Review of Swan 38

Swan 38.

Basic specs.

The Swan 38 is a sailboat designed by the American maritime architect bureau Sparkman & Stephens in the mid seventies. A few hundred boats have been produced. The Swan 38 is built by the Finnish yard OY Nautor AB.

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Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Engine

The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta 2003 T diesel engine at 42.0 hp (31 kW), which gives a max speed about 6.0 knots.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 112 liters (29 US gallons, 24 imperial gallons).

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Swan 38 is 1.75, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.2 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Swan 38 is about 206 kg/cm, alternatively 1155 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 206 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1155 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Swan 38 is 34.2.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 76% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Swan 38 is 3.31.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 54% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Swan 38 is 345 which categorizes this boat among 'heavy cruisers'.

15% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.

RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Swan 38 is 27

The relative speed performance is 27 which means that a it is faster than 27% of all similar sailboat designs.

Maintenance

Rig

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Jib sheet	11.7 m	(38.3 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet	11.7 m	(38.3 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet	29.1 m	(95.6 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	25.7 m	(84.2 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Swan 38 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.