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Review of Swan 48


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Swan 48 is a large sailboat designed by the American maritime architect bureau Sparkman & Stephens in the early seventies. Less than 100 boats have been produced. The Swan 48 is built by the Finnish yard OY Nautor AB.

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Hull
The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Interior
The interior is like most other boats made of teak.
The boat is equipped with a galley and toilet facility.

Keel

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.36 - 2.46 meter (7.74 - 8.04 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

Swan 48 is typically equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta engine at 36.0 hp (26 kW).


Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Swan 48 is 1.75, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.


Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Swan 48 is about 407 kg/cm, alternatively 2279 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 407 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 2279 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.


Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Swan 48 is 3.53.

Wide Slim 58% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 58% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Swan 48 is 47%.

Low High 93% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 93% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly above average.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Swan 48 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 17.7, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 21.3.

Low High 31% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 31% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged


Maintenance

Rig

Dimensions of sail.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale



If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.



Guiding dimensions of running rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 42.5 m(139.3 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard42.5 m(139.3 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard42.5 m(139.3 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet 14.6 m(48.0 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet14.6 m(48.0 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet 36.6 m(120.1 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet32.2 m(105.7 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Cunningham5.2 m(17.0 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap10.4 m(34.0 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul10.4 m(34.0 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.



Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Swan 48 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.



References