Swan 65 (Stephens)
Nautor Swan · Sparkman & Stephens · 1973
Updated
The Swan 65 (Stephens) is a 19.68 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Sparkman & Stephens and built by Nautor Swan, first launched in 1973. It races in Class A.
Length
19.68 m
64′ 7″
Beam
4.95 m
Draft
2.92 m
Displacement
32.4 t
Sail area
184 m²
On the podium
Where a Swan 65 (Stephens) finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
26%
of 43 starts by 8 boats
Wins
7%
Read from 43 starts by 8 boats between 2021 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Swan 65 (Stephens) was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Rolex Swan Cup2026- Rolex Swan Cup2024
- Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup2024
- Rolex Swan Cup2022
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2021
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: 5 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
26%
of these races end on the podium
Who she races against
The designs a Swan 65 (Stephens) actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Swan 44 (Stephens) (4 meetings), Swan 41 (4 meetings), Mylius 18 (2 meetings), Mylius 60 (2 meetings), Swan 601 (2 meetings), Solaris 47 (1 meeting), Swan 42 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 56 (1 meeting), First 34.7 (1 meeting), Comet 38 (Vallicelli) (1 meeting), Millenium 45 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 46 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), Sly 42 (1 meeting), First 40 (1 meeting), Vismara 34 (1 meeting), Comet 45 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), X-43 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 47 (1 meeting), Dufour 44 (1 meeting), G 34 (1 meeting), X-41 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 46.3 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 48 (1 meeting), Sun Fast 3600 (1 meeting), First 47.7 (1 meeting), Elan 380 (1 meeting), IMX 40 (1 meeting), Solaris 44 (1 meeting), J/109 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Swan 65 (Stephens) 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
6.34
39°
Beam reach
9.79
90°
Broad reach
10.33
135°
Downwind VMG
8.80
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 in a strong breeze, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage on the beam as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
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 65 (Stephens)
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.80 | 5.28 | 5.98 | 6.34 |
| 52° | 5.87 | 7.81 | 8.63 | 8.97 |
| 60° | 6.23 | 8.10 | 8.87 | 9.21 |
| 75° | 6.49 | 8.30 | 9.06 | 9.54 |
| 90° | 6.38 | 8.31 | 9.17 | 9.79 |
| 110° | 6.30 | 8.58 | 9.52 | 10.19 |
| 120° | 6.17 | 8.47 | 9.49 | 10.49 |
| 135° | 5.51 | 7.95 | 9.21 | 10.33 |
| 150° | 4.65 | 6.97 | 8.58 | 9.77 |
| Run VMG | 4.03 | 6.04 | 7.49 | 8.80 |
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 1200 kg.
Rigging
Swan 65 (Stephens) rig and sail dimensions
A Swan 65 (Stephens) carries 20.50 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.67 m boom, a forestay 22.86 m above the deck and a 8.53 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 5 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 256 to 296 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.