Nautor Swan 601

Carbon fibre performance racer cruiser from Nautor Swan and German Frers. Hull No.2 of the Swan 601 One Design series, originally launched as SPIRIT OF JETHOU and fully-fitted out for both racing and family cruising.

FURTHER BROKER’S COMMENTS:

The Swan 601 is a high-performance one design cruiser racer that is as competitive today as when the class was first introduced in 2004. The 601 is constructed in full carbon utilising SPRINT vacuum infusion to create a very stiff hull and modest 18,000kgs construction, while still featuring the type of full cruising interior expected on a true Nautor Swan sailing yacht.

DURLINDANA IV is hull No.2 of 6, originally launched as SPIRIT OF JETHOU, competing at the top level in Antigua Sailing Week and Rolex Swan European Regattas, and later named ‘WOHPE’, and ‘LES AMIS’.

Renamed DURLINDANA IV by her fourth and current owner DURLINDANA IV, she boasts many specification highlights including:-
• 3-cabin, 2-heads interior layout with owner’s cabin forward, finished in hand-rubbed satin varnish teak and white painted composite panelling
• Additional pipecot berths in saloon and aft cabins for racing
• Forward cabin can be completely removed for racing
• Carbon fibre construction with SPRINT vacuum infusion., foam core and Nomex structural bulkheads
• 3.61m draft steel racing keel with lead bulb
• Carbon fibre rudder blade
• Teak laid side decks
• Hall Spars carbon fibre mast and boom with rod standing rigging
• Removable forestay furler for cruising
• Lewmar electric winch package with removable coffee grinder pedestals
• North and Zaoli Sails sail racing and cruiser wardrobes
• Volvo D2-75 engine with saildrive gearbox and MaxProp feathering propeller
• Fischer Panda diesel generator (supplied but not presently installed)
• Mastervolt battery charger and inverter
• Schenker 24vDC 60lph watermaker (supplied but not presently installed)
• B&G instruments including Zeus chart plotters and H2000 system
• Electric heads
• Fridge and freezer
• Electric anchor windlass
• Tender & outboard
• 40’ storage container

PRESS REVIEW:

One minute this Swan is coddling her owners in eiderdown, 59 minutes later she’s beating the fleet to the buoy. That’s the gist of why the Swan 601 is one of the most popular introductions in recent memory. Dominick Porco, whose Swan 45 Alliance won 2004’s Newport-Bermuda Race, describes Nautor’s latest as a “45 on steroids.” The New Yorker wants one to defend the Lighthouse Trophy in what will be the 100th anniversary of the Bermuda classic in 2006.

He’s not alone. The first five of these all-carbon one-design yachts were snapped up from the plan stage before a single one had been popped from their molds at Nautor’s new high-science composite building facility in Finland. Now the race is on to build up significant numbers on the East Coast, the Mediterranean and in northern Europe to produce a world-class fleet to provide Grand-Prix racing one week, and family-friendly cruising the next.

The concept takes us back to the 1970s when Nautor- built boats won around the buoys and around the world races, and in between, provided cruising accommodations of considerable comfort. The 601 has three double cabins including an owner’s stateroom, a fairly decadent saloon and galley, and two head compartments. There is also the option of push-button electric winches and an autopilot, to make her easy to handle with a crew of just two or three when cruising.
When race day comes, her crew can strip out much of this interior inside of an hour, including the hull linings; disable the pilot and winch drives; and have her ready to compete at the highest level. Design lines aside, the secret lies in the 601’s prepreg carbon hull and deck which, according to designer German Frers, offers a 30 percent weight-saving over comparable fiberglass hulls-even with a teak-laid deck, which comes as standard!

The 601 is a boat that is built almost exclusively in this “black gold,” from her carbon-fiber mast, boom and chain plates down to wheels, winch pedestals and grab handles. There is a clear connection between her and the Frers-designed Volvo 60 Amer Sports One which New Zealander Grant Dalton campaigned in the last Volvo Round the World Race. Indeed, there was a point during the design process when the 601 was seriously considered as a second one-design class for the 2005 Race, now that the premier class size has moved up from 60 to 75 feet overall.

In fact, the 601 is built to a higher spec than the Volvo racers (as well as the Swan 45, which has only a carbon deck), incorporating much more carbon in her structure to make the overall package not only stronger and lighter, but in many areas, considerably simpler. One example is the rig. This is a simple twin swept-spreader affair, which is strong enough not to require running backstays yet much lighter than an alloy alternative.

Yachting Magazine – October 2007