Swan 601
Nautor Swan · German Frers · 2004
Updated
The Swan 601 is a 18.31 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by German Frers and built by Nautor Swan, first launched in 2004. It races in Class 0.
Length
18.31 m
60′ 1″
Beam
4.54 m
Draft
3.63 m
Displacement
18.1 t
Sail area
221 m²
On the podium
Where a Swan 601 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
76%
of 34 starts by 4 boats
Wins
18%
Read from 34 starts by 4 boats between 2022 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Swan 601 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Rolex Swan Cup2026- Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup2025
- Rolex Swan Cup2024
- Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup2024
- Rolex Swan Cup2022
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
77%
of these races end on the podium
Who she races against
The designs a Swan 601 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Swan 68 (4 meetings), Sun Fast 3200 (4 meetings), Mylius 18 (2 meetings), Swan 65 (Stephens) (2 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Swan 601 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
7.26
36°
Beam reach
11.40
90°
Broad reach
13.57
135°
Downwind VMG
10.54
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 to windward when it blows, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short on the run in a strong breeze, 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 0.8 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a Swan 601
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.85 | 6.42 | 6.93 | 7.26 |
| 52° | 7.38 | 9.23 | 9.67 | 9.97 |
| 60° | 7.80 | 9.50 | 9.95 | 10.29 |
| 75° | 8.14 | 9.73 | 10.34 | 10.84 |
| 90° | 8.04 | 9.73 | 10.54 | 11.40 |
| 110° | 7.80 | 9.88 | 10.90 | 12.23 |
| 120° | 7.49 | 9.86 | 11.05 | 12.89 |
| 135° | 6.78 | 9.47 | 10.86 | 13.57 |
| 150° | 5.67 | 8.39 | 9.98 | 12.18 |
| Run VMG | 4.90 | 7.26 | 8.71 | 10.54 |
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 1240 kg.
Rigging
Swan 601 rig and sail dimensions
A Swan 601 carries 24.15 m of mainsail hoist on a 8.65 m boom, a forestay 24.83 m above the deck and a 8.71 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 4 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 230 to 360 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.