Swan 40 (Frers)
Nautor Swan · German Frers · 1992
Updated
The Swan 40 (Frers) is a 12.25 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by German Frers and built by Nautor Swan, first launched in 1992. It races in Class B.
Length
12.25 m
40′ 2″
Beam
3.95 m
Draft
2.19 m
Displacement
9.5 t
Sail area
96 m²
On the podium
Where a Swan 40 (Frers) finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
0
Seconds
0
Thirds
8
Starts
Not enough races yet for a percentage — these are the counts so far. We keep collecting results, so this will fill in.
Read from 8 starts by 1 boat between 2022 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Swan 40 (Frers) was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Rolex Swan Cup2026- Rolex Swan Cup2022
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
—
Not enough data yet: 1 race of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: 7 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Swan 40 (Frers) actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Swan 48 (Frers) (4 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Swan 40 (Frers) 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
5.39
38°
Beam reach
8.29
90°
Broad reach
8.91
135°
Downwind VMG
7.93
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.
Soft conditions suit it. 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 on the beat in a strong breeze, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short cracked off when it blows, 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 40 (Frers)
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.52 | 4.76 | 5.23 | 5.39 |
| 52° | 5.37 | 6.90 | 7.37 | 7.52 |
| 60° | 5.65 | 7.08 | 7.53 | 7.71 |
| 75° | 5.83 | 7.22 | 7.70 | 8.02 |
| 90° | 5.72 | 7.26 | 7.79 | 8.29 |
| 110° | 5.61 | 7.39 | 8.08 | 8.67 |
| 120° | 5.45 | 7.29 | 8.03 | 8.96 |
| 135° | 4.92 | 6.95 | 7.85 | 8.91 |
| 150° | 4.19 | 6.25 | 7.50 | 8.50 |
| Run VMG | 3.63 | 5.43 | 6.78 | 7.93 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 710 kg.
Rigging
Swan 40 (Frers) rig and sail dimensions
A Swan 40 (Frers) carries 14.50 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.05 m boom, a forestay 16.70 m above the deck and a 4.94 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 5 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 103 to 122 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.
Other designs under the same name
The name has been carried by more than one design. They are different boats.