ClubSwan50 TEST. This boat is a real shocker!

In recounting this evidence, I do not know where to begin. Maybe since I first saw the renderings of the boat.. It was already clear that it was going to be a half-revolution: the pencil of Mister K (Juan Kouyoumdjian) had trodden the drawings and succeeded in making the Swan shipyard’s elegance aggressive, a carbon racing bolide with a teak deck that did not betray an old tradition.

Or I could tell you how in the Gulf of Saint Tropez we touched 13 knots while sailing across with Code 0 and 12 knots of real wind, or of the sensation this hull gives you when it accelerates in the gusts as if it were a multihull: of instinct you turn toward the stern to realize how fast you let the water flow behind you.

Or perhaps I could start with the two rudder blades, which greatly characterize this boat, as is well guessed from their profile that you can see in the photo opposite. Despite its speed, the ClubSwan 50 was always easy to steer, absolutely light, providing absolute control and sensitivity. Upwind, the perfect trim for the boat to give maximum performance is to make it walk with a heel angle around 22°, which allows for the optimum angle of incidence of the downwind blade and the upwind blade out of the water as well as ensuring maximum waterline length. Once this balance is achieved, the hull rests on the edge of the hull and sets off as if on a lane drawn in the water, increasing speed impressively. The low-dip double blade allows for no “interference” with the shape of the hull and allows the keel (characterized by a high-efficiency drift blade with a lead end bulb) to be moved farther forward, thus improving performance at the lift-offs: in light airs, the stern hardly touches the water. In addition, the particular shape of the blade profile, an evolution of what has already been done aboard Rambler 88, has the function of postponing the point of rudder stall. In designing them, Mister K was inspired by the tubercles of whale fins: the tubercles help the whale move effortlessly through the water at particularly sharp angles. A Harvard University study proved that the angle of attack (the angle between the fin and the direction of water flow) of a humpback whale can be up to 40 times sharper than that of a smooth fin, providing more control in maneuvering the whale.

Kouyoumdjian’s goal was to make a very fast boat with an all-carbon pre-preg construction, a very pronounced hull edge and easy handling that allows the boat to be taken to its limits without difficulty, reconciling the racer soul with true cruiser characteristics. The ClubSwan 50 is a One Design hull ready to become a class: there are already eleven hulls sold to date, and there will be a dedicated racing circuit as early as 2017. Operationally, the ClubSwan 50 will be a professionally managed class of boats with a helmsman owner. The climax of the season will be the Nations Cup where owners will compete to represent their countries.

The hull has distinctive and personal shapes: an open transom as wide as the maximum beam; inverted bow as well as leapfrog; pronounced trailing edge and concave stern sections; low freeboard. In addition to the hull, the rig and fixed bowsprit are also made of carbon.

As for the sail plan, the mast positioned decidedly aft, amidships allows for a longer J and the ability to rig asymmetrical rigs with a generous sail area. Steering wheels rigged in place of the backstay allow for a mainsail with a full square top shape that can stretch well aft giving maximum power.

The deck plan, in keeping with the philosophy of the whole boat, is designed with a dual function: to allow both a large crew to move around easily during races but to make the boat easy for even two people to cruise. There are four winches in the cockpit and two more are located in the deckhouse. The mainsail luff is cocked at the far aft end, where the boom also reaches, and sent back near the mainsail sheet winch to make it easier for the mainsailer to check adjustments.

Even below deck, the boat, designed in collaboration with Italian architect Michele Bonan and made by Poltrona Frau, is chameleonic: The dinette is transformed in a few moves from a comfortable and spacious cruising lounge into the crew rest area with racing berths positioned on both walls and created by raising the backs of the sofas. The Finnish shipyard then dared where others had not yet ventured by eliminating the chart table that had been reserved for smaller and smaller sizes in recent years. It is worth removing it altogether then and replacing it with a pop-up plan. The layout provides a choice of two and three double cabins, of which the forward cabin converts in a few moves into a spacious calavel for racing.

The price of the boat ready to sail is around 1,300,000 euros.

Technical Data

Lft with bowsprit (m): 16.74

hull length (m): 15.24

Lwl (m): 14.00

B.Max (m): 4.20

draft (m): 3.35

ballast (kg): 3,400

empty displacement (kg): 8,500

Upwind sail area (m2): 142

Load-bearing sail area (m2) 296