At the recent Cannes Yachting Festival, Hugo took the chance to tour the Swan Shadow 42, a stunning chase boat from luxury sailing yacht brand Nautor's Swan.
Nautor’s Swan makes very beautiful sailing boats in Finland, but this is their very first motorboat and as you can see they have gone for it in some style.
They’ve gone for an outboard-powered walkaround boat and the shape is quite extraordinary – it looks very narrow from the front end, but when viewed from the stern you can see it’s got a really wide beam.
You’ve also got the option of triple 350 horsepower Mercury Verado outboards, which will give you a top speed well in excess of 50 knots, about 55 knots in the flat.
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They’re completely surrounded by a hydraulic platform that will lower down into the sea or rise up, and it means you can then lift the engines up, but it also provides a really nice access to the sea. This being a day boat, it is all about being as close to the water as possible.
The aggressive and extremely capable-looking Swan Shadow 42 was designed by Jarkko Jamsen, who previously collaborated on the successful ClubSwan 50 for the Finnish yard.
His powerboat concept marries a beamy, 20-degree deep-V, two-step hull to a triple outboard installation, with the motors set neatly into the aft overhang so they look like part of the deck furniture.
Then there is a versatile, bolt-on choice of deck layouts in the area aft of the helm station which includes sunbeds, sofas, tables, a bar and extra seating. Four different lengths and styles of hardtop are available, to suit your chosen configuration.
And that’s not all – the hardtop can be mounted on telescopic pillars, while moveable glass panels can be deployed to provide a sheltered cabin – useful, perhaps, if the boat is required for limousine tender duties.
For overnight accommodation there is a comfortable-looking double ensuite beneath the foredeck, which according to the shipyard is fitted out in a cool, high-quality Scandinavian style that is typical of Swan sailboats.
That excellent forward cockpit can be sacrificed, if you really must, to provide a crew cabin. Construction is a substantial foam-cored and vacuum-infused multi-axial E-glass laminate.
Given the illustrious badge that the Swan Shadow 42 wears, we can expect it to look even better up close than it does in the pictures.
Swan Shadow 42 specification
LOA: 43ft 5in (13.2m)
Beam: 14ft 1in (4.3m)
Engines: Triple outboards 225hp – 350hp
Top speed: 55 knots
Starting price: €371,900
