Exterior
Beside its length Swede 55 has an introvert scandinavian shape. The spoon bow reminds on the Twenties, when the square metre class found its final mould for racing in the Skerries, as the Stockholm archipelago is known. The fine entry separates the water effortless at the bow. A closer look underneath reveals how Reimers reduced the length with a rounded stem.
Swede 55 with just a little tumblehome
The midship section indicates a bit of tumblehome. The wine glass shape once had various purposes. In times of shipping cargo with sailing vessels it reduced tax for ships and later the rating of raceboats. It advanced the weight distribution on battle ships and the righting moment of yachts. Above all the constricted section towards the deck adorns the hull with sculptural elegance.
One quarter of the entire length extend in the forward and aft overhang. The domed fore- and sidedecks add structural strength and volume. The forward raked transom gives Swede 55 the modern tone of the seventies. And its rounded shape adds finesse to the design.
Another interesting detail and refinement is found at the sheerline. Linking bow and rear, it can’t be straight as this would lead to ennui. Thus the boat obtained a barely noticable bent sheerline with some inherent tension. When Reimers designed Swede 55 he looked back on five decades varying this detail with a fleet of square metre boats since he began as draughtsman at Henry Rasmussens office of Abeking & Rasmussen yard in the 1920s.
Reimers’ deckhouses
You find two deckhouse patterns aboard Reimers’ boats. First the spray cap of his daysailers and raceboats. Second the strechted and stepped version aboard his cruisers.
The dollhouse sized deckhouse of the classy Reimers raceboat matches to the low freeboard. With his 8-Metre class design Glana, built 1946 for Lake Geneva, or the 30 sqm boat Vanja VI Reimers went a little further.
To reduce windage and to break water washing across the deck Reimers gave the spray cap a pointed front. This deckhouse is demanding to build but nice to look at. You can’t really see through the tiny portholes of Reimers’ pointed spraycaps. They are mostly there to complement the design.
It is nice to see this trademark being built occasionally today at recent 30 square metre boats by Bootswerft Beck & Söhne on Reichenau Island/Lake Constance. Here sophisticated craftsmanship merges with rare and classy shape.
Reimers’ stepped deckhouse
The desire for a sheltered cockpit and full headroom below deck of longer square metre boats like Bacchant or Fidelis lead Reimers to another, the stretched and stepped deckhouse pattern. This shape incorporates headroom near the companionway and galley of the popular S30, a 41 ft square metre boat variant developed in 1972 for families and the cruising sailor. The window shapes give the deckhouse a traditional and homely touch.
The boxy and edged shape of the stretched Swede 55 deckhouse resembles a wooden construction. The tiny step reminds on Reimers’ tradition of his 75 square metre boats. The small windows match the introvert elegance of one on his last designs. The porthole sized windows in the fore and aft cabin are there to complement the look.
