Performance cruiserr

None of these boats are light by today's standards, and in fact, despite their racy looks, the Sweden, Swan and X-Yacht are surprisingly heavy. The Hallberg- Rassy probably does not really belong in this group as it represents a more noncompromised approach to cruising. Still, it's a mid-40-footer, built in Europe and, ironically, on the light side for a boat of this type.

The Sweden 42 was designed by Peter Norlin and Jens Ostmann. The hull form shows a deep canoe body with pronounced rocker. Compare the rocker of this hull with that of the Swan. The forefoot knuckle is well below the DWL. The counter aft is quite elevated with a generous overhang. In plan view take a look at the curve made by the end of the transom. See how rounded this line is. This indicates soft bilges aft and a gentle, arced shape to the stern sections. Now look at the same line on the Swan. See how flat that line is, going perpendicular to the centerline. This indicates a flat run with a harder turn to the bilge. All in all the Sweden hull looks very conventional, almost retro. The D/L is 199.57.

The rig is drawn as a fractional type with a full-hoist, self-tacking working jib. The sailplan drawing does not indicate any genoa, but I think I can see genoa tracks on the deck plan. The spreaders are swept, and there are two sets of them. The mainsheet is midboom, which frees up the cockpit but puts tremendous loads on the mainsheet and housetop traveler. The SA/D is 20.56.

The interior is laid out for three couples with three double berths. This means that six people must be able to sit around the large dinette and dine in comfort. I'm not sure this dinette is that big, but you could always pull up a folding chair. The galley is dinky. I don't like it. If the icebox is outboard of the sink, it can't be big enough. Much of the food preparation will need to be done in the sinks as there is precious little counter space.

The nav area, on the other hand, is expansive. The forward head has a shower stall that intrudes into the fo'c'sle area. The aft head is generous in size, but has no enclosed shower stall.

The deck plan shows a long cockpit with benches big enough to stretch out on. The cockpit opens up aft into a T-shape with the seats cleverly pushed outboard to get the helmsman into the best position to see the luff of the jib. This also allows an open passageway through to the transom swim step. There appears to be a recess for the dodger to fold down into, X-Yacht style.

This is a good boat. The galley is not my style, but the rest of the design looks just fine. This will make a good, quick and comfy cruiser.