The Swan 48-3 Frers is a Finnish

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

Germán Frers Germán Frers Sr. (born July 4, 1941) is an Argentinian naval architect known for designing racing yachts. He designed his first yacht in 1958 and has been involved in the design of more than 1000 yachts, including '' Kialoa V'' and '' Hyperion' ...

, as a

blue water Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water. Definitions The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings hav ...

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

and first built in 2019. The interior design is by Misa Poggi. The design is marketed by the manufacturer as the Swan 48 MkII, but is usually referred to as the Swan 48-3 Frers, to avoid confusion with two previous models, the Swan 48 and

Swan 48 Frers The Swan 48 Frers, also called the Swan 48-2 and the Swan 48-2 Frers, is a Finnish sailboat that was designed by Germán Frers as a blue water cruiser- racer and first built in 1995. The design was originally marketed by the manufacturer as th ...

. In 2023 the model was updated and re-launched under the same name of Swan 48 MkII./

Production

The design has been built by Oy Nautor AB in Finland, since 2019 and remained in production in 2023.

Design

The Swan 48-3 Frers is a recreational

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

glassfibre Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

, with wood trim. It has a fractional sloop rig, with a

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 ...

, 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

reverse transom In some boats and ships, a transom is the aft transverse surface of the hull that forms the stern of a vessel. Historically, they are a development from the canoe stern (or "double-ender") wherein which both bow and stern are pointed. Transom ...

with a drop-down tailgate swimming platform, an 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 ...

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 ...

and a fixed 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, deep draft racing keel or optional shoal-draft keel. The fin keel model displaces and carries of ballast. There is a

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or Towing, towed by a Watercraft, larger vessel for use as a Ship's tender, tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they diffe ...

garage aft. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel and with the optional shoal draft keel. The boat is fitted with a Swedish

Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...

D2-75

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 , with a

saildrive A saildrive is a transmission system for a boat whose inboard engine has a horizontal output shaft. The saildrive's input shaft is therefore also horizontal. That input shaft is geared so as to drive a vertical intermediate shaft extending dow ...

for docking and manoeuvring. 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 design's standard interior has sleeping accommodation for six people, with a double island berth in the bow cabin, a U-shaped settee and two seats in the main cabin and an aft cabin with four berths. The

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

is located on the port side just forward of the

companionway In the architecture of a ship, a companion or companionway is a raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck, with a ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main cabins. A companionway may be secured by doors or, commonly i ...

ladder. The galley is L-shaped and is equipped with a three-burner stove, an

ice box An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrig ...

and a double sink. There are two heads with showers, one in the bow cabin on the port side and one on the starboard side, aft. For reaching and sailing downwind the design may be equipped with a

gennaker A gennaker is a sail that was developed before the 1980s. Used when sailing downwind, it is a cross between a genoa and a spinnaker. It is not symmetric like a true spinnaker but is asymmetric like a genoa, but the gennaker is not attached to ...

of flown from the bowsprit. The design has a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to- ...

of . An update of the boat in 2023 introduced a new bowsprit design, new chainplate positions, a new cabin window shape, plus an improved hydraulic system for the transom tailgate.

Operational history

In a 2019 review for ''Yachting News'', Diego Ruggiano wrote, "More than 40 years after the launch of the first iconic Swan 48 that, designed by Sparkman & Stephens, literally made the history of sailing, Nautor's Swan introduces the new Swan 48: a blue water cruiser for fast cruising. A 2019 ''Yachts Croatia'' review noted, the "latest Frers bluewater cruiser/racer hull generation is inspired by modern Ocean racers and it is more powerful, balanced, stable and safe. The new Swan 48 has been designed with heart and passion and is the result of a rational brief based on market analysis and the experience of the builder, agents and designers, coordinated by Nautor Product Line Leader." In a 2019 review, Chloé Torterat wrote in ''Sailboats News'', "the lines are very classic in the continuity of the Swan philosophy. The Swan 48 is sober and elegant, yet sporty. The architectural trend is to obtain stable and powerful boats at the usual angles of heel, and to do this, the architects have widened the hull and optimized the keel."

References

External links

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Video review and tour
{{Sailboat types built by Nautor Swan Keelboats 2010s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Germán Frers Sailboat types built by Nautor Swan

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References

External links