Class BHeavy displacementCruiser/Racer

Swan 441

Nautor Swan · Ron Holland · 1979

Updated

The Swan 441 is a 13.52 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Ron Holland and built by Nautor Swan, first launched in 1979. It races in Class B.

Swan 441 - Ron Holland - Nautor SwanP 16.90 mLOA 13.52 m

Length

13.52 m

44′ 4″

Beam

4.05 m

Draft

2.45 m

Displacement

12.9 t

Sail area

116 m²

This design does not carry a Race Edge. The speeds below still come from measured boats.

On the podium

Where a Swan 441 finishes when she goes racing.

0

Wins

0

Seconds

1

Thirds

6

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 6 starts by 2 boats between 2021 and 2024, counting races with six boats or more.

Recent regattas

The latest events where a Swan 441 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.

  • ItalyRolex Swan Cup2024
  • Denmarkblueribboncup2021

Raced one we are missing?

Report a regatta

Round 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: no races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.

Offshore & coastal

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Not enough data yet: 4 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.

Who she races against

The designs a Swan 441 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.

This design aheadRival ahead
Swan 450%ahead in 0 of 8 meetings, 4 races
Swan 5862%ahead in 5 of 8 meetings, 4 races
Swan 5488%ahead in 7 of 8 meetings, 4 races
Swan 48 (Frers)100%ahead in 8 of 8 meetings, 4 races

Also met, too few times for a figure:

Swan 56 (4 meetings), Swan 48 (4 meetings), JPK 10.30 (2 meetings), X-362 (2 meetings), Akilaria 950 (2 meetings), J/99 (2 meetings), Anteros 36 (2 meetings), J/111 (1 meeting)

Some of the boats it races against

How the Swan 441 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.

Swan 441 vs Swan 45ahead 0% of 8 head-to-heads
Swan 441 vs Swan 58ahead 62% of 8 head-to-heads
Swan 441 vs Swan 54ahead 88% of 8 head-to-heads
Swan 441 vs Swan 48 (Frers)ahead 100% of 8 head-to-heads

Speed at every angle

The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.

36930°60°90°120°150°WIND9.2

Upwind VMG

5.55

38°

Beam reach

8.53

90°

Broad reach

9.20

135°

Downwind VMG

8.19

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. 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 when it blows, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having.

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.

True wind
Upwind+0.16 kn
Beam reach+0.09 kn
Broad reach+0.11 kn
Downwind+0.03 kn

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 441

Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.

Angle6 kn10 kn14 kn20 kn
Beat VMG3.674.935.385.55
52°5.577.127.587.74
60°5.847.327.777.95
75°6.017.467.968.27
90°5.897.498.048.53
110°5.847.718.368.87
120°5.727.638.389.21
135°5.127.258.189.20
150°4.316.457.758.80
Run VMG3.745.596.968.19

How they are set up

The range each sail spans across the fleet.

Mainsail43 m² – 51 m²
Headsail49 m² – 76 m²
Gennaker141 m² – 168 m²
Spinnaker150 m² – 161 m²

Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 690 kg.

Rigging

Swan 441 rig and sail dimensions

A Swan 441 carries 16.90 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.41 m boom, a forestay 18.35 m above the deck and a 6.62 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 4 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.

Rig

Mainsail hoistP16.90 m16.46 – 17.20
Boom lengthE4.41 m4.34 – 4.65
Forestay heightIG18.35 m18.29 – 18.54
Fore triangle baseJ5.80 m5.79 – 5.81
Spinnaker hoistISP18.44 m18.29 – 18.54
BowspritTPS6.62 m6.39 – 6.74
Boom above deckBAS1.76 m1.47 – 1.90

Sails

Mainsail46.2 m²43.1 – 51.4
Headsail70.1 m²49.2 – 76.1
Gennaker151.1 m²140.6 – 168.2
Spinnaker152.5 m²150.4 – 160.6

The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 141 to 168 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.