Design and Construction
The Swiftsure 33 carries a length overall of 10.08 meters and a waterline of 6.99 meters, with a beam of 3.05 meters and a displacement of 5,216 kg anchor. Her keel/centerboard hull gives a maximum draft of 2.01 meters and a board-up minimum of 1.07 meters, a range that lets her reach thin coastal corners yet stand up to wind with the board down. Ballast sits at 1,542 kg, a 29.56% ballast-to-displacement ratio that, with a displacement-to-length figure of 425.63, places her among moderately loaded cruisers rather than featherweight racers. The fiberglass hull and solid construction are paired with wood trim; the original boats bear bronze deck hardware and mahogany, while the later COMMODORE SWIFTSURE version switched to stainless steel and aluminum hardware with teak. Both the original and the Commodore share the same hull shape, exterior deck layout, and sailplan, with only slight differences in displacement and ballast.
Rig and Handling
She is rigged as a masthead sloop with a total sail area of about 46.5 square meters, split between a 23.13-square-meter foretriangle and a 23.34-square-meter main anchor. The sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 15.82 and an S# of 0.95 mark her as a steady cruiser with enough canvas to move in a breeze without being overpowered easily. Her maximum hull speed is 6.42 knots, and she carries 819.96 pounds per inch of immersion, a figure that tells you how reluctantly she sits into a chop when loaded. The capsize screening value of 1.78 and a comfort ratio of 31.83 frame her as a stable, accommodating coastal and offshore hull rather than a twitchy planing type.
Accommodations
The early Swiftsure 33 boats have a permanently fixed cabin table with two leaves that fold down when not in use, and at the aft end of that table a hollow stainless pole rises from the cabin sole to the ceiling, enclosing the housing for the centerboard control cable anchor. The later model, mostly built by Royal Netherlands Aircraft, does away with the fixed table in favor of one that completely folds away, and gains a new centerboard mechanism whose control cable is routed inside the port cabinetry. Those two interior arrangements are the clearest distinction between the first and later builds beyond the exterior hardware changes.
Known Issues
The one area a surveyor should understand is the centerboard control path: early boats route the cable housing through a pole at the table's aft end, while later boats hide the cable inside port cabinetry.
The Verdict
The Swiftsure 33 is a period-correct Rhodes cruiser whose centerboard plan gives her a useful draft range, and whose two build generations are easily told apart by cabin-table style and deck hardware. She is not a modern light-displacement racer, but her numbers and fittings suit a buyer who wants a traditional 33-foot sloop with recognizable lineage.
Pros
- Centerboard hull with 1.07 m board-up draft for shoal access and 2.01 m board-down for windward grip
- Traditional masthead sloop rig with balanced fore and main sail areas
- Two distinct build eras with identifiable trim and table configurations
- Stable cruising numbers: capsize screen 1.78, comfort ratio 31.83
Cons
- Gasoline Universal Atomic 4 power, typical of the era but less favored today
- Later Commodore version differs in ballast and displacement, complicating like-for-like comparison
- Fixed cabin table on early boats consumes saloon space when deployed
