Review of Swan 42
Basic specs.
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The Swan 42 is equipped with a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a long keel.
The keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.
The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.38 - 2.48 meter (7.81 - 8.11 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
Swan 42 is typically equipped with an inboard Perkins 4.108 diesel engine.
Sailing characteristics
This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for Swan 42 is 1.85, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Swan 42 is about 338 kg/cm, alternatively 1896 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 338 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1896 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.
Sailing statistics
This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Swan 42 is 3.24.
The ballast ratio for Swan 42 is 42%.
What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?
The SA/D for Swan 42 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.2, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 19.4.
Maintenance
Dimensions of sail.
Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale
If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Mainsail halyard | 38.4 m | (126.0 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 38.4 m | (126.0 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 38.4 m | (126.0 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 12.8 m | (42.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 12.8 m | (42.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 32.0 m | (105.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 28.2 m | (92.4 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Cunningham | 4.3 m | (14.0 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 8.5 m | (28.0 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 8.5 m | (28.0 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
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