Can you design, build, and sail a 49-foot boat offering just stoop height below deck? Yes, you can, if you are a Swede and more focused on sailing than amenities below deck. And what a pleasure it is edging this 55 m2 Skerry cruiser windward, sitting on the ergonomically shaped coaming with small deflections on the tiller. The sensation of sensitive dinghy feeling aboard a 49 foot/15 m racer. This is the nearly forgotten essence of sailing.
Håkan Södergrens 55 m2 Skärgårdskryssare
And what a feast to watch this sled in ideal conditions in smooth water. The wedge-shaped cabin with the sleek windows is familiar from modern boats. And who else sloped the transom from the aft deck to the breakaway edge like Håkan Södergren? At the beginning of the 1980s, this 55 was built as en riktig femtifemman, a real 55 square metre boat.
Rudder blade attached to the keel according to the sqm boat rule
Upwind fun machine
A few years earlier, Fisksätra Varv had stopped building the S30 and Swede 55cruising version derived from the classy square metre boat. These were family-friendly cruising boats with concessions to on-board life, thus no true sqm boats. However, 304 S30s and 27 Swede 55s were quite a success. Södergren’s 55 according to the 1925 sqm boat rule was an attempt to extend this. This article describes the early development of the class since 1908 and the finally revised Skerry Cruiser Rule of 1925.
Full headroom in open hatch
To answer the commonly asked comfort question straight away: There is full standing height in the open sliding hatch, otherwise stoop height below the cabin roof. Onboard toilet and galley yes, four berths plus two in the saloon, plus an inboard engine. Whatever is possible on a 15 m file with a width of 2 ½ m and is really needed on board. You push the 5 tons from the berth, turn her into the wind, and start heading towards your sailing nirvana. There is room for wine or a beer in the bilge, a comfortable double bed under the skylight in the front, and, of course, a stove for the morning coffee. Sanitary needs are taken care of in the clubhouse or in the water around the berth, somewhere in the beautiful Swedish skerries.
Four bunks plus main cabin: Basic amenities for a couple or a family
First new 55 sqm boat since 1934
The 55 sqm class is not well known in German-speaking countries and also internationally. The smaller examples, the 15s, 22s, 30s and 40s classes became a lot more successful. One exception is the 55 sqm Sonja from 1920, which is a full two metres wide at 15 metres length and is eagerly sailed in classic regattas on the German Baltic coast.
Per Thelander’s valuable source, the book Alla våra Skärgårdskryssare (All Our Square Metre boats) from 1991 documents around 50 boats of the 55 class in Sweden and Finland, most of which were built in the 1910s and 1920s. The last classic 55-sqm type was built in 1934 as La Liberté according to plans by Erik Salander. With a length of 16.30 m and a beam of 2.53 m according to the sqm rule of 1925, it is an exceptionally beautiful example.
GRP sandwich with Divinycell foam
In 1981, Stockholm Skerrycruiser enthusiast Kjell Wallin commissioned boat designer Håkan Södergrens to design this 55 m2 boat. A Fleet of 5 boats of this Södergren’s 55 was built as a small-series manufacture in Åkersberga, northeast of Stockholm, from GRP in sandwich construction with a core of Divinycell. Jan-Erik Nystedt was responsible for the interior. A contemporary, low-maintenance fibre glass boat with a well-insulated hull, deck, and cockpit.
In the eyes of many sailors Södergren’s most beautiful boat – Foto Håkan Södergren
Principal rigging data
Mainsail luff, P measurement
15.30 m
Mainsail foot, E measurement
5 m
Headsail luff, I measurement
11.40 m
Headsail base & spinnaker pole length, J measurement
The table documents four of the five boats built in the early eighties by Janne Nystedt, with sail numbers of clearly identified boats marked in bold.
Launched Sail number
hull colour
Names
Located
Remarks
1984 S 47, FIN 5
white
Carina
Stockholm Archipelago, now Finland
separate spade rudder
1984 S 48
Jarramas
Finland: Kantvik near Espoo in winter, Turku archipelago in summer
blue cabin sidewall
1984 S 49, DEN 49
white
Cheeta, Gäddskräcken II, Siesta
Stockholm Archipelago, now Nivå, Öresund/Denmark
separate spade rudder
1983/4 N 1
Mia
This modern 55 m2 Skerrycruiser is an example of what can be done with modern, lightweight, and easy-care materials within the well-thought-out rule of 1925. You simply enjoy it, without the burden of repeated sanding and painting intervals. For the sake of boat handling in narrow ports, a separate freestanding rudder was soon added to some boats. This does not comply to the rule.
One of the five boats sailing in the swedish archipelago – Photo Håkan Södergren
Do you know more?
Your remarks regarding the whereabouts of these rare boats, experience under sail, cruising, living aboard, race results and photos are welcome. Kindly help to improve or update his article with your remarks by sending an E-Mail.
Photo on top by Tore Källmark/Västervik. Credits to Peter Björkdal, Carl Svedberg, Marre Cocozza, and the boat register of the Svenska Skärgårdskryssare Förbundet (SSKF) for information regarding the fleet. Published December 26, 2022, updated March 9, 2026.→ Subscribe to the newsletter here, and you won’t miss future articles.
