The design completed summer 1975, moulds and templates prepared in the following months, the first 55s were constructed 1976 and most likely launched spring 77. The first boats were built by Fisksätra Varv in Fisksätra, a village near Saltsjöbaden/Stockholm. Then the yard moved to the premises of a former factory producing matches at Tändsticksvägen in Västervik at the east coast of Sweden. Facing the worldwide recession due to the oil crisis the parent company Gylling withdrew from boatbuilding. The manufacture by Fisksätra Varv AB ceased in late 1979. Later seven boats (# 28 – 34) were constructed by ACVA Båt at another location and delivered as complete or semi-finished boats. Status: November 2019.
This attempt to associate boats to construction # and years may contain mistakes and there are gaps. Some details are current, others old or based on hearsay. Sailnumbers tagged to well identified boats are marked bold. Should you as Swede 55-aficionado or sailor/insider know more, kindly contact me via Email.
Swede 55 “Arwen” in Stockholm Archipelago Summer 19 – Foto Lars Wickenberg
| Construction year/Sail # | Hull color | Name | Berthed | Remarks |
| 1976/77/S 1 | red | Sweedy, Spilhaus II | Kiel/Germany, Guernsey, Capetown 1989-91 | built by Fisksätra, demo boat in Kiel, lost on a reef approaching Mauritius at night in 1991 |
| 1976/77/S 2 | white | Swedeheart, Immola, Slanka Frun, Arwen | Stockholm/Sweden | built by Fisksätra, successfully raced in Sweden in early years |
| 1976/77/S 3 | red | Elisa | Stockholm/Sweden | built by Fisksätra, mast extended by 2 m, headstay moved forward |
| 1977/S 4, FIN 10481 | white | Prillan, Sweda, Alda | Stockholm/Sweden, Turku/Finland since 2006 | built by Fisksätra, extensively refurbished recently, actively raced, Line honors and first Gotland Runt 2008 |
| 1977/L 1085, GER 5, DEN 5 |
white dark blue |
So Long | Espoo/Finland, Kiel/Germany, Troense/Denmark | built by Fisksätra, hull painted dark blue in Nineties by first german owner. Succession of 4 owners |
| 1977 | built by Fisksätra, no details regarding boat 6 |
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| 1977 | built by Fisksätra, no details regarding boat 7 |
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| 1977/S 8 | white | Geila III, Axe | Stockholm/Sweden; Oslo, then Bergen/Norway | built by Fisksätra |
| 1977/US 9 | white | Javelin, Rosina | West Palm Beach/Florida; Lake Champlain/Vermont USA | built by Fisksätra, black aluminum spar & boom. rig geometry slighty modified |
| 1977/S 10 | white | Vilda Matilda | Stockholm |
built by Fisksätra |
| 1978/US 11 | white, dark blue, black | Corsair | Brooklin/Maine USA, Fairport/Cleveland, Mentor/Ohio Lake Erie |
built by Fisksätra, inspired the wooden Swede 55-replica “Vortex” |
| 1978/S 11, POR 8224 | white, dark blue | Hera, Mystic | Caribbean/USA; Lisbon/Portugal |
built by Fisksätra, blue hull after extensive refit in late Eigthies, sailing in Portugal |
| 1977 or 78/US 12 | white | Saud, Tumlare, Skye | Caribbean, Woods Hole/USA, Cape Town/South Africa since 2015 |
built by Fisksätra, third Swede 55 brought to Cape Town |
| 1977/ USA 93416 | white | Excalibur | Annapolis/USA |
built by Fisksätra, possibly boat 13 |
| 1977 or 78/S 14, F 16232, DEN 14 | white | Calypso, Santé Montpellier, As, Calypso |
Antibes, Port Carmargue, La Grande Motte/Montpellier, France; Limfjord/Denmark
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built by Fisksätra, five owners, extensively refurbished, teak clad deck and deckhouse, mahogany footrail |
| 1978/ # 14 ? | white | Tiana, Lotus | Beverly/Massachsetts USA, Dering Harbour/New York, Chatham near London/GB |
built by Fisksätra, bought in 2009 in US, carried as deck freight on a cargo ship to England in 2009, possibly sail number 14 |
| 1978/S 15 | white | Scirocco | Adriatic Sea, Stockholm |
built by Fisksätra |
| 1978/ L 5155 |
white |
Susaija, Suveren, Quintus | Finland, now Stockholm area |
semi-finished boat (hull & deck) by Fisksätra of 1978 acquired by finish boatbuilder 1985, completed in different manner until 1987, deck and deckhouses covered with teak and mahogany, shorter single spreader spar, different interiour layout and finish. |
| 1978/US 57476 | white, red | The Contessa | Seattle/Washington, Alameda/San Francisco |
built by Fisksätra, possibly boat 16 |
| 1978/US 17, US 8915 | white | Temptress, Bird | San Francisco, lost in Glacier Bay/Alaska |
built by Fisksätra, boat shown in Nautical Quarterly # 6 in spring 1997, successfully sailed San Francisco – Hawaii Race 1982, disappeared in a gale during singlehanded cruise in Oct/Nov. 99 in GlacierBay/Alaska |
| 1978/S 18 | white | Columella II, So Long, Skuggfaxe, Miramis | Uppsala, Resarö, Vaxholm , Saltsjöbaden (Stockholm waters)/Sweden |
built by Fisksätra |
| 1978 or 79/Z 19 | white | Eos | Steinach, Bodensee/ Switzerland, now german seaboard of Baltic Sea |
built by Fisksätra, for years the only Swede 55 on Lake Constance, run by sporty and well known owner |
| 1979/ITA 20 | white | Viveka, Sparnoccio | Genoa, Jesolo/Italy, Croatia, Västervik/Sweden |
boat repeatedly particiated in Barcolana Race |
| 1978 or 79/S 21 | white, dark blue | Carina | Adriatic Sea, Tunesia, Croatia, Ravenna, Port Grimaud, Helsinki/Finland |
built by Fisksätra, succession of five owners, obtained teak deck and dark blue hull in 1997, extensively refurbished in Finland |
| 1979/ G 22 | white | Siloah | Adriatic Sea, then Portoferraio/Elba |
built by Fisksätra, freshwater tanks installed behind backrests in main cabin, on the hard for decades. Refurbished since 2018 or 19 |
| 1979 |
built by Fisksätra, no details regarding boat 23 |
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| 1979/S 25 | white | Elisabeth II | Norrtälje/Sweden |
built by Fisksätra, possibly boat 24 |
| 1979/G 25 | white | Kaniga | Kiel-Schilksee, Kopperby/Germany; Öresund/Denmark |
built by Fisksätra, succession of 4 owners, extensive refit in Skive in same manner as Calypso |
| 1979/ G 26/K 26 | white | Valhall | german owner; River Itchen /Southampton |
built by Fisksätra, repeated Atlantic crossings in the hands of second british owner |
| 1979/G 27 | white | Gamle Swede | german seaboard of Baltic Sea |
last Fisksätra built Swede 55 in autumn 1979, launched May 1980 |
| # 28 |
probably built by ACVA Båt, no details regarding boat 28 |
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| 1982/US 42434 | white | Counterpoint, Spilhaus III | Chesapeake Bay/USA, Capetown/South Africa |
built by ACVA Båt, probably boat 28 or 29, won Annapolis – Bermuda race 1986, aquired by Southafrican owner who lost his first Swede 55 in Mauritius, actively raced from Cape Town |
| 1983/S 30 | white | Fast Lane | Solna, Nacka, Stockholm/Sweden |
built by ACVA Båt, crossed the Atlantic twice |
| 1980/ K 31 | white | Siri Louise, Peix’ Agulha, Escuteiros Maritimos, Almirante Warington Baden-Powell | Ponta Delgada, Azores Islands/Portugal | probably built by ACVA Båt, seized at Azores Islands sailing from Caribbean to Europe, donated to Sea Scouts in Ponta Delgada |
| 1981/US 32 | white | Flying Cloud | Guam/USA |
built by ACVA Båt |
| 1982 or 83? # 33 |
built by ACVA Båt, no details regarding boat 33 |
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| 1984/US 34 | light blue, dark blue | Die Nadel, Kyte, Ohana | San Diego, Port Washington, San Francisco/USA |
built by ACVA Båt. Hull colour changed from light blue Gelcoat to dark blue later, aft overhang cut off recently |
| 1989/US 50718 | white | Vortex | Brooklin, Maine/USA |
built by Brooklin Boat Yard, slightly altered wooden replica, raced in local waters and Caribbean |
Further I heard of a Swede 55 with sailnumber N 2 (N for Norway), owned by a norwegian-english couple, sailing charter for a while in the Caribbean, seen some time in the Eighties or Nineties in Bonifacio, Corsica. Possibly boat 23, 28 or 33
The clip below shows “Cheyenne”, a pimped Swede 55 driven by 100 sqm sailarea hoisted at a carbon spar with swept back spreaders, balanced by a sound ballast ratio of 57 percent. No runners, clean deck, tiller steered. A pleasing 16 m daysailor with amenities for a weekend or the summer cruise.
Further to the boats built by Fisksätra Varv and ACVA Båt in Sweden and the wooden replica “Vortex”, there are four Swede 55 alterations afloat:
| Construction year/Sail # | Hull color | Name | Berthed | Remarks |
| 1989/ Swede 75 # 1/S 1, GER 1 | white | Niña | Stockholm, German coast of Baltic Sea | built by Crown Yacht, interiour in birch |
| 1989/ Swede 75 # 2, K 9953 | white | Universal Hartbeat | River Hamble/GB, German Coast of Baltic Sea, Bankeryd Lake Vättern/Sweden | built by Crown Yacht, extensively raced in GB (Solent, Three Peaks Race), third owner now |
| 2002/ Swede 52 # 1 | white | Cheyenne | Stockholm/Sweden | built by Sören Lund/Göran Lundgren, due to its length over all boat now named Swede 52 |
| Swede 75 Special # 1 | white | Birgit | GKSS Långedrag, Gothenburg/Sweden | modified Swede 75, different wooden superstructure and cockpit |
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Michael K. Bottles, Noah Dater, Norbert Deicke, John Harding, Börje Larsson, Mario Steiner, Ulf Torberger, Lars Wickenberg, Steven White and Juha-Pekka Vuorinen.