
Accomodation of International Onedesign 40 Quaremetreboat by Knud Reimers dated March 1974 – Source SSHM Stockholm
Initially, Swede 55 was planned to be an International Onedesign 40 Skerrycruiser with nominal 40 Squaremetres, accoarding to drawings by Reimers dated March 1974. During summer 74, the project became a slightly longer Onedesign 55 Squaremetre Class, as Reimers’ plans dated October 74 tell. Accoarding to Reimers’ drawings dated January 1975 and remarks on it, the general design was modified early 75 and more or less finished in summer 1975.
Detailed drawings by Reimers regarding keel construction (dated September 1976), accomodation and the revised sailplan are dated March 1977. Boat # 2 being covered in swedish magazine På Kryss & Tll Rors in 11/1976 with the first series of 15 boats being sold and under construction, series manufacture of Swede 55 seems to have been underway in autum 1976.

Floor reinforcements with tank/engine beds and keel suspension as specified by Reimers January 1976 – source SSHM Stockholm
The prototype was built by Fisksätra Varv in Fisksätra, a village near Saltsjöbaden/Stockholm. Then the yard moved to the premises of a factory previously producing matches at Tändsticksvägen in Västervik at the east coast of Sweden. There the remaining 26 Swede 55s were built within a time span of three years. The last boats were delivered in spring 1980. I have seen about five Swede 55 and a number of her smaller sister, the S30 in Västervik then.
Facing the worldwide recession due to the oil crisis the parent company Gylling withdrew from boatbuilding and the manufacture by Fisksätra Varv AB ceased in autumn 1979. Later seven boats (# 28 – 34) were constructed by ACVA Båt in Nyköping/Sweden and delivered as complete or semi-finished boats. Updated 20. January 2021
This attempt to associate boats to construction # and launching years may contain mistakes and there are obvious 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 insider know more, kindly contact me via Email. Your contribution would be appreciated.
Construction year/Sail # | Hull color | Name | Berthed | Remarks |
1976/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/S 2 | white | Swedeheart, Immola, Slanka Frun, Arwen | Stockholm/Sweden | built by Fisksätra, testsailed by På Kryss & Till Rors magazine in Summer 1976, successfully raced in Sweden in early years |
1976 or 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; New York Waters/USA | built by Fisksätra, black aluminum spar & boom. Rig geometry slighty modified. Beached ahead of Sand Hook island, New Jersey in 2019, sold at auction in spring 20. Damages repaired by current owner. For sale. |
1977/S 10 | white | Vilda Matilda | Stockholm |
built by Fisksätra |
1977/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” |
1977/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/US 12 | white | Saud, Tumlare, Sigrid II, Skye | Caribbean, Woods Hole/USA, Buzzard’s Bay, Cape Town/South Africa since 2015 |
built by Fisksätra, steering bar replaced by column, third Swede 55 brought to Cape Town |
1977/ USA 93416 | white | Excalibur | Annapolis – Maryland, Seattle – Washington/USA |
built by Fisksätra, possibly boat 13, new spar with enlarged sail area in 2007 |
1977/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 |
1977/ # 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 to England in 2009, laid up near Southend-on-Sea, possibly sail number 14 |
1977/S 15 | white | Scirocco | Stockholm |
built by Fisksätra, sucessfully raced in Stockholm waters |
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 a 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. Stored on the hard 1989-2019 |
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 | Valhöll | first german owner; british owner, now second british owner, River Itchen /Southampton |
built by Fisksätra, repeated Atlantic crossings in the hands of first british owner, refurbished in 2019/20 |
1979/G 27 | white | Gamle Swede | german seaboard of Baltic Sea |
last Fisksätra built Swede 55 in autumn 1979, launched May 1980 |
# 28 |
presumably 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 on the route 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 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, second owner |
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, Charles Churchill, Noah Dater, Norbert Deicke, John Harding, Börje Larsson, Mario Steiner, Ulf Torberger, Lars Wickenberg, Steven White and Juha-Pekka Vuorinen.