Looking for S&S Swan 38 or 40

Dear all,

I am not (yet) the S&S Swan owner but I am quite seriously looking for a 37, 38 or 40 to be my next boat for the rest of my life :). 

Most of my sailing is taking place at the Baltic Sea with my wife but occasionally there would be the rest of the family or friends, up to 4 or 5 persons together. I would like to hear any opinions about the pros and cons of these models for this kind of usage.

Btw., when looking for these boats, its seems that there are S&S Swans 40s more available that 37s and 38s. For example, at the Market part of this great web site, there have been some 40s for sale for quite a long  time. Any opinion on this?

Hopefully to be a S&S member some day...

Best Regards

Pertti

s/y Nordstjernan (a mahogany wooden boat "Laurinkryssare")

How about a 411?

Hello again,

I assume that 41 ft S&S Swan would be of maximum size for "easy handling" by two in the sailing circumstances I described? But I don´t have any experience on this. So, how does S&S Swan 411 relate to her smaller sisters?

Best Regards

Pertti

We have a 41 (the predecessor to the 411) and use her in much the manner you described.  Is she the ideal boat for shorthanded sailing?  Perhaps not.  But she sails beautifully, is seakindly and will give you great confidence in trying conditions.  I wouldn't expect the demands of sailing her shorthanded to be much different than the 38 or 40. 

Hi Pertti,

Welcome and good luck with your search!

I have successfully singlehanded and doublehanded (with wife) a 51 foot yacht, not Swan in this case, as well as my 1969 Swan 43 (only with son so far).  I would not let the length of the boat be too much of a deterrent with the exception of the size of sails.  My 50 foot boat was a ketch which had furlers on the headstay and the inner forestay - plus electric primary winches.  I found that the larger boat in the ocean allowed me better rest due to heavier displacement and longer waterline (which was not only faster but also allowed the boat to straddle waves better).

I like the 40- 45 foot range.  However, I understand that all of the S&S Swans sail comfortably.  So, my point is not to dissuade you from your path, but to encourage you to look at the larger boats too.

With warm regards,

Chris

Hi Pertti
The boats 37 to 40 are all relatively easy to sail, well built and as just evidenced in the North Sea English Channel and Biscay good boats when the weather gets bad. We are on the way to the Caribbean in our 40 which we would not trade for anything other than maybe an S&S Swan 48. But I am sure they would not be willing to trade even (;-)
Mike and the crew of Stormsvale.

Hello Pertti,

Today, what makes a yacht easy to sail ( up to a certain size of course) are the configuration of the gear on the deck and the fitted equipment. I easily sail my 47 alone without major problems. With a good autopilot, electric winches, a bow thruster, roller reefing for the genoa and a single line reefing for the main, all of which led to the cockpit, sailing such a yacht becomes a doodle in normal circumstances. Of course, I am excluding racing and other rough circumstances. Whatever choice of size you will make, think of the equipment and the configuration of the gears on the deck.

Cheers//Philippe
(47/050 Farouche)

Dear all,

Thank you for your replies. They give me more valuable information for evaluating the sailing characteristics of different type of S&S Swans.

Best Regards

Pertti

Dear Pertti,

Sorry that we missed to meet when I was in Turku recently during the Swan archipelago regatta 16-18 August. I would have been happy to show you our S&Swan40 and give you my comments from more than 30 years with her.  As you will see from the results she came among the first six in her class comprising 19 swans, so she is still a good sailing boat and can compete with more modern Swans. In case you are passing Stockholm please contact me for further information based on my experience. I have now equipped her with cutter rig with Furlex for a selftacking jib and as well as for the genua in order to make it easier to handle her with my wife when we now are older. I have also made some other arrangements which might be of interest. There does not seem to be so many S&S Swan 40s in the Baltic nowadays (I was the only one in Turku), but there are a few in Denmark and Germany.  

Fair winds,

Leif (Sunniva V S&S Swan 40#36)

Dear Leif,

Thanks a lot of your encouraging words!

I noticed this great event in Turku but unfortunatelly I didn't have time to come and see the S&S Swans there.

Actually, I am travelling next month to Norway and I have a chance to see a S&S Swan 40 which is for sale. So, I am very gratefull for any information which could help me "for evaluating" this boat.

If you wish, you can contact me to my email: pertti.holtta@kolumbus.fi

Best Regards

Pertti

Dear Pertti

Jyrki, owner of S&S Swan 38/014 Infant, kindly suggests to read this article, and I couldn't agree more with the writer!,

http://1001boats.blogspot.fi/2012/02/swan-38-definitive-cruiserracer.html

fair winds!

matteo (38/067 Only You)

Except for regattas, I sail my S&S Swan 44 alone or with a "crew" who is not involved in maneuvers.
The only thing that still causes me problems is the 180m² symmetrical spinnaker with winds greater than 10 knots.

These boats are fast, beautiful, comfortable, strong and safe. And because they are very well equipped (lot of winches, deck plan focused on efficiency), they are also easy to sail with a reduced or singlehanded crew.

Dear all,