The ClubSwan 125 is a Finnish planing supermaxi

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

that was designed by

Juan Kouyoumdjian Juan Kouyoumdjian (July 15, 1971 –), also known as Juan K is regarded to be one of the world’s leading Naval architecture, naval architects designing racing sailboats. His designs have obtained 2 Olympic gold medals, 3 VOR The Ocean Race, Vol ...

as an

International Rating Certificate International Rating Certificate (IRC) is a system of handicapping sailboats and yachts for the purpose of racing. It is managed by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) in the United Kingdom through their dedicated Rating Office, and the Union Natio ...

racer and first built in 2021. The interior was designed by Adriana Monk. The design is the second of the new racing series of ClubSwan boats, following the ClubSwan 50.

Production

The project was announced in 2017 and was a commission by Russian businessman

Dmitry Rybolovlev Dmitry Yevgenyevich Rybolovlev (, ; born 22 November 1966) is a Russian oligarch, billionaire businessman, and investor. Rybolovlev became chairman of the Russian fertilizer producer Uralkali in 1995. In 2010, he sold his majority share of ...

, who owned a ClubSwan 50. Construction of the first boat by Oy Nautor AB in Finland, was started in 2019 and the boat was delivered in May 2021 in the middle of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. It was named ''Skorpios'' for the island of

Skorpios Skorpios or Scorpios (, ) is a private island in the Ionian Sea off the western coast of Greece and just to the east of the island of Lefkada. The 2011 census reported a population of five inhabitants. Administratively it is part of the munici ...

that Rybolovlev owns. the design was still advertised as being in production, but only one boat had been produced.

Design

The design is intended to be the fastest monohull sailboat ever built. The project originally started to create an inshore racer-cruiser yacht, but over time changed to become an offshore record setter. The ClubSwan 125 is a racing

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

pre-preg Pre-preg is a composite material made from "pre-impregnated" fibers and a ''partially cured'' polymer matrix, such as epoxy or phenolic resin, or even thermoplastic mixed with liquid rubbers or resins. The fibers often take the form of a weave ...

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

with a honeycomb

Nomex Nomex is a trademarked term for an inherently flame-resistant fabric with meta-aramid chemistry widely used for industrial applications and fire protection equipment. It was developed in the early 1960s by DuPont and first marketed in 1967. ...

and CoreCell core. It has a fractional sloop rig with a fixed

bowsprit The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar (sailing), spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay that counteracts the forces from the forestay, forestays. The bowsprit’s purpose is to create ...

, carbon fibre spars and elliptical section AeroSix carbon fibre

standing rigging Standing rigging comprises the fixed lines, wires, or rods, which support each mast or bowsprit on a sailing vessel and reinforce those spars against wind loads transferred from the sails. This term is used in contrast to running rigging, w ...

. The hull has a

plumb stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

; a plumb transom; dual, canted, internally mounted spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

s controlled by dual

wheels A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axl ...

, hull-mounted hydrofoils and a canting fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

with a weighted bulb that can be canted up to 42° and with a

trim tab Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger Flight control surfaces, control surface on a boat or aircraft, used to control the trim of the controls, i.e. to counteract hydro- or aerodynamic forces and stabilise the ...

. The

winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension (physics), tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a Bobb ...

es are all hydraulically powered. It displaces and carries of ballast. It also has water ballast tanks, with mid and aft tanks. The tanks can be filled in 45 seconds and take 30 seconds to transfer weight from one side of the boat to the other. The boat has a draft of with the keel fully extended. The boat is fitted with a Marine Diesel Sweden VGT 500

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

of , driving a retractable propeller, for docking and manoeuvring. It also has a Fischer Panda 10000i 8 kW generator. The fuel tank holds and the

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...

tank has a capacity of . The main engine must be kept running during sailing to power the four hydraulic pumps needed to operate the winches and the canting keel. Interior layouts are owner specified and the first boat completed had a very lightweight and minimalist, futurist interior design. For reaching and sailing downwind the design has an

asymmetrical spinnaker An asymmetrical spinnaker is a sail used when sailing between about 90 and 165 degrees from the angle of the wind. Also known as an "asym", "aspin", "A-sail", or gennaker, it can be described as a cross between a genoa (jib) and a spinnaker. It is ...

of . The boat has the highest

IRC IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a text-based chat system for instant messaging. IRC is designed for group communication in discussion forums, called '' channels'', but also allows one-on-one communication via private messages as well as chat ...

rating ever issued. It was also designed with its own tender to assist in anchoring and also bring fuel and supplies to the boat since its deep draft keel makes many ports inaccessible.

Operational history

In August 2021, ''Skorpios'' became the largest monohull sailboat to have raced in the

Fastnet Race The Fastnet Race is a biennial offshore yacht race organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) of the United Kingdom with the assistance of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the City of Cherbourg in France. The race is named after th ...

. In a 2019 ''Megayacht News'' preview, Diane M. Byrne noted, "Juan Kouyoumdjian, her designer, credits the owner, who will sail with a professional crew, with wanting such a high-performance project. 'I think we are doing something that will set a milestone in the sailing world,' he asserts". In a 2021 review for ''Yachting World'', Toby Hodges wrote, "The adrenalin of sailing the ClubSwan 125 Skorpios is perhaps heightened by the fear of the unknown: everything about this yacht seems to be on another scale altogether. This is, by some margin, the biggest offshore racing monohull, and certainly the largest ever racing Swan. It boasts possibly the deepest draught non-lifting keel (7.4m) and the largest sailplan combination ever conceived. In short, Skorpios is a seemingly limitless source of superlatives." In a 2021 review for ''Boat International'', Elaine Bunting wrote, "Skorpios is a yacht that towers over history. When the new supermaxi racer rounded Ireland's famous Fastnet Rock Lighthouse in the Rolex Fastnet Race in August, it was the first boat in the event's 96 years to look down on it, its mast being four metres taller than the historic structure." In a 2021 ''Sailing World'' review, James Boyd wrote, "Given that Skorpios was built in the middle of a pandemic and is so fiendishly complex, it is a miracle it was launched at all."

References

External links

*
Official launch video
on

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{{Sailboat types built by Nautor Swan Keelboats 2020s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Juan Kouyoumdjian Sailboat types built by Nautor Swan

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References

External links