THE NEW CLUB SWAN 50

Speed and Elegance: The new Club Swan 50 Nautor’s Swan and Juan Yacht Design collaborate with North Sails and Southern Spars to create optimal performance out-of-the-box.

Nautor’s Swan, along with naval architect Juan Kouyoumdjian, have conceived a new 50ft yacht. The Club Swan 50 places great focus on
performance while staying true to the company’s world-renowned craftsmanship and attention to detail.

For customers that are looking for a racing class with something special, this boat will satisfy their expectations and more. When a well-known builder like Swan debuts a performance yacht it creates a high level of expectation throughout all levels of the industry. New performance boats like the Club Swan 50 must be fast out of the box with little or no lead time available for testing and sail refinement. This is where North Sails and sister company Southern Spars become instrumental in presenting the boat with a cohesive package that exceeds the high expectations of a new owner.

North Sails was approached by Nautor Swan and JYD to collaborate throughout the hull, rig, deck, and sail design. Participating in the early stages of design ensures accuracy not only in sail geometry details but in anticipating important aspects of performance that ultimately would affect the sails, such as deck layouts that support efficiency, and the overall balance with hydro foils matching the airfoils (or sails) above the deck. With the results of this collaboration in hand, North designers then identify how the major variables (such as spars, sails, and appendages) integrate to produce expected levels of performance throughout the wind range.

The North Design Suite of computational tools have been used successfully in this process for the past 20 years, and repeatedly refined through projects on a wide variety of boats, ranging from small keelboats, America’s Cup, to maxis. The process is a large contributor to the success of North Sails in all major classes. Of course, there is design and there is the reality. An important part of the design process is incorporating a group of on the-water experts – people who handle the products frequently and know how boats of similar spec behave in rough to light conditions and on different angles of sail.For the Club Swan 50, a big part of this discussion was driven by the durability of the sails and their ability to retain their shape through an acceptable lifespan for the class. That is why all agreed on North Sails 3Di RAW as the optimal material for the upwind sails. The same attention to shape holding and durability is given to the downwind sails, resulting in a combination of Superlite and Superkote nylon styles from Contender and North’s own Xi-09 NPL DOWNWIND for the A-0. Hitting the water with an accurate VPP gives tangible results, especially to a new fleet. Generating a basic tuning guide that is ready to use on your first sail is encouraging for all new owners, who want to come out of the box with fast results and remain fast as the class grows and develops.

Expect the Club Swan 50 to be a very special yacht, both in performance and comfort! The team at North Sails is extremely grateful for the opportunity to offer a well-developed sail inventory and performance package, and to have collaborated with so many innovative and dedicated professionals in the process. We are excited to see the Club Swan 50 results on the water and the progress of the class over time. About the Club Swan 50 Nautor’s Swan keeps high standards of performance and design to best complement their classic models throughout the racing and cruising range, making them great boats for the “all around” sailor.

They have pushed the limits of this concept a bit further with their newest model design, the Club Swan 50.

By enlisting the competitive edge of JYD, the 50 would be decidedly fast, elegant, and within one design parameters. In the end, the specifications are innovative, providing ample opportunity for competitive sailing while still having the optionality to transform the boat to comfort, even cruising mode. The hull reflects modern Swan models with a beam-y transom, reverse bow, clear-cut chines, aft sections, and shortened freeboards. A steel blade keel, lead torpedo, and dual rudders give a more balanced configuration, and a forward center of gravity gives the Club Swan 50 significant advances in overall speed while sailing downwind and when reaching.