Swan 39
Nautor Swan · Ron Holland · 1978
Updated
The Swan 39 is a 11.99 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Ron Holland and built by Nautor Swan, first launched in 1978. It races in Class C.
Length
11.99 m
39′ 4″
Beam
3.83 m
Draft
2.24 m
Displacement
8.2 t
Sail area
92 m²
On the podium
Where a Swan 39 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
0%
of 13 starts by 1 boat
Wins
0%
Read from 13 starts by 1 boat between 2016 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Swan 39 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Campionato Invernale di Porto Santo Stefano2026- Campionato Invernale dell'Argentario - Coastal Race2024
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2021
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2016
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
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Not enough data yet: 4 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: 9 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Swan 39 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
M 37 (7 meetings), Grand Soleil 39 (Maletto) (7 meetings), Elan E4 (7 meetings), First 40 (5 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (5 meetings), First 40.7 (7 meetings), JOD 35 (6 meetings), First 31.7 (5 meetings), X-35 (5 meetings), Elan 410 (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Maletto) (4 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Polli) (4 meetings), Comet 45 (4 meetings), First 34.7 (4 meetings), Grand Soleil 46 (Carkeek) (4 meetings), Dufour 455 (4 meetings), Bolt 37 (4 meetings), Dehler 42 (4 meetings), Grand Soleil 47 (4 meetings), Swan 47 (4 meetings), Sun Fast 3600 (4 meetings), First 41 (4 meetings), Bonin 31 (4 meetings), Comet 38 (Vallicelli) (4 meetings), Elan E5 (4 meetings), Hanse 400 (4 meetings), Solaris 55 (4 meetings), Oceanis 41 (4 meetings), Pogo 50 (4 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), Dufour 45 (1 meeting), First 47.7 (2 meetings), First 36.7 (1 meeting), Elan 400 (1 meeting), Dufour 36 (1 meeting), IMX 38 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Swan 39 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
5.36
38°
Beam reach
8.21
90°
Broad reach
8.95
135°
Downwind VMG
7.83
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
It does its best work before the breeze fills in. Early-season racing and morning breezes play to its strengths; once it pipes up the fleet comes back to it.
Where it gains
Its best ground is upwind once it pipes up, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short on a broad reach once it pipes up, giving away time it never gets back. That is weight that has to be driven rather than released.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a Swan 39
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.49 | 4.76 | 5.24 | 5.36 |
| 52° | 5.32 | 6.85 | 7.29 | 7.43 |
| 60° | 5.59 | 7.02 | 7.45 | 7.62 |
| 75° | 5.78 | 7.15 | 7.62 | 7.95 |
| 90° | 5.67 | 7.22 | 7.70 | 8.21 |
| 110° | 5.63 | 7.36 | 8.01 | 8.62 |
| 120° | 5.47 | 7.28 | 8.02 | 8.97 |
| 135° | 4.92 | 6.94 | 7.81 | 8.95 |
| 150° | 4.17 | 6.26 | 7.42 | 8.46 |
| Run VMG | 3.61 | 5.43 | 6.71 | 7.83 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 660 kg.
Rigging
Swan 39 rig and sail dimensions
A Swan 39 carries 14.41 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.04 m boom, a forestay 16.37 m above the deck and a 5.22 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 6 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 119 to 155 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.