Reading Time: 5 minutes→ Article in German Swede 55 was built as a fibreglass production boat by Fisksätra Varv in Västervik, at the east coast of Sweden. As being customary in the 1970s, Swede 55 turned out remarkably robust with a solid laminated hull, carefully sized wall thicknesses and well-thought-out reinforcements. Due to anticipated speed and twisting in rough seas, the slender hull …
Reading Time: 8 minutes→ Article in German This website focused on beautiful yachts has been around for a while. Occasionally, I am asked what kind of boat I am sailing. Now I am taking the liberty to introduce Gamle Swede: Daysailer, cruiser, occasional racer, floating retreat and boat office. Some day, she may be for sale – in case an experienced and care …
Reading Time: 3 minutesThis 68 footer was developed by Håkan Södergren in 2008 as a taller sister of Swede 55. At first sight it is the same boat just bigger due the sailor saying. Actually, Swede 68 is 15 feet (4.57 metres) longer, nearly three feet (80 cm) wider and designed with a raised freeboard. This would offer more room below deck. Swede …
Reading Time: 4 minutesThe story of this Swede 55 successor reveals, what can be done with a tiller-steered 52-footer, racing the south and west coasts of England, including the Fastnet Race or on the Côte d’Azur. Universal Hartbeat is steered like a dinghy with a tiller extension instead of a wheel. Almost all the crew is sitting on the high edge. This is …
Reading Time: 3 minutesThis is the story of a well-travelled, then long decommissioned Swede 55. Follow her wake from Fisksätra Varv in Västervik in Sweden to the island of Guernsey, where her first German owner sold her. She sailed on via southern France to Antigua, crossed the Atlantic several times in American and British ownership, went to Norway and finally to Southampton. There, …
Reading Time: 2 minutes→ Article in German All data of Swede 55 obtained from brochures and own measurements aboard Gamle Swede: hull dimensions, weight, rig dimensions, nominal sail area and actual sail sizes. Cabin heights, tank capacities, engine and transmission, various international ratings/racing certificates. This information has been compiled from Gamle Swede and other Swede 55 over the past decades. This is just …
Reading Time: 6 minutes→ Article in German This type is the successor to the second version S30 cruising Square Metre Boat and was built in 1995/96 with a boxy and comfortable superstructure. Further, there is a flush deck version with a low profile cabin named Swede 41 Classic. Swede 41 construction # 4 The sailing characteristics of Swede 41 have been improved impressively, …
Reading Time: 6 minutes→ Article in German A while ago Richard Natmeßnig invited me for an afternoon aboard his Swede 41 Classic. Having spent an unforgettable afternoon at the tiller of his boat named Sleipnir on Fehmarnsund, I vividly remember this tempting experience. Swede 41 Classic with a lot of sail area Interested in sailing and familiar with Square Metre Boats, I found …
Reading Time: 6 minutes→ Article in German This page documents the fleet of first and second version boats. The sail numbers were assigned consecutively international and apparently correspond to the construction numbers. Identified construction/sail numbers are marked bold. The information up to boat no. 156 comes from the 1975 directory of the Swedish S30 class association, Svenska S 30 Förbundet. The lists are …
Reading Time: 6 minutesThe Square Metre Boat cruising variant Swede 55 is delighting sailors all around the globe. Although series production ended in 1979, with Gamle Swede as hull number 27 launched by Fisksätra Varv, 18 more boats followed. One of them, technically and in terms of sailing the most interesting, is Cheyenne. Göran Lindgren got his dream boat for the Stockholm archipelago. …
