Swan 37 (Palmer Johnson 37)
Description
The Swan 37 is a timeless 36'6" (11.1 m) fiberglass monohull sailboat designed by Sparkman & Stephens (design #2035) as an IOR One-Ton racer and successor to the Swan 36, built by Nautor (Swan) in Finland from 1970 to 1974 with 59 hulls produced—also marketed in the U.S. as the Palmer Johnson 37 (S&S #2035.1), featuring a fin keel, skeg-hung rudder, and masthead sloop rig for balanced offshore performance and stability. Renowned for its racing pedigree—winning the Round Gotland Race six times over four decades (e.g., Tarantella II) and excelling in events like Cowes Week—the Swan 37 combines a low displacement/length ratio (around 200) for speed with a high ballast/displacement ratio (45%) for stiffness and righting capability, making it ideal for both competitive one-design sailing and blue water cruising, as evidenced by circumnavigators like Dulcinea and Trishna. Some early models incorporated a trim tab keel from the America's Cup winner Intrepid, enhancing maneuverability, while optional tall rigs (I: 49.0 ft, P: 43.0 ft) boosted upwind performance; the teak-accented interior sleeps 4–6 in a practical V-berth forward, saloon, galley, and quarter-berth layout,
Construction Details
| Designer | Sparkman and Stephens |
|---|---|
| Builder | Nautor |
| Length | 36.000 ft |
| LOA | 36.500 ft |
| LWL | 27.250 ft |
| Beam | 10.670 ft |
| Displacement | 15400 lb |
| Max Draft | 6.100 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 46.26 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 15.58 ft |
| p | 40.50 ft |
| e | 11.70 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46.26 ft | 15.58 ft | 40.50 ft | 11.70 ft | - | - | - | - |
Blueprints
Sails
| Sail Type | MAINSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 40.5 ft - (12344 mm) |
| Foot | * 11.7 ft - (3566 mm) |
| Leech | * 41.52 ft - (12655 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 41.76 ft - (12728 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 5.25 in - (133 mm) |
| Area | * 244.4 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 39.05 ft - (11902 mm) |
| Foot | * 20.82 ft - (6346 mm) |
| Leech | * 33.62 ft - (10247 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115.02 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 17.92 ft - (5462 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12 ° |
| Area | * 349.85 ft² |
| Sail Type | GENOA |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 46.37 ft - (14134 mm) |
| Foot | * 25.32 ft - (7718 mm) |
| Leech | * 43.45 ft - (13244 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 23.37 ft - (7123 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4.01 ° |
| Area | * 541.86 ft² |
| Sail Type | SPINNAKER |
|---|---|
| Stays | * 46.37 ft - (14134 mm) |
| MidGirth | * 28.04 ft - (8547 mm) |
| Foot | * 28.04 ft - (8547 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 180 % |
| Area | * 1105 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.