Swan 59

The Swan 59 is a Finnish sailboat that was designed by Germán Frers as a cruiser-racer and first built in 1984.

Production
The design was built by Oy Nautor AB in Finland, from 1984 until 1990, with 21 boats completed, an average of three per year.

Design
The Swan 59 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of glassfibre, with wood trim. It has a masthead sloop rig, a raked stem, a reverse transom, an internally mounted spade-type rudder controlled by a wheel and a fixed fin keel or optional stub keel and retractable centreboard. It displaces 62400 lb and carries 22800 lb of lead ballast.

The keel-equipped version of the boat has a draft of 11.18 ft, while the centerboard-equipped version has a draft of 9.75 ft with the centerboard extended and 4.0 ft with it retracted, allowing operation in shallow water.

The boat is fitted with a Swedish Volvo TMD31A diesel engine for docking and manoeuvring. The fuel tank holds 264 u.s.gal and the fresh water tank has a capacity of 277 u.s.gal.

The design has sleeping accommodation for six people, with two forward cabins, each with two bunk beds, an L-shaped settee and a U-shaped settee in the main cabin and an aft cabin with a central island double berth. The galley is located on the port side abeam the companionway ladder. The galley is C-shaped and is equipped with a three-burner stove, an ice box and a double sink. A navigation station is opposite the galley, on the starboard side. There are two heads, one in the forepeak and one on the port side in the aft cabin.

The design has a hull speed of 9.30 kn and a PHRF handicap of six to 12 for the fin keel model and 12 to 24 for the centreboard, short mast model.

Operational history
In the summer of 2019, Andy Schell captained his Swan 59 on a cruise including the south shore of Newfoundland, exploring fjords, whale and iceberg watching. His crew included retired US senator Tom Harkin. The voyage was described in an article published in Yachting World.