Swan 98 by Nautor's Swan is an Amazing Luxury Yacht

Founded in Finland in 1966 by racing sailor Pekka Koskenkyla, Nautor’s Swan is among those rarefied boat builders who strike a perfect balance between high-performance racing technology and on-board comfort and luxury, making it one of the most desirable names in elite global sailing. In 1968, a Swan 36 dominated the British regatta season, and additional racing successes, including winning the Admiral’s Cup in 1969, established the maker as a preferred choice of the most discerning sailors.

U.S. naval architects Sparkman & Stephens designed the first thousand vessels produced for the shipbuilder and introduced the signature “arrow” indented in the hull of every Swan in lieu of an obvious logo. Next, New Zealand-born yacht designer Ron Holland started his collaboration with the brand and designed five boats, including the well-known Swan 37, Swan 39 and Swan 42.

The new Swan 98 continues that builder’s estimable legacy. Designed by award-winning naval architect Germán Frers, the brand-new 98-foot build establishes even more comfort, safety and reliability while making ocean passages at competition speeds.

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Nautor’s Swan’s involvement with Maxi-class sailing vessels like this started very soon after the company’s launch. A customer requested a 55-foot build from design firm Sparkman & Stephens, and in 1970, and the Swan 55 took shape. At that time, it was one of the largest fiberglass yachts in the world to be produced in series.

Below decks of the Swan 98 sailboat

The Swan 98's surprisingly comfortable and stylish interior. Eva-Stina Kjellman

The Swan 98’s interior was designed by Genovese architect Misa Poggi and offers two layouts: Owner Aft or Owner Forward staterooms plus three guest cabins each with ensuite bathrooms, replete with the finest Italian textiles and leathers. The semi-custom build accounts for several color themes: the traditional navy interior pictured here, a classic white approach, a red-hued wine cowes option and a very minimalist, residential-style Spirit of Finland interior.

Exterior innovations include a unique telescopic keel option, which, together with the standard twin rudders, reduces draft to about 10 feet, opening up a world of coastal exploration and creating a new leisure aspect for a performance racing yacht of this nature.

The hull carries almost all of her beam right aft, which delivers stability on heel and creates generous cabin volume below deck. The transom folds down to create a teak-decked swim platform and reveal a garage for a 12-foot tender.

The spacious open foredeck provides the perfect sun deck while at anchor and ample space for handling lines and scrambling port and starboard under sail. An aft leisure cockpit is clear of lines, offering owners and guests a relaxing environment even during intense sailing activities.

Still, despite all these “superyacht” amenities, the Swan 98 is rigged and ready for true Maxi-class competitive sailing. Expect dual commanding helm positions, push-button sailing technologies and, with a special competition racing package, a square-top mainsail with running backstays and a double-length bowsprit to maximize forestays and state-of-the-art asymmetric masthead gennaker sails. The BeCool build featured here recently completed its first test sail at the Finnish shipyards, but performance data was still unavailable at press time. A 305hp Cummins QSB6.7 engine provides on board power when not under sail. Pricing starts at about $10.6 million.

Length Overall: 96.5 feet

Max. Beam: 22.87 feet

Draft (with telescopic keel): 10.5 feet