completely custom GA and interior,’ Pomati says. ‘And it’s the first one with two flights of steps and a beach club in the stern. Not just a platform for boarding and a tender garage, it’s also a place to have dinner.’ The first 120, launched in August, is a full carbon build using external and internal skins of Gurit Sprint epoxy prepreg carbon fibre and M-grade Corecell foam.
ClubSwan racing division has allowed Maxi Swan to put less emphasis on the racing function of its yachts. They’ll still be competitive in regattas and a full suite of performance- enhancing features can be specified (witness the full carbon construction, square-top main and Southern Spars rig of the first Swan 98, for example), but the deck plan is no longer constrained by the requirements of a full racing crew. The result is that they’re more comfortable and versatile, focused on pure enjoyment under sail and especially at anchor, where each deck plan has three separate, well-defined zones with different functions.
Another big change is not easy to see – because they’re got it right. The streamlined coachroof profiles and sweet lines of the current Maxi Swans belie the increased volume inside their hulls. That’s largely down to the involvement of Lucio Micheletti, a Milanese artist and car designer of Zagato, BMW, Aston Martin, Mitsubishi and Audi Style Centre just to name a few, who has turned his attention to boats. A chance meeting with Pomati (who knows him from the automotive industry) led to Micheletti’s appointment as Swan’s exterior designer. It’s a challenging brief that requires him to preserve the brand’s Scandinavian design DNA while giving it an Italian accent, working closely with Swan’s longstanding naval architect Germán Frers. ‘Germán has the final word,’
Top: the
first Swan 88 is due for delivery in 2024. Itʼs a major mile- stone model in several ways: Swanʼs first diesel- electric
hybrid, a hull with a lot more form stability and a full beach club in the stern. The new Swan 108 (above) with naval architecture also by Germán Frers, has a full-bodied hull with lots of form stability.
The Micheletti designed deck plan places more emphasis on cruising while preserving the marqueʼs strong racing heritage
Pomati says, but by all accounts the veteran naval architect embraced this new partnership with alacrity. ‘It’s quite common in the powerboat world to use different designers for the hull and superstructure,’ Pomati says. And indeed there is a broad and deliberate convergence under way between the designs and layouts of motor yachts and sailing yachts in the superyacht sector, with the former becoming more seaworthy and efficient, the latter more spacious and luxurious. This is obvious when you step inside one of the new Maxi Swans, which have far more light and space inside than one expects in a sailing yacht. Another key figure in Nautor’s new era is Misa Poggi, probably best known for designing Loro Piana boutiques around the world. Like Micheletti she was briefed to respect and preserve Swan’s Nordic design values, Pomati explains, while creating a warmer interior design scheme that appeals to a new generation of buyers from all over the world. ‘She studied the last 20 years of Swan interiors to develop the new interiors,’ he says. The first model with a Poggi-designed interior was the Swan 48 and then came the 98, launched last year.
Also significant is that Nautor no longer offers a choice of three different coachroof options for Maxi Swans. These are still very much semi-custom builds, but instead of the old flush deck (FD), semi-raised (S) or raised saloon (RS) model variants, the shipyard has focused on perfecting one cabin top and deck plan for each model, with increased emphasis on structural engineering to allow far more flexibility for altering the yachts’ general arrangements. It’s a smart move in a market where many buyers now appoint their own interior designer to work alongside the shipyard.
‘The 120 is the first Swan with a
The new Swan 88 is another important milestone model. Designed and sized to avoid most of the complications of IMO Tier III compliance, it’s optimised for low operating costs with one eye on the charter market and it’s the first Swan with the option of diesel-electric hybrid propulsion, which includes hydrogeneration under sail. The 88’s hull is notably beamy with significantly more form stability than a last-generation Swan and carries its full beam almost all the way aft. The rudders have moved forward to enlarge the beach club area and the mast has moved aft to enlarge the foretriangle, giving a more balanced sail plan. A lot more emphasis than usual was placed on CFD analysis for this model, Pomati confirms, ‘and we studied the possibility of a fully glazed coachroof but we decided to remain more traditional.’ The first Swan 88 is due for delivery in 2024.
The most recent model to be announced is the Swan 108, which completes the range and points to the future. The first of these has already been sold. A key focus of development was the GA in general and the crew’s quarters in particular. ‘The crew’s mess has become an important issue for boats that are used for charter,’ Pomati says. ‘If you have a heavy charter season then you need a good crew area on board.’ The role of the galley has also changed: ‘In the past it was kept completely away from the saloon and guests. Now it is a hybrid area which the family can access, for example to have breakfast.’
Other changes in the 108 include the separation of TV lounge and dining areas, the addition of a day heads for guests, double island berths in all guest cabins, and a further refinement of the impressive automatic bimini and sprayhood, first seen on the Swan 115 Solleone, which pop out of almost invisible bays in the coachroof to shade and shelter the passenger cockpit. ‘We are also seeing more and more demand from customers who want to be able to work from their boats,’ Pomati says. ‘They want to use their boat more often and to spend more time on board.’
www.nautorswan.com q SEAHORSE 63
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