Swan 47
Nautor Swan · Sparkman & Stephens · 1975
Updated
The Swan 47 is a 14.60 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Sparkman & Stephens and built by Nautor Swan, first launched in 1975. It races in Class B. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 27% 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 27% of the boats it races against.
67th of 92 in its class.
Updated — Race Edge up from 19 to 29. More boats of this design have been measured, and the figure now rests on a larger fleet. The gain shows most in medium air.
This design has been found in real race results — 40 starts across 8 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
14.60 m
47′ 11″
Beam
4.19 m
Draft
2.39 m
Displacement
15.5 t
Sail area
129 m²
On the podium
Where a Swan 47 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
8%
of 40 starts by 5 boats
Wins
5%
Read from 40 starts by 5 boats between 2019 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Swan 47 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Rolex Swan Cup2026- Campionato Invernale dell'Argentario - Coastal Race2025
- Rolex Swan Cup2024
- Campionato Invernale di Porto Santo Stefano2024
- Campionato Invernale dell'Argentario - Coastal Race2024
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
7%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
8%
of these races end on the podium
Level across both. Plenty of designs fall away once the course gets long — a light hull that thrives round the cans can struggle through a night at sea. This one does not.
Who she races against
The designs a Swan 47 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Azuree 46 (7 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) (6 meetings), Farr 40 (6 meetings), Este 39 (6 meetings), Sun Fast 40.3 (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Design) (6 meetings), J/35 (6 meetings), Farr 30 (6 meetings), First 36 (6 meetings), Elan 410 (5 meetings), Sun Odyssey 45.2 (5 meetings), First 40 (4 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Swan 47 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
5.56
38°
Beam reach
8.54
90°
Broad reach
9.09
135°
Downwind VMG
8.20
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 once it pipes up, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short off the wind in a strong breeze, 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 0.8 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Swan 47
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.63 | 4.86 | 5.36 | 5.56 |
| 52° | 5.53 | 7.06 | 7.62 | 7.81 |
| 60° | 5.79 | 7.29 | 7.80 | 8.02 |
| 75° | 5.96 | 7.44 | 7.97 | 8.32 |
| 90° | 5.86 | 7.49 | 8.07 | 8.54 |
| 110° | 5.84 | 7.70 | 8.36 | 8.90 |
| 120° | 5.70 | 7.61 | 8.36 | 9.17 |
| 135° | 5.11 | 7.21 | 8.16 | 9.09 |
| 150° | 4.31 | 6.44 | 7.77 | 8.76 |
| Run VMG | 3.74 | 5.58 | 6.96 | 8.20 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 790 kg.
Rigging
Swan 47 rig and sail dimensions
A Swan 47 carries 16.98 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.88 m boom, a forestay 18.90 m above the deck and a 6.04 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 14 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 138 to 172 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.