Swan 48 (Frers)
Nautor Swan · German Frers · 1995
Updated
The Swan 48 (Frers) is a 14.77 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by German Frers and built by Nautor Swan, first launched in 1995. It races in Class A.
Length
14.77 m
48′ 5″
Beam
4.56 m
Draft
2.46 m
Displacement
15.5 t
Sail area
140 m²
On the podium
Where a Swan 48 (Frers) finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
0%
of 28 starts by 7 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 28 starts by 7 boats between 2015 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Swan 48 (Frers) was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Rolex Swan Cup2026- Rolex Swan Cup2024
- Rolex Swan Cup2022
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2018
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2017
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
0%
of these races end on the podium
Who she races against
The designs a Swan 48 (Frers) actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Swan 40 (Frers) (4 meetings), Xp 44 (4 meetings), X-41 (5 meetings), First 40.7 (4 meetings), X-332 (4 meetings), J/111 (2 meetings), J/122 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 42 (Carkeek) (2 meetings), Comet 38 (Vallicelli) (2 meetings), First 44.7 (2 meetings), Cookson 50 (2 meetings), Farr 30 (2 meetings), King 40 (1 meeting), Landmark 43 (1 meeting), HH 42 (1 meeting), First 45 (Briand) (1 meeting), ILC 40 (1 meeting), Arcona 430 (1 meeting), J/46 (1 meeting), Sly 42 (1 meeting), Pogo 10.50 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 46 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), X-46 (1 meeting), Ker 40 (1 meeting), M 37 (1 meeting), Comet 45 (1 meeting), X-442 (1 meeting), Elan 400 (1 meeting), Sun Fast 3600 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Swan 48 (Frers) 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
6.08
39°
Beam reach
9.75
90°
Broad reach
10.78
135°
Downwind VMG
8.84
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 across the wind in moderate air, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage upwind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short on a broad reach when it blows, giving away time it never gets back. That is a hull that will lift and run given enough breeze.
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 beam reach.
How fast is a Swan 48 (Frers)
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.90 | 5.30 | 5.85 | 6.08 |
| 52° | 6.01 | 7.86 | 8.41 | 8.64 |
| 60° | 6.37 | 8.11 | 8.68 | 8.93 |
| 75° | 6.66 | 8.39 | 9.00 | 9.36 |
| 90° | 6.64 | 8.59 | 9.21 | 9.75 |
| 110° | 6.58 | 8.68 | 9.54 | 10.37 |
| 120° | 6.33 | 8.57 | 9.58 | 10.71 |
| 135° | 5.65 | 8.09 | 9.26 | 10.78 |
| 150° | 4.73 | 7.12 | 8.62 | 9.82 |
| Run VMG | 4.09 | 6.18 | 7.57 | 8.84 |
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 1050 kg.
Rigging
Swan 48 (Frers) rig and sail dimensions
A Swan 48 (Frers) carries 19.89 m of mainsail hoist on a 6.60 m boom, a forestay 20.70 m above the deck and a 6.98 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 6 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 174 to 234 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.