The advantage of modern Cruising Square Metre boats or Cruising Skärgårdskryssare like the S30, Jubilee S40, or Swede 55 is that they come in durable and nearly maintenance-free fiberglass. So you enjoy your precious time aboard. Added to this is the well-thought-out construction of the largest model. The deck and superstructure of Swede 55 were made by Fisksätra Varv as an advanced lightweight sandwich.
Clever construction of Swede 55
The deck laminate has 20 mm balsa core between the outer and inner skin. The cabin superstructure also consists of two shells. This makes the interior attractive and easy to clean. Now, so much Gelcoat, a Treadmaster covering and the all-round aluminium foot rail are not to everyone’s taste. Especially when the Treadmaster is getting old and needs repeated scrubbing.
Gamle Swede with Treadmaster covered deck and alloy footrail – Photo Swedesail
On Calypso and ES, note the Swede 55 registry, the superstructure, and the center cockpit have been painted, and on ES, the Treadmaster decking has been replaced with new teak. The top of the aluminum foot rail has been cut off and capped with mahogany. Previously, the Danish owner had refined a 30 sqm cruising boat type Lotus type in the same manner. The handsome upgrade matches the classic look of Swede 55.
Swede 55As – Photo Lars Klok
The price of the refined Swede 55
The price of the embellishment, apart from the considerable cost of the conversion and painting intervals of the exposed mahogany parts, is the extra weight. As described in this article, Swede 55 is a rigid and correspondingly durable Fisksätra construction with a strong laminated hull and three other shells (inner shell, deck, and inner deck shell). With this construction method, the boat already turned out heavier than expected. The beautiful teak clad appearance adds approximately another 250 to 300 kilos to the boat.
Photo on top by Lars Klok: Swede 55 named As in Denmark. Published January 4, 23, updated October 22, 25.→ Subscribe the free newsletter and you won’t miss future articles.
