Sailing yachts | FinlandYARD VISIT Nautor’s Swan
LEFT The sleek lines are complimented by Nautor’s
custom build flush hatches, under deck sheet
tunnels, white caulking, recessed deck latches,
and squat Harken powered winches
and careful attention to ensure proper
bonding. The moulds for the carbon
boats also have to be made from the
same material as the hulls to prevent
differentials in thermal expansion
during oven curing.
The pre-pregs need to be kept cool
before use and, as the carbon hulls
don’t readily accept a gel-coat, they
need a two-pack polyurethane paint
system instead. The result is a boat that
is light and nimble, with buyers ready
to invest in her speed.
Once a new boat is delivered to
its owners, the story is far from over.
10-15 improvements a year from each class insulation. As a result, sailing at Nautor’s has a dedicated customer
group of workers involved. It also speed is eerily silent down below and care team, with each owner having
makes the workers feel more connected both the air conditioning and heating a personal contact. Comprehensive
with the management.” systems are much more efficient. training is given at handover, and
Despite the complexity of its In the new Swan 60, the hull layup is there is additional support from the
yachts, Nautor’s continues to look for made from a female moulded pre-preg drawing office if an owner wants to
aesthetic refinements. The Swan 90 SPRINT Matrix from SP Systems. make any alterations.
test sailed by EB had neat touches such A lightweight Corecell sandwich With some bold new designs, a
as pop-up deck cleats, a compact and laminate is used throughout, with strong move into carbon fibre — and
smooth running VW 230hp diesel, top carbon fibre SPRINT structural some exciting if currently quite
of the range Harken deck gear and a bulkheads bonded to the hull and deck. secretive plans for a new range of
lightweight carbon rig from Southern All the stiffeners are epoxy/carbon fibre superyachts — Nautor’s Swan is clearly
Spars. All the standing rigging was pre-made layups with a foam core. weathering the financial storm well
polyester wrapped PBO. The composite process adds more while quietly and confidently preparing
Then there are the design details. work and cost to the operation, new products that will take full
The genoa sheets disappear into requiring large vacuum bag processes advantage of the recovery.
the flush deck and follow tunnels
to re-emerge at the winches, which
minimises clutter. White Sikaflex Creating the new Swan 80
caulking has been used between the
teak planking, a historical throw back
from when early tar-based caulking
would melt and mark the crew’s
immaculate white trousers. White
caulking is not only attractive, it also
helps to keep the decks cooler in
the tropics.
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The biggest innovation of all, though,
is the move to carbon composites, not
just for the hull layup but for locker The German Frers designed Swan 80 is Building the deck plug at Kallby. A Corecell
lids, interior bulkheads and even parts 1 2built from carbon epoxy and is due for base will be bonded over spruce batons and
of furniture to make the hull as light completion by 2010 then built up with epoxy laminates before fairing
as possible. The weight of the wiring,
which can cover 8km on the largest
boats, can also be trimmed by 30
per cent using a touch-screen CAN-
bus system.
The standard hull of the Swan 90
is made from E-glass vinylester
laminate, reinforced with Aramid and
unidirectional carbon — although the
three Swan 90s to be delivered this year
are all epoxy carbon boats.
The hull is solid laminate below the
waterline and then becomes a foam- The cabin plug for the 80 was shaped by The hull is laid up in the mould using
cored E-glass vinylester sandwich for 3 4CNC milling machines. The subsequent SPRINT/pre-preg carbon fibre reinforced
the topsides. This makes it incredibly mould will be made from carbon epoxy cored epoxy and vacuum infused resins
strong — and but also provides first
& August/September u0s www.europeanboatbuilder.net
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