Swan 46
Nautor Swan · German Frers · 1983
Updated
The Swan 46 is a 14.35 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by German Frers and built by Nautor Swan, first launched in 1983. It races in Class B.
Length
14.35 m
47′ 1″
Beam
4.40 m
Draft
2.52 m
Displacement
14.8 t
Sail area
123 m²
On the podium
Where a Swan 46 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
18%
of 40 starts by 6 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 40 starts by 6 boats between 2021 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Swan 46 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Rolex Swan Cup2026
Loro Piana Giraglia2026
Int. Deutsche Meisterschaft Offshore Seesegeln2026- Nordseewoche2026
- Rolex Swan Cup2024
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: 3 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
7%
of these races end on the podium
Who she races against
The designs a Swan 46 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Marten 49 (6 meetings), Sinergia 40 (4 meetings), J/122 (4 meetings), Farr 45 (4 meetings), M 34 (4 meetings), ClubSwan 43 (4 meetings), Eleva 50 (4 meetings), First 36 (4 meetings), Bavaria Match 42 (4 meetings), Comet 51 (4 meetings), Jv 56 (4 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Design) (4 meetings), Solaris 50 (4 meetings), Rodman 42 (4 meetings), Cookson 50 (4 meetings), Mat 118 (4 meetings), Mat 122 (3 meetings), X-35 (3 meetings), JPK 10.50 (3 meetings), Carkeek 47 (3 meetings), Sun Fast 3600 (3 meetings), X-41 (2 meetings), Knierim 49 (2 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Swan 46 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
5.86
37°
Beam reach
8.82
90°
Broad reach
9.32
135°
Downwind VMG
8.25
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 is an upwind boat first. Windward-leeward courses give it more of what it is good at than a coastal race does.
Where it gains
Its best ground is to windward when it blows, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, 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.
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 46
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.63 | 5.00 | 5.59 | 5.86 |
| 52° | 5.60 | 7.29 | 7.84 | 8.08 |
| 60° | 5.87 | 7.51 | 8.02 | 8.28 |
| 75° | 6.01 | 7.64 | 8.18 | 8.58 |
| 90° | 6.02 | 7.64 | 8.29 | 8.82 |
| 110° | 5.71 | 7.68 | 8.45 | 9.37 |
| 120° | 5.55 | 7.58 | 8.43 | 9.41 |
| 135° | 4.99 | 7.19 | 8.23 | 9.32 |
| 150° | 4.22 | 6.44 | 7.84 | 8.90 |
| Run VMG | 3.66 | 5.58 | 7.02 | 8.25 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 800 kg.
Rigging
Swan 46 rig and sail dimensions
A Swan 46 carries 16.31 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.16 m boom, a forestay 18.31 m above the deck and a 5.67 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 7 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 129 to 182 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.