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In an era when it is common to replace boats as often as others change their trousers, I would like to remind you that a single, the right boat is enough. You can enjoy it for decades. Such as the Swede 55 designed by Knud Reimers. This photo was taken in May 1990. On that pleasant day with some wind and sun, Gamle Swede was already sailing her tenth season. And there were several decades to come.

When one boat is fine

In the first decade of this Fisksätra Varv manufacture, Gamle Swede was simply used as launched in Västervik on the east coast of Sweden in spring 1980. We departed after breakfast and would see what the day offers. During those enjoyable hours we found out in which port we ended up in the late, sometimes very late afternoon.

We just had a rough idea of where to go and an enduring will to get there. This boat is made for upwind sailing. There were no weather apps or chart plotters, just an occasionally used radio, beefed up by suggestions of the locals, like harbour masters or fishermen. Navigation was based on charts, bearings and estimated positions—and my constant fear to make sudden acquaintance with unforgiving rocks. For some reason, it never happened. I looked back on traumatic experiences at the west coast of Sweden aboard a previous boat.

When Gamle Swede was mostly used

As a closer look at the photo reveals, I did not take too much care for boat maintenance like annually polishing the freeboard, as the rusty streak indicates. The focus was rather on life on board with repeately coming sailing friends—this year from Bregenz/Austria and Mannheim near the Rhine River. I was nice to have those landlubbers aboard. They enjoyed sailing Gamle Swede, were excellent cooks and familiar with good wines.

Removal of nearly 800 lbs of clutter

And there was a lot of clutter aboard with a fairly reliable 60 lb (27 kg) CQR anchor, a long and heavy chain, plus a Lofrans capstan (never worked). Gamle Swede carried a dinghy, a solar panel, a gangway, a bathing ladder, an impractical Sprayhood , an outboard motor with a separate gasoline tank, a generator and more. Step by step, I removed about 350 kgs (nearly 800 lbs) from the boat.

Sailing with Seventies Standard

If you are familiar with the standard of boatbuilding in the late seventies and Swede 55 in particular, you will note the horizontal cut Dacron mainsail made by Canon Sails Västervik that came with the Knud Reimers design. The sliding hatch of teak-covered marine plywood was movable when dry and jammed when wet. I would learn some decades later during a visit of Baltic Yachts in Jakobstad/Finland how this is done properly. Polyester ropes were yielding and forgiving. Spectra fibers were not jet common.

You will further note the poor mainsheet arrangement, soon to be replaced by a Traveller. There was just one set of selftailing Lewmar 46 ST winches for the headsail sheets. Servicing and repeated chroming was a burden. I soon installed the first generation of stainless-steel Andersen winches from Denmark.

Replacing the original Fisksätra 31” wheel with one of 39 inches was one of many dreams to refine the joy of upwind sailing. If you simply keep your boat with a limited budget, there is time to keep dreaming about what to improve, waiting for the right moment. I continued and altered it some day later.

And yes, the fellows aboard shown in the initial photo were all a bit younger in 1990. Today, Gamle Swede is simply kept with some improvements, lessons learned, and a little more maintenance. The forward edge of the keel still is in good shape, as drawn by Sven Olof Ridder and Knud Reimers.

The smart sailor uses his boat and starts polishing later

As I get older, I am finding time to polish 2 × 16 m annually in May. Due to previous neglect, there is Gelcoat left. As you see in the concluding pic Gamle Swede is brought back to its original shape, as Knud Reimers designed it in 1975.

Photo on top by Swedesail: Swede 55 Gamle Swede. Published October 11, 2026, by Erdmann Braschos; updated October 12, 2026. → Subscribe to the newsletter, and you won’t miss future articles.