classic swedish yachts

Swedish Sailboat Brands (Complete List)

‍ Key Takeaways

• Swedish sailboats offer the richest history
• There are 22 Swedish sailboat brands that specialize in sailing
• Purchasing a Swedish sailboat could be worthwhile depending on sailing goals

‍ When looking at Swedish sailboat brands, there are plenty of options to see. But just how many Swedish sailboat brands are there?

There are 48 boat and yacht manufacturers in Sweden. Narrowing that down specifically to makers of sailboats, there are 22 Swedish brands that have sailboats in their lineup. These include Hallberg-Rassy, Maxi Yachts, Regina af Vindo and Scanmar.

According to expert sailors, a handful of Swedish sailboat brands happen to be some of the best on the market. Depending on sailors' tastes and sailing goals, this could change their opinion.

Table of contents

‍ Swedish Sailboat Brands to Check Out

Sweden has arguably some of the best sailboat brands in the world. While they have plenty of different quantities, sailors can find quality in at least one.

Depending on what sailors are interested in will determine what sailboat brand might be better. So price, type of boat, and comfort will play a role in which brand might be better than another.

Hallberg-Rassy

Hallberg-Rassy is a one of a kind sailboat brand that most sailors dream of owning. The company prides themselves on comfort, quality, and easy to handle sailboats.

They have history dating back to 1943, when Harry Hallberg opened his own yard in Kungsviken. Christoph Rassy and Hallberg never actually partnered together, but Rassy bought one of Hallberg’s boat yards when he retired.

Maxi Yachts

Maxi Yachts is a Swedish yard that has been around for ages. They design racing keel sailboats with two models to choose from.

These boats are designed by Pelle Peterson, who is a world champion and Olympic gold medalist. French Beneteau purchased 80 percent of Delphia, who owns Maxi Yachts, in 2018. Maxi is still popular among Sweden residents and in Poland.

Regina af Vindo

Regina Yachts aims to make boats with soul and to have superior quality to the finest detail. They are owned by Sweden Yachts Group, who are big names in the Swedish sailboat brands.

The company has been building boats since 1972 for every world sailor or coastal cruiser in mind. Instead of mass producing various models, they typically stick to a few designs and cater to customers’ needs.

Scanmar/Borjesson Brothers

Scanmar has an abrupt history, but the boatyard of Borjesson Brothers remains today. Nils-Erik Olofsson helped design the interiors of Scanmar boats, while Rolf Magnusson designed the hulls.

Scanmar boats were produced by Borjesson Brothers from 1975 to 1991. Today, you can still find used models of Scanmar that are excellent if in the right condition.

Marieholm Boats

Marieholm boats have most of their success dating back in the 1970’s when they built the International Folkboat. These boats were easy to sail, appealing to the eye, and had a better sail area for more performance.

The last IF-Boat was sold from their production line way back in December of 1984. However, in 2018 the company was starting up production with similar models.

Najad is a leading Swedish sailing yacht maker that wants sailors to take their sailboats all over the world. Since 1971, they have put together some of the best sailing yachts.

These can typically be handled by two people and have capabilities to go just about wherever. With a handful of models to choose from, they are an appealing option in Sweden.

Sweden Yachts

Doing any casual search for Swedish sailboat brands and sailors can find Sweden Yachts. They own a handful of boat brands but also produce their Sweden Yachts boats from 40 feet and up.

All of their hulls and interiors are built by hand by Swedish craftsmen aiming to make a one of a kind boat. They have been pushing for excellence since 1976.

Marstrom does a little bit of everything when it comes to building sailboats and other projects. In 1983, Göran Marstrom began designing boats after winning a bronze medal in the 1980 Olympics.

These sailboats happened to be the fastest on the circuit for races. Even after 10 years of hardcore sailing and rough conditions, these boats had no signs of fatigue.

Malo Yachts

Established in 1939, Malo Yachts has designed some of the most appealing sailing yachts you will find in Sweden. In conjunction with Sweden Yachts, they look to build excellent sailboats.

As an individual company, they are one of the oldest sailing yacht builders in Sweden. They continue to make Malo Yachts in various sizes up to 54 feet.

Wasa Yachts

With over 30 years of experience, Wasa Yachts has put together over 500 sailboats. They also serve as a shipyard, docking location, and various other services in Sweden.

They have plenty of models to choose from, such as the Wasa 370, 38, 41, and 420 to name a few. These are a perfect combination of quality, racing, and a family boat.

Charles and Marita Rutgersson started the family company back in 1989. When Charles was 15, he began working in Kungsviken at Harry Hallberg’s Yard.

As years went by, Charles gained valuable experience and decided to start his own company. This allowed him to make wooden interior sailboats that you could customize but also have good sailing performance.

Linjett/Rosattra

Linjett and Rosattra boatyard have a unique combination of building boats. Rosattra was originally farmland in 1886, while Linjett was the first creation of personal boats for the families associated in 1973.

Linjett continues to make sailing yachts in 34, 39, and 43 models out of the Rosattra yard. As one of the oldest shipyards in Sweden, it also provides one of the oldest brands in sailboats.

VK Yachts are one of the very few sailing yachts made up of aluminum. In fact, designer and builder Vassilis Kostoulas has sworn that aluminum is the ultimate choice for building boats.

The company is relatively new to the idea of using aluminum, as they were established in 2010. The VK 35 Aluminum Performance Sailing Yacht is their flagship sailboat, which is quite popular and has led to plenty of other boat types to be made since then.

Arcona Yachts

Arcona Yachts aims to master their craft in order to provide the best combination of a cruiser and racer sailboat. For superior quality in a Swedish sailboat brand, it does not get much better than Arcona Yachts.

The company first started in the 1970’s when founder Torgny Janson began building smaller boats. Today, they offer a handful of appealing sailing yachts for any size to imagine.

Fabola Yachts

Fabola has been making sailing yachts in Sweden since 1958. They were also the first to create non-sinkable sailing yachts.

These models include the Diva 24 DC, Diva 34 SC, Diva 40 SC, and the Campus 7.4. These boats are light, easy to handle, and are great for coastal cruising in shallow waters with a retractable keel.

Excel Yachts of Sweden

Excel Yachts has been building boats since 1909, making it one of the oldest to do it in Sweden. While they continue to manufacture boats out of their yard, they do have a few models with their name on it.

These models include the Excel 400 Classic, Excel 319, and the Excel 32. These boats were not put into production until the 1990’s.

Comfortbatar AB

The Comfortbatar is a shipyard that originated in 1964 by Kennet Albinson and with a handful of sailboats in production. It was not until the 20th century when they began making large quantities of sailboats.

The primary brand out of the yard is Comfortina, which has several different options to choose from. Their most popular models include Comfortina 35, Comfortina 39, and the Comfortina 42.

Heyman Yachts/Fantasi Yachts

Heyman Yacht Design was founded in 1991, while Celeste Yachts AB was founded in 2005. The two companies merged together in Sweden simply forming Heyman Yachts.

The company focuses on a handful of elegant styles of boats. Their flagship sailboat designs are the Fantasi 44 Classic, Fantasi 44 Pilothouse, Heyman 34 Sport, and the Celeste 36.

Oceanlake Marine AB

Oceanlake was producing and repairing boats from 2003 to 2015. The shipyard has built similar boat designs in comparison to Marc Lombard Yacht Design Group (France).

While the company does not exist anymore, they had two models that were popular among sailors. These were the Seacart 26 and the Seacart 30.

Scanyacht AB

Scanyacht AB was a shipyard that built a variety of sailboats over the years. It is unclear if they are still in business repairing boats, but they did make a handful of sailboats. These models are the Scanner 361, Scanner 391, and the Scanner 392.

Adventure Yachts

Adventure Yachts is a fairly new company in Sweden that happens to make aluminum sailboats. The founder, Bo Gummeson, had the idea after wanting to make a sailboat for him and his wife.

A lot of these boats use hydraulics, are easy to handle, and have luxury on the inside. Their most popular model is the Adventure Yachts 55.

Classic Swedish Yachts

Classic Swedish Yachts sound exactly as the name suggests. They were founded in 1907 by Olof Hildebrand, who has been a member for 70 years at the Royal Swedish Yacht Club.

The company has one of the richest histories and most elegant looking sailing yachts. They have several in the lineup to choose from, which are Swede 41, Swede 52, Swede 58, and the Swede 68.

Why Choose a Swedish Sailboat?

Depending on what the tastes and desires for sailing are going to be will determine the right boat. There are plenty of sailboats in existence to choose from, but Swedish sailboats make a great case.

Some things in life are just known to be the best at something. When it comes to sailboats, Swedish brands know what they are capable of.

It is hard to beat a Swedish sailboat brand that has been in the business for almost a century. While some do not have that much time on their resume, many of them have a rich history.

To say another way, quality craftsmanship and comfort are in their blood. When something that magical has been passed down for generations, it is hard to pass up a Swedish sailboat brand.

If a sailor’s focus is on choosing a boat that is a great cruiser, comfortable, and easy to sail, then most Swedish sailboat brands can accommodate. There are a few brands that even specialize in aluminum boats, for those that are interested in lighter and faster sailboats.

Perfect Conditions

So not only do Swedish sailboat brands have a rich history of sailing, but the location makes a huge difference. It is no wonder that these families were able to perfect their craft since they had beautiful scenery to try it out on.

The Stockholm Archipelago is a great example of sailors wanting to sail through these islands. With perfect breezes, breathtaking views, and calm waters, sailing is natural here.

What is the Market Like for Swedish Sailboat Brands?

The good thing about Sweden is that they have so many shipyards and boat brands there. This makes the market a little easier to navigate through when trying to find the right Swedish sailboat.

Through a search online, it is easy to see how boats are categorized. For Sweden, used boats range between $28,000 all the way to $3.1 million. Newer boats will fall within that range as well depending on size and brand.

It is important to find as much information about a sailboat brand before buying one. A lot of factors come into play that will affect the price such as age, condition, and the name on the boat.

How to Buy a Swedish Sailboat?

Any sailor that is interested in purchasing a Swedish sailboat from one of the brands mentioned, there are potentially some obstacles in the way of obtaining one. As with any large purchase, thoughtful time and consideration is needed.

Even though these brands are quite popular, they might not be near you or easy to find. I would recommend personally sailing one to see the condition of the boat. Calling a boat broker or visiting websites online might be the easiest method without having to physically travel to destinations blindly.

In addition, a lot of those Swedish sailboat brands make a certain amount each year or only make them if they are custom ordered. Doing research ahead of time will narrow down the process of buying a Swedish sailboat.

The location of the sailboat and whoever is interested in purchasing it might be one hoop to jump through. If a sailor is in the United States and wants a boat from Sweden, there are a few options.

They must travel to Sweden and sail the boat back, have the boat shipped to the nearest marina for pickup, or find the used version of the boat at a local marina for sale. I would recommend whichever method is easiest and cost effective.

Some locations have a hot market for Swedish sailboats.make a few phone calls or messages online can save you valuable time and money.

Making a Budget

Buying a boat is a major purchase and is even more expensive depending on your budget.

Sailors should set up a loan in advance, have an adequate amount of money  in savings, or sell other possessions to help fund the purchase.

Swedish sailboat brands cost within the same range of prices as other brands. However, a consumer’s taste will differ from one person to the next that will affect price.

Sailor smuts ask themselves what specific features they can afford to live without. Is an extra 10 or 15 feet worth several thousand dollars more? Is the storage going to be used properly to warrant the extra space?

Buying Swedish Sailboats from the Source

Swedish sailboats are fairly attractive to look at online while shopping around. A lot of Swedish sailboat websites have the ability to build a boat online and customize to the exact idea a sailor would want.

This speeds up the process when trying to find exactly the right boat. I would recommend calling the specific brand in mind to see about designing one or customizing it.

Whoever is on the phone could provide help in locating a dealer or figure out a way to ship it. This would greatly save time and money if the sailboat brand is able to work out a deal.

Looking at a Salvage Yard

If it remains difficult to find the perfect Swedish sailboat and if a sailor does not mind getting their hands dirty, a salvage yard could be the next best thing. When boats are not worth repairing to some sailors or if no one wants it anymore, then this could be a great opportunity.

It is important to understand that this route will take the longest to get out on the water depending on what a damaged boat needs. Furthermore, it will likely need to have a lot invested into it first before it could even float.

This could be one of the most rewarding experiences and make a sailor feel like they are part of the Swedish heritage from the 1900’s restoring boats. However, it is also one of the most time consuming options.

What to Look for in a Swedish Sailboat?

When searching for a Swedish sailboat brand, it is important to remain patient and not buy the first one that is seen. If it is the first time looking for sailboats, it can be overwhelming. The process does not need to be rushed, as this will likely be a big purchase.

It is important to understand what sailing goals are in place. This means short term sailing, long distance sailing, or even just for the weekend. Even if a sailor changes their mind about a sailing goal after they purchase a boat, it can still be used in a variety of ways.

Sailing goals give the purpose of sailing. This helps with narrowing down how much to spend and how long the sailing destination is going to last. If sailors can accurately answer that question, then it makes it easier to search for a Swedish sailboat.

Comfortable

Comfort can be described differently by sailors. Some might claim comfort as the sleeping arrangements, how it sails on the water, or how soft the couches are below deck.

The living space is a major difference for sailboat brands that want comfort and simplicity. Finding one that does not negatively impact comfort for performance is key.

The space on deck could also be comfortable depending on how much room there is. If there are a lot of crew members, more space always adds to comfort.

A lot of debate is had between monohulls and catamarans. Monohulls are able to right themselves back up as the motion goes back and forth. Catamarans are more stable consistently since they have two hulls.

The more stable a sailboat is, means a safer and smoother ride. Even if a catamaran were to flip, it could be used to float to safety on the other side.

Safety is a big part of choosing a sailboat. If considering a Swedish sailboat, it would be wise to consider all the options when it comes to safety. Both monohulls and catamarans have their advantages and disadvantages, so research is definitely needed.

Easy to Use

A lot of Swedish sailboat brands have the capability of being handled by one or two people. The size of the boat makes a big difference, but some experience will also play a role. Depending what the sailing goals are, it will affect this decision.

Some sailors might need a crew of several people to make things work properly on board. Having more people could make it easier to use, but obviously take up more space with supplies.

This will have to be determined before a purchase is to be even thought of. While these are simple questions, more research will likely be needed.

Craftsmanship

Swedish sailboats look similar to other sailboats, or is it the other way around? Since Sweden has a rich history of making sailboats, it could be argued that they have original designs compared to other brands.

When searching for other brands, it is difficult to pass up a Swedish brand sailboat. The craftsmanship is like no other, making it a one of a kind.

Swedish sailboat brands are competitively priced to the market needs and to other sailboats. The brand that is desired will make a difference in price on a variety of factors.

History of Sailboats in Sweden

Sweden in the early 19th century needed boats made in a crucial way through trade and war. After 1814, the demand for ships decreased specifically for war but eventually grew in demand for pleasure crafts.

As the population grew, the demand for goods and services also expanded. This meant that ships were slowly being built to help with transport. Ships would help transport wood or iron to other parts of Europe and bring back sugar, salt, and coffee.

Once the economy was somewhat stable, many shipyards began building smaller designed yachts for racing. Every now and then a sailor would come up with a design and eventually start their own business.

This pattern increased like wildfire with many sailors having their own ideas of the perfect sailboat. It was not until the last 60 years that designers began using fiberglass instead of wood to make boats. That was a revolutionary idea that other parts of the world rarely used.

As time went on, many generations of families began passing down the experience and business to their younger generations. This is why many of the popular Swedish sailboat brands still exist.

Think about Hallberg-Rassy and Malo Yachts that have an insane amount of experience and time with their brand. These are hard to replicate, making Swedish sailboats a dominant force in the industry.

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Daniel Wade

I've personally had thousands of questions about sailing and sailboats over the years. As I learn and experience sailing, and the community, I share the answers that work and make sense to me, here on Life of Sailing.

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Modern Classic

You will recognize the classic lines, yet the Swede 68 stands out with her modern details and innovative solutions. This low displacement beauty has a 7/8 carbon rig and carries 206sqm sail in main and working jib which ensures high performance even when it is really light. The performance hull and beautiful lines are combined with mahogany and teak deck, deckhouses and cockpit of the highest standard of Scandinavian craftsmanship. 

Yacht Design: Oscar Södergren & Håkan Södergren

Exterior Design

Oscar and Håkan Södergren gave the Swede 68 a modern, slim medium displacement hull with circular bottom underwater cross sections with clean diagonal lines that give both speed and beauty. The L-keel with its deep lead-distribution and the modern rudder combines righting moment with hydrodynamic lift. The sails are developed in collaboration with North Sails. For cruising the manufacturer recommends a Code 0 and a gennaker combined with main and working jib. For racing the choice of downwind sails depends on what the rules prescribe for the race in question.

Interior Design

The quality and high finishes of the exterior flows to the interior. The interior design combines the classic, beautiful wood with contemporary design features.  

The Swede 68 has two large Staterooms with en suite heads, a crew cabin, plenty of lounge areas, a working navigation station and large well equipped galley. The main salon has U-shaped sofa to port with a dinner table that can accommodate six to eight persons.  The layout can of course be adjusted to suit the owner’s requests, e.g. to get more beds.

Classic yet contemporary - the Swede 68 combines beautiful lines with modern comfort.

Interior Layout

Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Ester: The classic Swedish racing yacht that came back from the dead

• Helen Fretter
• February 18, 2020

Ester is a revolutionary Swedish racing yacht that was built in 1901, sank in the 1930s, and raised in 2015. In 2019 she completed a four-year rebuild to race again

The phrase ‘ahead of its time’ is over-used, but in the case of Ester , a remarkable 50ft racing yacht built in 1901, it couldn’t be more apt. For a yacht that was drawn 120 years ago by Swedish designer Gunmar Mellgren, Ester bears a striking resemblance to an IACC yacht, with that flying bow and full-length toerail, while below the water she had a modern fin keel and spade rudder.

The similarities are not just aesthetic; Ester was built with the same obsessive focus on weight reduction as any modern America’s Cup boat – albeit out of oak, mahogany and steel – and a similar disregard for cost. Her original build cost 15,000 Krona – over half a million pounds today.

Ester was built to win the Tivoli Cup, a sailing competition between Sweden and Finland held at Sandhamn, in the Swedish archipelago. Bo Eriksson who, together with Per Hellgren, found and rescued the yacht, explains: “Competition between Finland and Sweden – nowadays it’s in ice hockey – but it’s always life or death! It was a big thing here. Ester was built to win one race, and they spent a lot of money – it was very, very expensive at that time.”

The rivets used are hollow and were manually drilled out. Some 17kg of metal was saved by drilling holes in rivets and screws

Ester won the 1901 Tivoli Cup, as well as pretty much everything else she entered that decade. Even by the later 1930s, having been resold and modified several times, she was still highly competitive. But one day she sank, and a piece of yachting history was presumed lost forever.

Bo Eriksson, a classic yacht aficionado, read about the legend of Ester and developed a fascination with the yacht, even hand-building a small model from drawings and photographs. “We were thinking of building a replica, but that was just a dream. The boat was for sure gone, it wasn’t in my head that we would find it,” he recalls.

However, in a bizarre twist of fate, a fisherman told him of a yacht which had caught fire and sunk outside Örnsköldsvik, in north-west Sweden, in the 1930s. Eriksson realised it could be Ester – and it was less than 2km from the front of his own house. After several years and diving explorations, the wreck was located. Ester had settled upright on the mud, rig in place, in nearly 50m of water.

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Raising the yacht was no small task; specialist divers were deployed, and the water was so murky that her exact location was only realised when one diver hit his head on her overhanging bow, having felt his way along the seabed in search of the yacht. Compressed air had to be blown into the mud to free the keel and hull.

Pushing boundaries

Ester ’s survival is remarkable, as she captures a moment in yachting history when the very best designs were reaching far ahead of the materials and technology available at the time. Ester featured radical build techniques. She was built two years before the Wright brothers made their first flight, but is constructed using hollow rivets on a metal frame for weight reduction, a technique adopted by the aeroplane industry. She displaces just 3.5 tonnes, of which 1.5 tonnes is in the keel.

“She is one of a kind,” explains Eriksson. “There were other designers designing this kind of boat, but they existed for quite a short period, only up to about 1905. They were ruled out because they became so fragile, kind of like the America’s Cup today, the yachts were going in the wrong direction so they changed the rules. And they were so lightly built so they didn’t last.”

Her gaff rig was restored to its original height after being shortened in the 1930s. The new mast was designed by Juliane Hempel with measurments taken from the original

That Ester did survive is testament to what Eriksson describes as the ‘genius’ of her designer Gunmar Mellgren, and the craftsmanship and attention to detail applied during her build. “Every detail is on purpose,” he explains. “And all together small things, tiny deck details and reinforcements, if you take them out separately each part is not so strong but together as a composite it’s very strong.”

Ester was raised in good shape. The late naval architect and yachting historian Theo Rye, who did some early design work on the project, measured her after she was lifted and was astonished to find that there was less than 7mm difference between port and starboard sides after nearly 75 years at the bottom of sea.

This is even more extraordinary considering that when Ester was originally launched, a reporter who went to see her was surprised that her lines remained true just three weeks after launching, so lightly built were similar yachts of the time.

The salinity of the Baltic Sea may have helped preserve the wood. Nevertheless, as she was raised and the wood began to dry, millimetres of planking began to peel away. Ester was going to need a complete rebuild.

The boat was carefully set up in Eriksson’s yard. In order to prevent the timbers drying out too quickly, she was placed in a shed with a bare earth floor to maintain humidity levels that would suit the yacht – but in freezing Arctic temperatures that made the restoration project even tougher for the boatbuilders.

The boat was rebuilt, piece-by-piece. The original steel keel fin was kept, but very little else. “The boat is composite built with a mild steel frame, but the frames were totally corroded away, so we made new templates and new frames and put them into the whole hull, bolted them in with the planking,” Eriksson explains.

Steel frames, knees, and cross-bracing below decks combine with steamed oak framing

“Then we made new deck beams and put them together with the new steel frames. We were cross-bracing the whole thing to stabilise the hull. Then we took the keel out, put a new keel plank in, and then we started to change the hull, plank by the plank.”

Materials were kept authentic wherever possible – stainless steel was used to upgrade the mild steel of the day, and the planking is glued together more effectively than she was. “Otherwise it’s exactly the same: mahogany and oak, and Swedish pine, and spruce or pine for the rigging,” recalls Eriksson.

“The planking is all the same dimensions, she has only seven planks per side, the garboards are 600mm wide, and it’s a single scarf joint between the planks each side. We had some fantastic 12m long mahogany planks, so that’s made a small difference. We had a better source of materials, so there was more scarfing in the original hulls than there is today.”

The original bronze rudderpost was restored for the tiller fitting

Other elements have been kept as the original, but are strikingly modern. “When I looked at the old rigging, I was surprised it was so simple, with wire loops around. It looked so old fashioned, almost like a fishing boat,” says Eriksson.

“But on second thoughts I was thinking this is absolutely genius, it’s like a modern racing boat – they have Kevlar loops or Dyneema loops on the rigging, and it’s exactly what they were doing in 1901. If you have a metal fitting on the mast it’s a breaking point on the mast. If you have a wire loop around it’s much softer, safer and lighter.”

Racing again

Four years after she was raised from the mud, Ester was relaunched in time for Monaco Classic Week in 2019, also competing at Les Voiles de St Tropez , where sailing her proved worth the two-decade wait for Eriksson.

Ester racing once again at St Tropez, where she won on the opening day

“The boom is only 50cm above the deck, so sailing her is quite physical. You have to be on your [toes] the whole time, and diving under the boom when you’re tacking and gybing. So after five or six hours you’re quite exhausted. But at the moment it’s like seeing a Ferrari in first gear. It will take years to find the full potential of the boat.

“For the first season we’ve put on a minimum of sails because we didn’t know how she would behave, so we were under-canvassed. But on a couple of days when we had wind that suited our set up we were really flying. She’s very stiff. And as soon as you come off the wind, she’s like a hot knife in butter: she’s off.”

Specification

LOA: 15.38m (50ft 4in) Beam: 3.08m (10ft 1in) Draught: 1.75m (5ft 9in) Displacement: 3.8 tonnes Sail area: 110m 2 (1,184ft 2 ) Built: 1901 (relaunched 2019) Design: Gunmar Mellgren Rebuild: Bo Eriksson

First published in the February 2020 edition of Yachting World.

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Style and speed in the new Classic Swedish Yachts 68

Classic Swedish Yachts 68 shows grace and pace

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Swedish Classic Yachts is delighted to announce a brand-new yacht from the board of Scandinavia’s leading yacht designer, Hakan Sodergren. Following the phenomenal success of the Swede 55 – a design that has won both the Bermuda and Transpac Races, in both cases in stormy weather and very tough sea conditions – as well as numerous round-the-cans races, Olof Hildebrandt, founder of Classic Swedish Yachts, together with Michael Wolff, long-term owner of a Swede 55, have branched into the luxury yacht market with the brand new Swede 68. She is designed for blue-water cruising but will be just as happy chartering in the Caribbean, racing in the Mediterranean or voyaging to more rugged destinations.

Hakan Sodergrenn gave the Swede 68 a modern, slim, medium-displacement hull with circular hull sections. The L-shaped keel with its deep lead distribution and the wing-section rudder combine righting moment with hydrodynamic lift; combined with an easily-handled sail plan, it makes for an intoxicating balance of speed and beauty, with the 54ft (16.2m) waterline giving a hull speed of about 15 knots – plenty for even the keenest sailor.

Contact Ian Kirkwood at [email protected] for further information or visit classicyachts.se  

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Classic Swedish Yachts is the only custodian of the Scandinavian design heritage producing new yachts.

Heritage Legacy

CSY is firmly rooted in the Swedish/Scandinavian sailing boat designs originating 1907 and resulting in the famous Skerry Cruisers. CSY is today a yacht development company within the niche segment of “Spirit of Tradition” building modern lightweight classics. The company was founded by Olof Hildebrand, a board member of the Royal Swedish Yacht Club for 70 years. Read more about the heritage legacy of the Swede yachts.

International business developer and investor. Specialist in brand-, growth strategy, (J&C, Elixia/SATS) with experience from global sustainable development from complex systems science perspective.

Over 20 years of experience in building over 200 sailing boats. Sailing merits: Silver in 99 World Championship 2001 (Denmark), ORC World Champion in 2014 (Germany), ORC European Champion in 2015 (Estonia).

Classic yacht enthusiast. Owner of Swede 41 Cruiser demo boat.

One of Sweden’s most successful professional sailors. Concept development for SAPA, Investor, Sony Ericsson, SEB, (Volvo Ocean Race).

The “granddaddy” of sailing in Sweden, the originator of the “Spirit of Tradition” category and the most passionate custodian of classic Scandinavian yacht design . The founder of CSY and a board member/member of Royal Swedish Sailing Association for 70 years.

Jonas Freeman

production manager

Richard Natmessnig

Test sailing manager.

Thomas Blixt

Olof Hildenbrand

“Let’s face it. Any doctor would say you’re crazy for getting a yacht like this. …And they would secretly dream to be as crazy as you.”

“Boat or a box? I know what I prefer.”

“I like the person I become when I’m in a Swede yacht.”

“Sailing is my meditation.”

What people say?

¹mae west photo credit: guido hildebrand yacht and regatta photography: soren hese richard bio photo: yacht magazin jonas bio photo: richard alma photography.

Swede 68 : Archipelago cruiser in XXL format

Michael Good

 ·  17.06.2014

The dimensions alone are fascinating: Almost 21 metres long and only 3.81 metres wide. This results in an aspect ratio of 5.4, which is around 3 for conventional boats. The design from the computer of designer Håkan Södergren (Finngulf, Helmsman, Swedestar, etc.) has classic lines with a spoon bow, long hull overhangs, low freeboard and a flat cabin superstructure, but remains modern below the waterline with an L-shaped keel and ballast bomb as well as a slim, free-standing rudder blade.

The Swede 68 will be fitted with a high and powerful carbon fibre rig. 206 square metres of sail area on the wind will ensure a considerable performance potential. Despite the slim lines, the jib will be reduced to a maximum overlap of 106 per cent. The pretty retro classic is currently being built at the Rosättra shipyard (Linjett Yachts) in Sweden as a GRP construction using the vacuum infusion process, laminated with vinyl ester resins. The teak overlays on deck and the mahogany veneers on the superstructure, in the cockpit and, if desired, on the hull only give the impression that the Swede 68 could be a wooden construction.

The exclusive concept for the area below deck features a functional, classic layout. Two generously proportioned owner's cabins, each with its own bathroom, are located forward and aft. Additional guest cabins and/or a cabin for the skipper are also possible.

The Swede 68 project was started by the Berlin sailor Michael Wolff, who founded the company Classic Swedish Yachts (Swede 41 & Swede 55) from Olof Hildebrand at the beginning of this year and now wants to get off to a flying start with a project in XXL format. Today, Michael Wolff is also revealing a price for the Swede 68: the exclusive luxury package is set to change hands for around 2.6 million euros (incl. 19% VAT).

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