Conceived as a recreational keelboat with serious offshore intent, the Swan 55 reflects an early-1970s period when Nautor’s original American design partner still shaped every hull carrying the Swan badge.
Design and Construction
The Swan 55 is a glassfibre monohull with wood trim, built predominantly of solid fibreglass rather than cored laminate. The design carries S&S drawing number 2012.1.
The hull has a raked stem, a fixed swept fin keel, and a skeg-mounted rudder controlled by a wheel. Displacement is substantial at 45,600 pounds, including 17,000 pounds of lead ballast. That puts the yacht firmly at the heavy, seakindly end of the cruiser-racer spectrum. The standard keel draws 8 feet.
The rig variants have distinct stern treatments. The sloop has a raised counter and reverse transom, with an overall length of 54.63 feet. The yawl stretches to 55.25 feet and has a lengthened raised counter with an angled transom. Both versions share a waterline length of 38.48 feet.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
Sparkman & Stephens offered the Swan 55 with a masthead sloop or yawl rig in a Bermuda configuration. Of the 16 boats built, seven carried the yawl rig.
The sloop’s sail plan is generous for its era. A 584-square-foot mainsail and 693-square-foot jib/genoa provide 1,277 square feet of upwind sail area. For reaching and running, the boat can carry a 2,495-square-foot symmetrical spinnaker. The yawl’s downwind kite is marginally smaller at 2,271 square feet. The foretriangle measures 63 feet in height on a 22-foot base, supporting a powerful headsail.
The design has a hull speed of 8.31 knots. Its PHRF handicap range of 48 to 57 marks it as a creditable club racer beneath its cruising accommodation.
A 61-horsepower Volvo Penta MD21A diesel provides low-speed control for docking and manoeuvring rather than passage propulsion. Fuel capacity is 80 gallons.
Accommodation
The Swan 55 sleeps nine in a layout that separates private and social spaces with some care. A double V-berth fills the forward cabin, with a head immediately aft to port. The forward salon has two straight settees and a pilot berth, while the main salon provides L-shaped and U-shaped settees for lounging and dining.
Farther aft, two cabins each contain a double berth. A second head is positioned aft to starboard.
The galley sits to port, just forward of the companionway ladder. Its L-shaped workspace includes a three-burner stove, an ice box, and a double sink. The navigation station faces it to starboard. A 125-gallon fresh-water tank supports the nine-person capacity on extended passages.
Known Issues
The known facts concern configuration and inventory rather than failure modes.
Refits, Records, and Ownership
Owning one of only 16 hulls means dealing with a boat whose market presence is inherently limited. That scarcity can complicate spares and make comparable surveys difficult to find.
Buyers and owners should also note the model’s three-name history when tracing documentation. Title and survey records may identify the boat as a Swan 55, Swan 53, or Palmer Johnson 53.
The yawl’s mizzen and lengthened counter give it a meaningfully different deck and sail-handling profile from the sloop. That distinction is worth weighing against the boat’s intended use.
The engine remains the period-correct 61-horsepower Volvo Penta MD21A, intended for low-speed control rather than auxiliary passage-making.
Verdict
The Swan 55-S&S-1970 is a low-production, genuinely dual-purpose Swan. It combines a heavy-displacement glassfibre hull, a race-credentialed Sparkman & Stephens rig, and a nine-berth cruising interior. Its scarcity and three-model naming history make diligent documentation essential, but the design remains a coherent expression of early Nautor cruiser-racer philosophy.
Pros
- Only 16 built; a true collector-grade Nautor with an S&S pedigree
- 45,600-pound displacement with 17,000 pounds of lead ballast for offshore stability
- Nine-berth layout with two aft cabins and two heads
- Choice of sloop or yawl rigs, both with substantial downwind spinnaker capacity
Cons
- Very limited production complicates spares and survey comparisons
- The 61-horsepower diesel is intended only for manoeuvring, not auxiliary passage-making
- Three-name overlap—Swan 55, Swan 53, and Palmer Johnson 53—creates a risk of title confusion
