The Club series from Swan is intended to be its cutting edge boats, displaying the very latest in “design trends, materials and solutions.”  The plan is that there will be technological trickle down from the Club boats to the more cruising-oriented boats. Swan considers the new Juan Kouyoumdjian (aka Juan K) design the “cutting edge of contemporary yacht design.” Seems like the company has used all the buzz words, and from the look of the boat, I’d say it was warranted. This is a very exciting looking design.

I like the look of the hull with the reverse sheerline. Reverse sheers go back many years. Ben Seaborn designed several boats with reverse sheers in the 1960s. Laurent Giles designed the very famous RORC racer Myth of Malham with a reverse sheer in 1947. I find the subtle reverse to the sheerline of the 50 to be quite attractive and racy looking. The bow profile is reversed also. I’m not sure I’d call it “wave piercing” but that term is being used almost generically on any bow with a reverse to the profile. 

The forward sections appear to be deep and full. There is a chine that appears to start amidships. At the transom the hull flairs above the chine. The sectional shape at the stern is very arclike. The plan view is predictably very wedge shaped with almost no taper aft of beam max. The D/L is 94.33 which I would consider “light” today. The L/B is 3.98. That’s on the narrow side. There are twin rudders. The keel is a steel blade with a lead torpedo and draft is 10 feet 6 inches.  This will be a boat capable of very aggressive performance; as you would expect, considering the design pedigree.

 

But this is not an all-out race boat. It has the interior layout of a comfortable cruiser for two couples. This layout would not work well for a racing crew. There is a centerline double berth forward. Aft of that the head is split into port and starboard modules with shower and sink to starboard with W.C. and another sink to port. I like this. It means that both spaces are spacious. There are long settees in the main cabin with a coffee table to port and a dining table to starboard. 

The galley is dinky. Does leg of lamb come in a can? A tube? Clearly this is a “weekender” layout and little meal preparation will be done on board. Who would cook onboard anyway with all those fabulous restaurants lining the quay? But the main cabin is quite big and with those long settees it should be a comfortable place to hang out. There is a quarter cabin to port with another double berth. Two couples should be able to get by in almost 55 feet LOA.

 

This is an exciting looking sailplan. The SA/D is a very healthy 32.68. I don’t have actual rig dimensions but I would assume the area listed—1,528 square feet—includes 100% of that mainsail and not just half of E multiplied by P. If the aft end of the boom does not hang over the transom it sure comes close. The drawing shows a lot of rake to the mast. The bowsprit is fixed and nicely faired into the hull topsides. Chainplates are at the rail and jib lead tracks are well inboard on top of the small cabintrunk running athwartships. This leaves the side decks wide open. This is a big and very powerful rig and it’s going to keep Mom on her toes. “More backstay dear. Sheet! Sheet!”

The 50 has a very clean deck layout.  The German-style mainsheet leads aft under the deck to emerge at the forward cockpit winches. I think the jib sheets lead to the cabintop winches, but I can’t quite tell from the renderings. (Designers, please send me actual design drawings. These renderings are driving me nuts. I want accuracy, not ambience!) There are twin wheels just aft of the short bench seats in the cockpit. The main traveler is right on the edge of the transom.

Imagine cruising for the weekend in this boat with another couple.  You’ll be chasing down boats to pass all weekend. I don’t think that ever gets old. But I suspect it won’t be long before a ClubSwan 50 hits the racecourse. It would sure turn some heads on Puget Sound.

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LOA 54’11”; LWL 45’11”; Beam 13’ 9”; Draft 10’6”, 7’3” (shoal); Displ. 20,503 lbs.; Sail area 1,528 sq. ft.; Fuel 80 gal.; Water 132 gal.; Auxiliary 75-hp; SA/D 32.68; D/L 94.33; L/B 3.98