SWAN 48 THE PERFECT PERFORMANCE CRUISER?

The Swan 48 is on the water, we have photos, videos and also the technical characteristics. It is time for another post, even before seeing it in Dusseldorf, because this is a very interesting yacht and probably will be one of the most popular on the long Swan history.

The last time I checked they had already sold 24 (only 3 built) and I bet that the sales will increase after the possibility to see and sail the boat. In fact the Swan 48 looks even better on the water than on the drawings and after having a look at the interior, hull, cockpit and the technical data I find very little to criticize.

The interior looks just fine to me. They resisted the modern tendency to turn all the available space to the interior, to make it bigger, at the cost of storage space. No, in what I am concerned the layout of this yacht is perfect, it has even space for a 2.50 m dinghy on a garage as well as a considerably sized sail locker as well as lockers under the cockpit seats.

The galley is good, the saloon has enough space and the quality of the design and materials, typical on Swan, will make it a lovely space. The cabins without being king size have an adequate dimension and I would say that the forward one is large offering big storage and a a head with a separate shower with adequate dimensions.

The two aft cabins are smaller being one of them bigger than the other and offering two individual beds. The storage there is not much unless one opts for the alternative layout that offers a folding berth on the smaller cabin and a lot more storage.

For the ones that do extensive cruising this layout makes a lot more sense and that way the boat will have two cabins and two heads being perfect for two couples to cruise. When the kids come to visit they can find sleeping space on the folding berth and on the saloon.

On the first post I said I did not like the single rudder. They have considered that possibility while designing the boat but had opted for a two rudder set up that has many advantages over a single one in what cruising concerns and only a disadvantage: a less effective control at slow speed at the marina for reasons I have already explained (there is a post about it). But because this yacht will have a bowthruster that is really not a problem.

Above Swan 48, below Solaris 50

I can only find three things I don't like, one of then unfortunately has become the rule on luxury yachts. I mean the electric captive winch technology linked to a single point main sheet system. Everything is operated by a joystick, the winch is below deck and I doubt that it has a manual override.

That is a great way to simplify the deck layout that will need only more 4 winches instead of 6 and allows for an easy operation. I would say that it is an indispensable system on big yachts sailed without a big crew. The forces are huge and the system has been used already for some years (Harken and Lewmar) with success.

Solaris 50

But on a performance cruiser with 48ft? On a mainsail with 77.1m2? The system will rely entirely on electric power and on a generator. A generator makes sense on this type of boat where it is expected to have AC, but excludes the possibility of having a traveler for the main that even if  not essential for cruising will certainly contribute for the pleasure of sailing.

Solaris 50

Sailors that like to sail love to have their sails perfectly trimmed, it is not about the speed (many times only some extra decimals of a knot) it is for the pleasure of doing it. That is what performance sailing is about and a performance cruiser should offer the means to do that specially on a boat with less than 50ft were the efforts are manageable by a single sailor.

The second thing I don't like, and this one seems to me absurd, is the mainsheet going through two holes on the back of the cockpit table (look at the 2nd foto). The efforts on the system will be considerably bigger due to friction and the lateral efforts at the base will be huge. It makes no sense and it looks odd and poorly designed.

The 3rd one has to do with the windlass position and the two opening hatches of the forward chain locker/sail storage space. The winch is on the side and I don't think that is the problem, but one of the hatches, near the winch effectively restricts winch operation specially if something goes wrong and you need more space than the little one that is provided to operate it. The problem would be solved with a bigger single hatch opening to the opposite side of the winch.

Very little for a boat that seems very well balanced and designed. For reference we will look at the numbers comparing them with the ones of the Solaris 47 and Solaris 50, probably the closest competition for this boat that should cost just about a million euros, not far but probably a bit more than the Solaris 50.

All measures on metric system (m, kg)

LWL: SW48-13.88, SO47-13.40, SO50-14.25; Beam: SW48-4.59, SO47-4.36, SO50-4.55; Dipsplacement : SW48-15000, SO47-12600, SO50-14200, Standard Draft (all with a similar type of torpedo keel): SW48-2.40, SO47-2.80, SO50-2.80; B/D : SW48-35%, SO47-34%, SO50-35%.

Regarding the keel it is worth noting that the superior draft of the Solaris will mean that for an identical B/D it will offer more righting moment.

Solaris 47

Regarding the hull we can see that the Swan, that looks to be less beamier than the Solaris, is in fact more. What gives that impression is that while all the beam on the Solaris is pulled back, that is not the case on the Swan. This means that the Solaris will roll less downwind, being easier to be driven fast on autopilot and that the Swan (if all other things are equal) will offer probably a better performance upwind and in light winds.

The Swan has  a two rudder system and both Solaris a single rudder. I think that for cruising a two rudder system is preferable but probably for this type and size of hull, in what regards performance, a single rudder is marginally better. Not the case with extreme beams, like for instance Pogo 50 (5.15) but the case of most TP52 (max beam 4.43).

SA/D : SW48-23.4, SO47-24.2, SO50-27.8; D/L : SW48-155.8, SO47-146.0, SO50-136.1. This means that the Solaris, especially the 50, is proportionally lighter and also that proportionally to the weight they have more sail area. That would make the Solaris faster in almost all conditions even if it is not a huge difference. I would not be surprised if upwind with medium to strong winds the Swan is faster.

All great sailboats, very similar in what they offer and on the style of cruising they provide and even if neither of them is a cruiser-racer, if well crewed, they would not look bad on any race. The Swan offers a prestige that the Solaris still aims to reach, due to decades of success, but I would say that if the Solaris continues on the same trend some day it will reach a similar status.

Personally I would say that I like more the hull design of the Solaris and also its deck and cabin design but I would prefer the Swan 48 interior. The one from the Solaris looks a bit impersonal and even in what regards the Swan I am judging only by photos and videos and assuming it has the same quality of the 54, it looks warm and cozy.

Of course I am talking mostly about style and regarding that the tastes can be very different but if I had to chose between the Swan 48 and the Solaris 50, well, it would not be an easy choice and probably I would want to sail both boats to decide.