Swan 55-S&S-1970 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for a Swan 55-S&S-1970 means chasing one of just 16 hulls that Oy Nautor AB completed in Finland between 1970 and 1974, a Sparkman & Stephens cruiser-racer also known in its day as the Swan 53 and the Palmer Johnson 53. With that scarcity, the practical questions are which layout and rig you are looking at, what equipment tends to be aboard, and where these boats actually turn up for sale.
Layouts on the Used Market
Two interior arrangements appear on the used market. The more common is a charter-oriented four-cabin layout, though the alternative owner layout is also available, and ex-charter examples are a common sight rather than a rarity. Regardless of cabin plan, every Swan 55 provides sleeping for nine: a bow V-berth, forward salon settees with a pilot berth, main salon L- and U-shaped settees, and two aft double cabins, served by two heads and an L-shaped port galley opposite a starboard nav station. Rig choice matters as much as cabin plan — seven of the sixteen were yawls with a lengthened counter and angled transom, the rest masthead sloops with a reverse transom — and the yawl's different deck profile should be confirmed in person.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market, a swim platform and a chartplotter are commonly fitted to these boats, reflecting modern cruising expectations layered over the original 1970 specification. The period-correct Volvo Penta MD21A diesel of 61 horsepower remains the manoeuvring plant, paired with an 80-gallon fuel and 125-gallon water capacity. Beyond those two common additions, buyers should expect equipment to vary by owner; the absence of a generator or watermaker is not unusual and should be weighed against intended passage use rather than assumed as a defect.
What to Inspect
A survey should assess the period glassfibre hull with wood trim and any aged brightwork as a matter of course. Confirm the hull's identity against all three name variants — Swan 55, Swan 53, Palmer Johnson 53 — since documentation may use any of them, and verify whether a given boat is the sloop or yawl rig, as the stern configuration and sail plan differ. Check the Volvo Penta MD21A for docking-use wear and confirm the 8-foot standard keel is intact.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These yachts typically appear in Spain, Italy, Denmark, Finland, and Portugal. For a buyer, the short checklist is: confirm rig variant and layout against the ex-charter four-cabin norm, verify the three-name paper trail, expect a chartplotter and swim platform but budget for any missing liveaboard systems, and commission a glassfibre-and-wood survey on a 1970s Nautor. The Swan 55 rewards the patient shopper with a low-production S&S cruiser-racer that is seldom offered and easy to misidentify.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Swan 55-S&S-1970. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 5 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 25 | 1 | $2,165,797 | — |
| Jun 25 | 1 | $553,639 | -74.4% |
| Sep 25 | 2 | $1,588,069 | +186.8% |
| Oct 25 | 1 | $390,461 | -75.4% |
| May 26 | 1 | $2,622,500 | +571.6% |
Where they're listed
Swan 55-S&S-1970 listings appear across 3 countries. Spain has the most listings with 2 (50.0%), followed by Italy and Portugal.
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
9 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swan 46 | 47.08' | $ 147,264 | 24 | 6 |
| Swan 53 | 53' | $ 390,466 | 19 | 7 |
| Discovery Yachts 55 | 54.79' | $ 689,813 | 14 | 8 |
| Oyster 55 | 56.25' | $ 372,978 | 11 | 4 |
| Hallberg-Rassy 55 | 54.72' | $ 1,223,833 | 9 | 1 |
| Nautor Swan Swan 55 CC | 54.98' | $ 2,156,278 | 7 | 0 |
| Baltic 55 DP | 55' | $ 497,500 | 7 | 0 |
| Swan 47 S&S | 47.83' | $ 135,000 | 7 | 3 |
| Swan 55-S&S-1970You are here | — | $ 1,588,069 | 4 | 0 |