Swan 44 (Stephens)
Nautor Swan · Sparkman & Stephens · 1972
Updated
The Swan 44 (Stephens) is a 13.44 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Sparkman & Stephens and built by Nautor Swan, first launched in 1972. It races in Class B. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 32% of the designs it races against. It is at its best in light air and struggles to hold that once it blows.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 32% of the boats it races against.
63rd of 92 in its class.
Updated — First Race Edge for this design. Enough boats of this design have now been measured to rank it.
This design has been found in real race results — 28 starts across 4 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
13.44 m
44′ 1″
Beam
3.78 m
Draft
2.27 m
Displacement
12.7 t
Sail area
107 m²
On the podium
Where a Swan 44 (Stephens) finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
29%
of 28 starts by 6 boats
Wins
11%
Read from 28 starts by 6 boats between 2023 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Swan 44 (Stephens) was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Rolex Swan Cup2026- Rolex Swan Cup2024
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2023
- Pasquavela2023
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: 6 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
27%
of these races end on the podium
Who she races against
The designs a Swan 44 (Stephens) actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Swan 65 (Stephens) (4 meetings), Comet 38 (Vallicelli) (4 meetings), First 35 (Farr) (4 meetings), Sun Fast 3600 (4 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (3 meetings), Grand Soleil 48 (3 meetings), Elan 310 (3 meetings), Italia 10.98 (3 meetings), First 31.7 (3 meetings), First 30 (Kouyoumdjian) (6 meetings), JPK 10.10 (3 meetings), Sun Odyssey 409 (3 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), JPK 10.30 (1 meeting), J/109 (1 meeting), X-41 (2 meetings), X-35 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Maletto) (2 meetings), First 40.7 (2 meetings), IMX 40 (1 meeting), First 36.7 (1 meeting), Swan 42 (1 meeting), Italia 11.98 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 37 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), Xp 38 (1 meeting), Comet 45 (1 meeting), Solaris 50 (1 meeting), Elan 380 (1 meeting), M 34 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Swan 44 (Stephens) 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
5.31
39°
Beam reach
8.29
90°
Broad reach
8.96
135°
Downwind VMG
7.94
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. 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 upwind when it blows, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage downwind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short off the wind 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 broad reach.
How fast is a Swan 44 (Stephens)
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.49 | 4.70 | 5.18 | 5.31 |
| 52° | 5.31 | 6.84 | 7.37 | 7.52 |
| 60° | 5.58 | 7.05 | 7.57 | 7.72 |
| 75° | 5.77 | 7.22 | 7.76 | 8.01 |
| 90° | 5.67 | 7.31 | 7.85 | 8.29 |
| 110° | 5.67 | 7.50 | 8.18 | 8.68 |
| 120° | 5.54 | 7.43 | 8.18 | 8.98 |
| 135° | 4.99 | 7.04 | 7.97 | 8.96 |
| 150° | 4.22 | 6.30 | 7.56 | 8.50 |
| Run VMG | 3.66 | 5.46 | 6.79 | 7.94 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 700 kg.
Rigging
Swan 44 (Stephens) rig and sail dimensions
A Swan 44 (Stephens) carries 15.46 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.72 m boom, a forestay 17.22 m above the deck and a 6.42 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 10 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 119 to 198 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.