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Gamle Swede Videos

Reading Time: 3 minutes→ Artikel auf Deutsch The privilege to be aboard is the experience of so many moods. Early departure to hoist the sails. Classy upwind sailing with some heel. Exhilarating down wind runs. Eager racing with bold moves on chess board between the marks. Quiet anchoring with the water murmuring gently along the hull. Gamle Swede was the last Swede 55 …

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Swede 55 Heavy-duty Jib

Reading Time: 8 minutes→ Artikel auf Deutsch There are so many topics when it comes to equipping a boat that the storm jib is often overlooked. Selection and purchase are not taken serious. Surprisingly, the standard literature provides nothing here. Even the 32nd edition of the German Seamanship, the Handbook for Yachting from 2019 only mentions this important sail. Adlard Coles’ reference book …

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Swede 55 in strong winds

Reading Time: 6 minutes→ Artikel auf Deutsch Skerry cruisers and their modern cruising versions, such as the S30, Jubilee S40 and Swede 55, are sensitive boats. Despite their light displacement, low freeboard and elegant lines, they handle a lot of wind. They are sailed in a different manner compared to contemporary wide and significantly heavier boats. When the wind picks up, you are …

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How to start a race

Reading Time: 8 minutes→ Artikel auf Deutsch About the false start, the fuck-up version, the start on the wrong side, or carefully approaching the starting line. And about hopelessly trailing the fleet in the Olympic loser spirit. Five starting variations that can be combined endlessly. Starting is as incomprehensible as golf. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. The difference between sailing and …

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Sailing with a view

Reading Time: 3 minutes→ Artikel auf Deutsch Every cruising sailing boat today comes with a folding Sprayhood. Many yachts even have a solid windscreen or a permanent deckhouse. So you sit in the cockpit protected from the wind and water. This is comfy for sailing on chilly nights, in spring and autumn, and in the cold waters of the north. Unfortunately, this practical …

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Swede 55 Construction

Reading Time: 5 minutes→ Artikel auf Deutsch 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 …

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For sale: Swede 55 Gamle Swede

Reading Time: 8 minutes→ Artikel auf Deutsch 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 …

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Swede 55 Boat Data

Reading Time: 2 minutes→ Artikel auf Deutsch 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 …

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Reshaping The Rudder

Reading Time: 6 minutes→ Artikel auf Deutsch Why the rudder should have a different shape of the keel fin. Which shape was chosen in advanced boat building in the 1970s? What is recommended today? What helps to avoid the stalling effect? How you determine the ideal profile for your boat. Following the first article on suitable bushings for the rudder bearing and the …

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Rudder Reinforcement

Reading Time: 5 minutes→ Artikel auf Deutsch Whatever moves on a boat wears out and eventually needs to be repaired. Even the rudder blade. After stopping the noise at my Swede 55 with suitable bushings as described here, I noticed that it was still rattling. The question was why. So I dismantled it in the fall and loaded it onto the luggage rack …