100-POINT BOAT TEST
As well as a comfortable seat and a clear view, the helmsman has the backstay, secondary winches and mainsheet within reach
culinary efforts. Stowage is good. To starboard is the comfortable
and secure chart table. Instrument space is limited but a corner panel, at the expense of a locker, provides space for a chartplotter. The table is a bit small but stowage is very good. In the three-cabin layout, the
entrance to the starboard aft cabin is through the heads, which is far from ideal. The two-cabin option has a separate shower in the heads, a huge cockpit locker and a larger port aft cabin. With three cabins, the port aft one has just under 6ft headroom and a good size 6ft 7in by 4ft 10in double berth, with the fuel tank and engine battery below it. Stowage is good and two opening ports provide light and ventilation. If the berth cushion was two-piece, it would be much easier to get at the space beneath. As usual, I smacked my head on the cockpit moulding and was delighted to find that the headlining is strategically padded to make such encounters less painful. The starboard cabin is more
confined. It has 5ft 11in headroom but little space in which to stand. The berth is 6ft 7in by 4ft 4in, again with a one-piece cushion, and there’s stowage beneath. One dimmable halogen light and two
reading lights can’t relieve the gloom but with two opening ports, ventilation is good. The forward cabin is light and
bright, with a 6ft 9in by 6ft double berth and 6ft headroom below the hatch. Stowage is huge in lockers either side, drawers, shelves and below the berth, where you can
you’re less than 6ft tall, but that’s not great for a 37-footer. The Hallberg-Rassy (HR) 372, one of the Swedestar’s rivals, has 6ft 3in headroom in the saloon. She’s slender, too – 11ft 3in maximum beam, where most of her rivals are 6in wider – and the hull’s rounded aft sections contrast with
‘I smacked my head on the cockpit moulding and was delighted to find that the headlining is strategically padded’
also get at the transducers. At the foot of the berth is a hatch that opens into a chain locker, connected by a hawse pipe to the anchor locker above it. It’s definitely the best cabin.
Design She’s a great looking boat. Often,
this appeal comes from shallow topsides and a low-profile coachroof, restricting headroom below and, to an extent, that’s the situation here. She has standing headroom throughout, provided
the typical beamy, modern cruisers. Using a double-reefed mainsail
and a blade jib in a Force 4 suggests a very powerful boat and the figures confirm that. Unloaded, she’s 6,200kg (13,670 lb), lighter than any of her main competitors and, with 76.7m2
(826sq ft), has more sail
area. By contrast, the X-37, a pedigree cruiser-racer, displaces 6,400kg (14,109 lb) and has 75m2 (812sq ft) of plain sail. Compare either to the Najad 380, which displaces 9,071kg (20,000 lb) and sports 73.7m2
(793sq ft) of sail. How does that affect her sail
area/displacement (SA/D) ratio? The Malö 37, a solid blue-water cruiser, has an SA/D of 17 while the HR372, which is no slouch, rates 19.45. Another performance cruiser, the Arcona 370, measures 22.1, against 22.25 for the racy X-37 and the Swedestar 370 tops them all at 23.1. That’s a lot of power. To mitigate her brute strength, she’s stiffer than most, with a ballast ratio of 42% compared to the majority in the mid-30s. Only the HR372, at 39, and the X-37, with 42.4, come close. Her slippy hull and beefy sail plan
should make her quick and her displacement/length ratio, 172.9, confirms this. For comparison, the Malö 37 and Najad 380 measure in the mid-200s, the HR372 and X-37 are in the low 190s and only the Arcona 370 measures lower than the Swedestar with 165.5, thanks to her extra 8-9in of waterline length. As an owner, you’ll be a fan of
performance and you’ll become very familiar with the sail controls, particularly the reefing system.
Construction The hull is multi-axial glass mat
infused with isophthalic and
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7