Reading Time: 3 minutesDifferent to other sailboats, the classic Skärgårdskryssare or square metre boat and their successors for cruising are designated by sail area instead of their length or a formula. For example, the 15 stands for the smallest 15 square metre class, the 22 for the 22s, and so on. If the designation number is underlined, as in the above photo of …
Reading Time: 7 minutesThis almost 59 ft, 18 metre long daysailer is so antiquated that at first glance it appears to be a coloured black-and-white foto of times gone by. However, the boat is real and not restored, a new construction of 2017. The sail geometry is also wonderfully outdated. Three quarters of Gustaf’s sail area is in the mainsail, the rest in …
Reading Time: 5 minutesSwede 55 can be enjoyed as built in the 1970s. Believe it or not and even if some do-it-yourselfers find it difficult: you can simply sail this boat as it is – with one exception: Unfortunately, the yard did not consider an important issue at the time, anchoring. A secure anchor that you can easily deploy and back on board …
Reading Time: 5 minutesAnything flat-hulled with long overhangs, made of wood, ideally with a glossy finish? This is how most sailors answer this question. In principle, that’s true, since the open design class launched in 1908 for racing in the Stockholm archipelago or Skärgård initially left a lot of freedom. Only the sail area was limited. If you wanted to win with a …
Reading Time: 2 minutesNot long ago, an American contacted me regarding the purchase of a secondhand Swede 55. As a former 55 owner he was familiar with the boat. Enthralled by the 55, he found a particular boat on the eastern seaboard of the US and sought advice whether to inspect it at all or not. He booked advice to find an answer …
Reading Time: 6 minutesSeptember 21 Richard Natmeßnig invites me for an afternoon aboard his Swede 41 Classic named Sleipnir. Having spent three unforgettable hours at the tiller of his boat on Fehmarnsund, I warn you straight away: Never sail this one. Not due to heel or for being so close to the sea. But the experience is addicting. It spoils you for the …
Reading Time: 3 minutesAn S30 sailor wants a jockey pole for his cruising square metre boat for spinnaker sailing at closer angles. Together with matching eye plates to hang on the side of the mast this is no big deal. The boom and fittings are requested from the leading mast builder Seldén via the Hamburg agent Herman Gotthardt. Seldén probably supplied the rigging …
Reading Time: 5 minutesIn spring of 1930, the 22-square-metre skerry cruiser or classy Skärgårdskryssare Vigilant sits nearly ready on a ramp on the Medina River of the Isle Of Wight in the south of England. Apart from the lead keel, the rudder, and the rigging, the boat is finished. It was designed by the famous sailor and yard owner Uffa Fox (pictured right). …
Reading Time: 2 minutesSwede 55 has two smaller sisters, the Jubilee S40 and S30 cruising variants of the classy square metre boat. Here is an opportunity to buy a well-kept and well-equipped S30. Comprehensive sailing wardrobe with several light wind sails for Lake Constance. Dark blue hull with teak deck. Extensive refit by reputable Lake Constance yard in 2003: superstructure painted white, teak …
Reading Time: 2 minutesIt towers 18 metres into the blue and is ten percent bigger than the previous mainsail by Swiss sailmaker VM Sails, which came with a short foot luff in the nineties. Five battens, two of them continuous at the top, stabilise the cloth. In fall before, sailmaker Arnd Deutsch and I had discussed a special sailcloth and other details. It …
