A Brief History Of Nautor's Swan

Nautor's Swan is a Finnish builder of luxury sailing yachts based in Jakobstad and is known for its Swan range of yachts. The company was founded in 1966 and is today controlled by Italian businessman Leonardo Ferragamo and a group of investors. The company built its 2000th yacht in August 2012 with the launch of a Swan 56 named Freya.

Today Nautor's Swan employs 400 people and has a plant at Kallby just outside Jakobstad which moulds the hulls for all the Swan yachts and also has an indoor water test tank. This plant also assembles the smaller Swan yachts, while the Swan Maxi's – from the Swan 60 to the Swan 115 - are assembled at a plant in Jakobstad itself. The third plant is in Kronoby near Jakobstad and it is here that a team of carpenters produces the exotic hand-made wood interiors which have become a classic feature of Swan yachts.

Over the years, the company has worked with four designers, the first being the New York firm of Sparkman and Stephens which was responsible for the first 775 yachts. The two parted company in the late 1970's when the designs were not so successful in races and there were issues over the hull of the first Swan 57's. Ron Holland then became designer and created six models of which 283 yachts were built.

In the early 80's the company appointed Argentinian German Frers as designer, and so far over 900 of his yachts have been sold, some of these being the Swan 45 class which was built from 2002 – 2006. In recent years the company has moved away from its' traditional racing yachts like the Swan 45 class into luxury high end cruising yachts up to the Swan 131, also designed by Frers who continues to this day.

Marking the company's 50th anniversary in 2016, a design tender also led to the company working with Juan Kouyoumdjian who has worked on the ClubSwan 50. Other architects have collaborated with Frers, most notably Andrew Winch who worked on the styling of the Swan 36 Frers and the Swan 44 Mk 1.

A Brief History Of The Frers Yacht Design family

German Mani Frers is the third generation of his family to design high speed racing yachts and motor yachts, his grandfather German Frers having been designing and building yachts based on the Colin Archer double enders back in 1926 at his yard in Buenos Aires which had a workforce of 60 boat builders. German Frers Snr went on to design and produce over 600 yachts. In 1949 his yacht Fjord III was the outright winner of the Buenos Aires / Rio Race. In 1964 Fjord V was 2nd in class in the Bermuda Race, and in 1972 Fjord VI was 3rd in class in the same race, beginning a trend toward flush-decked no-compromise racing yachts.

Mani's father, German Frers II, caught his father's passion for design and speed and in 1965 was invited by Rod Stephens, the American designer, to join the firm of Sparkman and Stephens in New York which was at the time the best-known designer of America's Cup, off-shore, and ocean racing yachts. He spent three years there, after which he returned to Buenos Aires to take over the family business. He is still designing yachts to this day – both sailing yachts and motor yachts – including a range of yachts for Nautor's Swan - and one of his superyachts, Unfurled, won the 2016 Sailing Yacht of the Year Award. Last year he was recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award from Showboats Magazine.

Mani himself studied at the Southampton Institute at a time when pencil was giving way to CAD. He graduated in 1993 with First Class Honours and joined his father at the studio in Milan which German II had set up the previous year. He then honed his design skills by drawing the Boomerang which won the Bermuda Race, the 40ft IMS Champion Yah-Man, and several yachts that were successful in Mediterranean races. He and his father worked together to produce a series of yachts for Nautor's Swan including Rebecca, and the 155ft Hyperion for Jim Clark which is still winning races twenty years later. Mani also designed the MY78 Bill and Me motor yacht and has a current commission for another one from McConaghy Boats in China, together with a 56m carbon world cruising yacht which, when launched, will be the largest composite sloop.

PURA – Experience a New Sailing Superyacht

Royal Huisman has joined forces with Frers Design to collaborate on a new sailing superyacht design concept called PURA.

The superyacht is available in varying lengths from 38 metres - 43 metres and is focused on customisation. The yacht comes with 80% of the engineering completed, with the rest of the design open to interpretation to meet an owner’s specifications and tastes. The completed engineering includes the propulsion, power generation, security systems and hydraulics, as well as the mast, rig, sail plan and sail handling.

The hull, deck and superstructure are customisable, with architect Mani Frers providing owners with drawings of different bow and stern profiles based on their input. Three different versions are available; classic, modern and retro as well as additional customisable options including the interior.

The yacht can accommodate a maximum of 8 guests, and includes an owner’s ensuite stateroom and three twin guest cabins, one of which is convertible into a double. Various accommodation layouts available including placing the owner’s stateroom fore or aft.

No two Pura yachts will look the same. What they do share is Huisman quality and Frers performance, together with a level of management that takes away all the headaches of yacht ownership. Just as Rolls Royce know exactly how each of their aero engines are performing on aircraft around the world, Huisman engineers can monitor every aspect from engines to electronics remotely and minimise downtime. And like the aerospace industry, there is a programme to upgrade systems to new technologies and renew interior and exterior layouts at 6-yearly intervals to maintain each yacht’s timeless youth and reflect the passion of each owner and her creators.

For further details visit: http://frers.design/sailing-yachts/work-in-progress/pura/

A Holiday With A Difference – Cruising On Your Own Floating Hotel

When it comes to holiday time, many people book a hotel in Spain and jet off for their two weeks in the sun. However, why spend two weeks sitting on a beach when you could be looking at many different beaches from the comfort of a superyacht? For about the same cost as renting a villa, you can step on board one of the chartered superyachts for hire and have your own floating villa complete with a team of staff. It's like having a five-star floating hotel.

Modern superyachts are likely to have such things on board as personal sound systems, an infinity pool, and on-board spas, but the sheer privacy of a chartered superyacht means that you don't have to share them with anyone other than your own family or group.

As docks and airlines are becoming more connected and switched on to the needs of the holidaying class there are increasing numbers of "must see" holiday destinations, but of course they are becoming ever more crowded too. Superyachts provide you with your own personal resorts that move with you, taking you to hidden coves and beaches that the hoi polloi will never get to.

You could travel the fjords of Norway which has 12,500 miles of coastline with towering waterfalls, majestic glaciers, and is full of wildlife. Why not go whale-watching? On your own private superyacht you can do that. You could also stop off at a quiet village port and hire a bike or do a spot of fishing. On top of that, if you go in the winter you can see for yourself the Northern Lights. You will still be warm and comfy in your private floating hotel.

Of course, the French Riviera is another highly sought-after area. You can stop off in Monaco and go to the casino, and you can laze in the sun on deck while cruising gently around the white sandy beaches admiring the amazing scenery that inspired French painters such as Monet and Renoir. And all of this is just outside your own porthole in your luxury floating hotel.

A Much More Comfortable Ride With The Volvo Interceptor System

The Volvo Penta Interceptor System is a boat trim system making for easier, safer, and more comfortable driving.  Volvo Penta's Vessel Control System – the company's electronic platform – integrates with the Volvo Interceptor System which makes it very easy to handle. The system can be used in any planing or semi-planing Volvo Penta-powered boats of 35 feet or larger, making driving safer and more comfortable.

The Volvo Interceptor System has a precise manual control mode, but this can be extended with three automatic modes, each of which has been develop with the intention of improving the boating experience in terms of comfort, visibility, and reduced fuel consumption. The Auto Trim and List mode automatically controls the boat's trim and list, optimising performance in all sea conditions. In the Auto Trim, List, and Co-ordinated Turn mode the system is capable of automatically adjusting the list when turning, based on a predetermined value, which is specific to each boat model. In a sharp turn the system keeps the boat more upright, and results in the people on board feeling no sideways force while the boat turns.

The third mode is Active Ride Control and has been developed over several years of improving on board safety and comfort. The system uses the interceptors to dramatically reduce pitch and roll motion at cruising speed by up to 60% which makes for far greater comfort and a much-reduced chance of sea-sickness. The whole Volvo Interceptor System is automatic so that the skipper can concentrate on navigation and enjoying the trip. In automatic mode, the system continually adjusts the boat to the most favourable running angle, and in addition to comfort, this also reduces fuel consumption, saving money and reducing any environmental impact.

In comparison with a boat with a traditional trim system, a boat with the Interceptor System in automatic mode moves more quickly up on to the plane and stays stable and upright during sharp turns, which provides considerably improved visibility ahead and therefore improved on board safety. The Interceptors themselves are made from corrosion-free materials and do not require protective anodes that need replacement.

Sailing superyacht Spiip returns to Royal Huisman for refit

The 34.17 metre sailing superyacht Spiip has returned to her home yard for a winter refit. The German Frers-designed Royal Huisman superyacht arrived at the Netherlands-based refit facility Huisfit after completing a summer cruise in Scandinavian waters.

Spiip is one of seven yachts currently being refitted at the Dutch yard over the winter period.

Improvements scheduled to take place on Spiip includes service work and various electric and electronics upgrades.

Read more at German Frers yacht design

Still winning after 72 years!

Fjord III, the iconic classic yacht designed by Mani Frers’ grandfather Gérman Frers Snr won her class at the recent 200-boat strong Regatta Royal in Cannes. Designed and built in 1946 for his own pleasure, this 50footer is still very much a family heirloom, for Mani’s father Gérman Frers saved her from oblivion and had the yacht restored to her former glory. And it was Gérman Frers, seen here at the helm who steered her to victory in the Marconi rig class.

Fjord III is one of the cornerstones in the history of the Frers design dynasty. Her build began in something of a rush for Frers Snr. set himself a three-month deadline to launch the yacht in order to compete in that year’s Buenos Aires / Rio race. He missed the start by 47 hours but promisingly set the fastest elapsed time to Rio. Two years later, she won the Race outright and went on to win her class in the 1954 Bermuda Race.

Read more at Frers design