flush wedge deck with two cockpits and the main companionway in the forward cockpit, which makes the companionway ladder steep. The boat carries 224 gallons of fresh water, 105 gallons of fuel and a 96-hp Yanmar, with a 24-volt electrical system that makes some accessories hard to find.
