Swan 43 (Holland)
Nautor Swan · Ron Holland · 1985
Updated
The Swan 43 (Holland) is a 13.05 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Ron Holland and built by Nautor Swan, first launched in 1985. It races in Class B.
Length
13.05 m
42′ 10″
Beam
4.00 m
Draft
2.52 m
Displacement
12.3 t
Sail area
108 m²
On the podium
Where a Swan 43 (Holland) finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
0
Seconds
0
Thirds
1
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 1 start by 1 boat between 2025, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Swan 43 (Holland) was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Campionato Invernale West Liguria2025
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: 1 race of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: no races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Swan 43 (Holland) actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Met too few times for a figure:
Ro 330 (1 meeting), J/112 (1 meeting), First 36.7 (1 meeting), J/80 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (1 meeting), Hanse 470 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 37 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), Italia 11.98 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 45 (Judel/Vrolijk) (1 meeting), Hanse 370 (1 meeting), Mylius 11 (1 meeting), Hanse 342 (1 meeting), Sun Odyssey 37 (1 meeting), First 40.7 (1 meeting)
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
5.57
37°
Beam reach
8.31
90°
Broad reach
8.93
135°
Downwind VMG
7.57
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.
This is a light-air boat. In the light it does more than its numbers promise, and gives some of that back when the wind arrives.
Where it gains
Its best ground is to windward once it pipes up, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, 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 0.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a Swan 43 (Holland)
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.58 | 4.86 | 5.38 | 5.57 |
| 52° | 5.45 | 7.00 | 7.50 | 7.69 |
| 60° | 5.73 | 7.19 | 7.65 | 7.87 |
| 75° | 5.92 | 7.31 | 7.79 | 8.17 |
| 90° | 5.80 | 7.39 | 7.89 | 8.31 |
| 110° | 5.80 | 7.56 | 8.19 | 8.83 |
| 120° | 5.66 | 7.47 | 8.17 | 9.04 |
| 135° | 5.09 | 7.11 | 7.96 | 8.93 |
| 150° | 4.30 | 6.37 | 7.52 | 8.37 |
| Run VMG | 3.72 | 5.51 | 6.58 | 7.57 |
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 770 kg.
Rigging
Swan 43 (Holland) rig and sail dimensions
A Swan 43 (Holland) carries 15.60 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.65 m boom, a forestay 18.00 m above the deck and a 5.87 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 3 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 113 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.
Other designs under the same name
The name has been carried by more than one design. They are different boats.