ClubSwan 50

The ClubSwan 50 is a Finnish sailboat that was designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian as a one design and International Rating Certificate racer-cruiser, first built in 2015. The interior was designed by Michele Bönan.

The boat was designed for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the manufacturer, Nautor's Swan, and was the result of a design competition the company held in 2015. The competition specified "a contemporary, fast, competitive one-design that could sail offshore and be converted to a sports cruiser sailed with limited crew." It also added, "in one word, this yacht has to be cool." The boat was also intended as a class to compete for the Nation's Cup.

The design was Kouyoumdjian's first for Nautor and led to him designing other ClubSwan series racing boats, including the ClubSwan 36, 80 and the 125.

The ClubSwan 50 was accepted as a World Sailing international class in 2018.

Production
The boat design was publicly announced on 6 October 2015 and has been built by Oy Nautor AB in a new plant in Kalby, Finland, since 2015. it remained in production.

Design
The ClubSwan 50 is a racing keelboat, built predominantly of pre-preg carbon fibre, with a foam core and a teak-faced deck. It has a fractional sloop rig with a fixed bowsprit and square-topped mainsail, a deck-stepped mast, three sets of swept spreaders and carbon fibre spars. The hull has hard chines, a negative sheer, a reverse dreadnought stem; an open transom; dual, internally mounted, sawtoothed, spade-type rudders controlled by dual wheels and a fixed, high modulus, carbon fibre fin keel with weighted bulb or an optional shoal-draft keel. It displaces 18188 lb empty and carries 7605 lb of lead ballast.

The boat has a draft of 11.48 ft with the standard keel and 7.2 ft with the optional shoal draft keel.

The boat is fitted with a Swedish Volvo D2-40 diesel engine of 40 hp for docking and manoeuvring. The fuel tank holds 45 u.s.gal and the fresh water tank has a capacity of 63 u.s.gal.

The design has standard sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double island berth in the bow cabin, two L-shaped settees in the main cabin and an aft cabin with a double berth on the port side. The galley is located on the starboard side just aft of the companionway ladder. The galley is L-shaped and is equipped with a sink. The head is located just aft of the bow cabin on both sides and includes a shower. A third cabin with a double berth may be installed starboard aft, to provide a total of sleeping space for six people.

For sailing downwind the design may be equipped with an asymmetrical spinnaker of 2530 sqft. The boat has a hull speed of 9.08 kn.

Operational history
In a 2016 Sailing Magazine design review, naval architect Robert Perry wrote, "this is a very exciting looking design ... I like the look of the hull with the reverse sheerline ... I find the subtle reverse to the sheerline of the 50 to be quite attractive and racy looking. The bow profile is reversed also. I'm not sure I'd call it 'wave piercing' but that term is being used almost generically on any bow with a reverse to the profile ... Imagine cruising for the weekend in this boat with another couple. You’ll be chasing down boats to pass all weekend. I don’t think that ever gets old."

In a 2016 review, Peter Nielsen wrote, "Nautor's Swan turned to Argentine wunderkind Juan Kouyoumdjian for its latest one-design racer, and the result is a spectacular-looking boat. The ClubSwan 50 is right on the bleeding edge of design; the axe bow with its jutting carbon fiber prod combine with the low freeboard and reverse sheer to give it a take-no-prisoners look, while the generously flared stern sections, long hull chines and twin rudders promise high-speed planing under perfect control."

In a 2016 Yachting World review during the first sail after the design's launch, Toby Hodges enthused, "the ClubSwan 50 is quite simply the most extreme-looking production yacht I’ve seen. No computer-enhanced renderings could do justice to seeing this yacht for the first time. She is fantastically awesome."