Swan 651
Nautor Swan · German Frers · 1982
Updated
The Swan 651 is a 19.98 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by German Frers and built by Nautor Swan, first launched in 1982. It races in Class 0.
Length
19.98 m
65′ 7″
Beam
5.31 m
Draft
2.85 m
Displacement
37.7 t
Sail area
248 m²
On the podium
Where a Swan 651 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
23%
of 26 starts by 4 boats
Wins
12%
Read from 26 starts by 4 boats between 2022 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Swan 651 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Rolex Swan Cup2026
Onsdagsserien #72026- Onsdagsserien #22026
- Onsdagsserien #32026
- Onsdagsserien #82026
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: 2 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 651 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Sun Fast 3200 (5 meetings), Albin Nova (5 meetings), H 323 (4 meetings), X-99 (3 meetings), X-95 (2 meetings), Pac 52 (1 meeting), Sun Fast 3300 (Andrieu) (1 meeting), JPK 10.30 (2 meetings), Irc 52 (1 meeting), TP 52 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), Comet 38 (Vallicelli) (1 meeting), Dufour 34 (1 meeting), Arcona 380 (1 meeting), First 40 (1 meeting), Botin 56 (1 meeting), Farr 30 (1 meeting), J/109 (1 meeting), Sun Fast 3600 (1 meeting), Elan 450 (1 meeting), IMX 40 (1 meeting), Cookson 50 (1 meeting), J/111 (1 meeting), First 45 (Briand) (1 meeting), TP 52 (Judel/Vrolijk) (1 meeting), X-41 (1 meeting), Mat 122 (1 meeting), Swan 42 (3 meetings), Xp 44 (2 meetings), Dufour 44 (1 meeting), J/121 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Swan 651 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
6.58
39°
Beam reach
10.32
90°
Broad reach
10.86
135°
Downwind VMG
9.62
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 upwind when it blows, 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 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 1.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Swan 651
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.21 | 5.70 | 6.27 | 6.58 |
| 52° | 6.53 | 8.49 | 9.12 | 9.37 |
| 60° | 6.93 | 8.81 | 9.40 | 9.67 |
| 75° | 7.17 | 9.01 | 9.65 | 10.03 |
| 90° | 7.02 | 8.99 | 9.76 | 10.32 |
| 110° | 6.55 | 9.06 | 10.01 | 10.69 |
| 120° | 6.41 | 8.96 | 10.00 | 10.92 |
| 135° | 5.75 | 8.35 | 9.72 | 10.86 |
| 150° | 4.80 | 7.32 | 9.11 | 10.39 |
| Run VMG | 4.16 | 6.34 | 8.01 | 9.62 |
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 1150 kg.
Rigging
Swan 651 rig and sail dimensions
A Swan 651 carries 24.50 m of mainsail hoist on a 7.06 m boom, a forestay 26.87 m above the deck and a 8.77 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 3 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 289 to 314 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.