Design and Construction
The hull is a monohull of solid fibreglass with wood trim, carrying a raked stem and an angled transom that the later Swan 57CC Frers would replace with a reverse transom. Beneath her lies a fixed fin keel with an optional deep-draft variant, and steering runs through an internally mounted spade rudder under a wheel. At 54.98 feet overall on a 42.87-foot waterline, with a beam of 15.92 feet, she displaces 52,000 pounds and carries 19,900 pounds of lead ballast — a 38-percent ballast ratio that places her firmly in serious offshore-cruiser territory. The standard keel draws 8.5 feet; the deep-draft option extends that to 10.83 feet for owners who prize stability and windward bite over shallow harbours.
Rig and Handling
Her Bermuda masthead sloop rig spans a 62-foot foretriangle and a 50.5-foot mainsail luff, yielding 1,147 square feet of working sail area against that 52,000-pound displacement. The PHRF handicap of 63 and a theoretical hull speed of 8.77 knots frame her as a moderate-performance cruiser: not a lightweight sprinter, but a vessel whose stability and sail plan let her cover ground steadily offshore. A British Perkins diesel of 116 horsepower sits aboard for docking and manoeuvring rather than passage-making under power, fed by 163 gallons of fuel.
Accommodations
The centre-cockpit layout sleeps six across a bow cabin with a double V-berth and two bunk beds, a main saloon with an L-shaped settee and a straight settee, and an aft cabin whose double berth lies to starboard. The galley is a straight configuration on the port side just aft of the companionway ladder, fitted with a four-burner stove, an ice box, and a sink, while the navigation station faces it to starboard. Two heads serve the boat — one just aft of the bow cabin on the starboard side, the other aft to starboard. With 232 gallons of fresh water, the interior is laid out for extended living aboard rather than weekend coast-hopping.
Lineage
The Swan 55 CC was developed directly into the Swan 57CC Frers, the successor adding a reverse transom to the same essential package developed into the Swan 57CC Frers. The 22-boat production run and 1990–1997 build window mark her as a comparatively rare Frers Swan, sitting between the earlier 51 that opened the partnership and the later, larger centre-cockpit evolution.
The Verdict
The Frers Swan 55 CC is a low-production, genuinely offshore-capable centre-cockpit cruiser from the heart of the Frers–Nautor collaboration. Her solid-glass hull, heavy lead ballast, and considered accommodation plan make her a serious voyaging platform, while the modest production count means any example carries a degree of rarity that later, larger Swans do not.
Pros
- 19,900 lb lead ballast on a 52,000 lb displacement gives a reassuring 38% ballast ratio
- Centre-cockpit layout with six berths and two heads suited to liveaboard cruising
- Optional deep-draft keel extends windward ability to 10.83 ft
- Direct predecessor to the Swan 57CC Frers with a clean Frers lineage
Cons
- Only 22 built, so spares and comparative survey data are scarce
- 116 hp Perkins is sized for manoeuvring, not sustained motoring
- Standard 8.5 ft draft limits shallow anchorage access
