Nautor raises performance bar in a luxury yacht
Nautor’s new Swan 56, available as either a cruiser/racer or regatta model, is a powerful and elegant statement from one of the world’s premier sailboat builders. Designed by German Frers, the Swan 56 demonstrates Nautor’s renewed commitment to performance, while maintaining the essentials of structural integrity, seakindliness, comfort and safety that have earned the company an enduring reputation among demanding sailors the world over.

For many years Nautor ruled the production boat market for high-end, performance-oriented cruiser/racers. Quietly, a new breed of fast, light and comfortably appointed yachts began to challenge Nautor’s hold on the market. While nobody questioned the quality of the engineering and workmanship that went into every Swan, the new boats were more progressive and, in some cases, a lot faster. Swan countered this challenge with a return to its roots by developing the highly successful Performance Range, featuring a 60-footer, a 48-footer and now, the 56. Nautor, with its factory just 300 miles below the Arctic Circle on the West Coast of Finland, was determined to redefine the parameters of the true cruiser/racer by combining fresh thinking from Frers with the latest in construction techniques and materials. After sailing the 56 on a perfect Chesapeake Bay day last fall, I found that Nautor has indeed raised the bar.

The Swan 56 was easy to spot on the bay; a striking white hull, the telltale wedge deck and a lofty rig. I took a moment to study the lines from the perspective of the photo boat. Nautor’s Swan designs have evolved from the softer lines of Sparkman & Stephens, beyond the aggressive angles of Ron Holland, to the finely blended work of Frers. Although the new 56 does not sport much sheer and the overall profile is typically low and sleek, the boat maintains a stately bearing in the water.
Speed by waterline

Swans have always been capable upwind boats and the 56 will be no exception. Her bow features the requisite small-entry angle for speed by waterline but she also has enough of a rake to assure a clean entry. There is sufficient forefoot area to reduce pounding in a chop. The wide stern has just a trace of counter to keep the trailing edge out of the water. However, the 56’s forte, like most performance boats today, will be quick planing and blazing off-the-wind speed. Both versions of the 56 are based on the same hull shape, which carries the beam well aft, although the keel sections are different. The standard, loaded draft of the cruiser/racer is 9 feet, while the regatta’s loaded draft is a shade more than 11 feet, which should keep even the most laid-back sailors on their toes. The interior, deck and sail plans also reflect the differences between the two.

We eased alongside and I scrambled aboard Neva. Skipper Claudio McGuire quickly trimmed the Kevlar No. 3 and we accelerated on a close reach. Neva, hull No. 4 of 17 built, has an intriguing mix of features, combining the deep keel of the regatta version with a masthead carbon spar and the luxurious interior appointments of the cruiser/racer. “Most owners customize their boats,” explains Stephen Barker, President of Nautor’s Swan New York. “Adding the deep keel, or carbon spar is like turbo-charging the cruiser/racer model.” Barker told me that none of the first 18 boats were built as racers.