The Sweden Yachts 42 Sailboat
Specs & Key Performance Indicators

The Sweden Yachts 42, an aft-cockpit fractional sloop, was designed by Peter Norlin and built by Sweden Yachts.

A Sweden Yachts 42 at anchorA Sweden Yachts 42

Published Specification for the Sweden Yachts 42

Underwater Profile: Bulb fin keel & spade rudder

Hull Material: GRP (Fibreglass)

Length Overall: 43'5" (13.3m)

Waterline Length: 36'10" (11.2m)

Beam: 12'10" (3.9m)

Draft: 6'11" (2.1m)

Rig Type: Fractional sloop

Displacement: 22,046lb (10,000kg)

Designer: Peter Norlin

Builder: Sweden Yachts

Year First Built: 1998

Published Design Ratios for the Sweden Yachts 42

1. Sail Area/Displacement Ratio: 18.8

  • Less than 16 would be considered under-powered;
  • 16 to 20 would indicate reasonably good performance;
  • Over 20 suggests relatively high performance.

2. Ballast/Displacement Ratio: 40.3

  • Under 40: less stiff, less powerful
  • Over 40: stiffer, more powerful

3. Displacement/Length Ratio: 197

  • Under 100: Ultralight
  • 100 to 200: Light
  • 200 to 275: Moderate
  • 275 to 350: Heavy
  • Over 350: Ultraheavy

4. Comfort Ratio: 29.4

  • Under 20 indicates a lightweight racing boat
  • 20 to 30 indicates a coastal cruiser
  • 30 to 40 indicates a moderate offshore cruising boat
  • 40 to 50 indicates a heavy offshore boat
  • Over 50 indicates an extremely heavy offshore boat

5. Capsize Screening Formula: 1.8

  • Under 2.0 (the lower the better): Better suited for ocean passages
  • Over 2.0: Less suited for ocean passages

read more about these Key Performance Indicators...

Summary Analysis of the Design Ratios for the Sweden Yachts 42

1. A Sail Area/Displacement Ratio of 18.8 suggests that the Sweden Yachts 42 will, in the right conditions, approach her maximum hull speed readily and satisfy the sailing performance expectations of most cruising sailors.

2. A Ballast/Displacement Ratio of 40.3 means that the Sweden Yachts 42 will stand up well to her canvas in a blow, helping her to power through the waves.

3. A Displacement/Length Ratio of 197, tells us the Sweden Yachts 42 is a light-to-moderate displacement sailboat. If she's loaded with too much heavy cruising gear her performance will suffer to a degree.

4. Ted Brewer's Comfort Ratio of 29.4 suggests that crew comfort of a Sweden Yachts 42 in a seaway is similar to what you would associate with the motion of an offshore cruiser with good dynamic stability.

5. The Capsize Screening Formula (CSF) of 1.8 indicates that a Sweden Yachts 42 would be a safer choice of sailboat for an ocean passage than one with a CSF of more than 2.0. 

Sailboat-Cruising.com says...

About the Boat:

The Sweden Yachts 42 is a light sailboat that is very stable and stiff with a good righting capability if capsized. It's a fin keel yacht which makes it more maneuverable but like all fin keelers has less directional stability than a similar boat with a long keel.

It is built by the Swedish yard Sweden Yachts and designed by the Swedish maritime architect Peter Norlin together with Jens Östmann in the late 2000s. The Sweden Yachts 42 has two sleeping cabins and four berths, has an easy comfortable motion at sea under sail and is capable of offshore or ocean voyages.

About the Designers:

Peter Norlin was a yacht designer from Sweden. The sailboats he designed were in particular built by Albin Marine (Sweden) and Shipman Sweden AB (Sweden). Sailboats designed by Peter Norlin include:

  • Albin Accent 26: A 26-foot sailboat built by Albin Marine in 1975. It has a length of 8.1 meters and a beam of 2.7 meters. It has a displacement of 2,200 kg and a ballast of 1,000 kg. It has a draft of 1.4 meters and a sail area of 28 square meters.
  • Albin Alpha 29: A 29-foot sailboat built by Albin Marine in 1984. It has a length of 8.8 meters and a beam of 3.0 meters. It has a displacement of 2,800 kg and a ballast of 1,200 kg. It has a draft of 1.5 meters and a sail area of 36 square meters.
  • Albin Cumulus 28: A 28-foot sailboat built by Albin Marine in 1978. It has a length of 8.6 meters and a beam of 2.9 meters. It has a displacement of 2,500 kg and a ballast of 1,100 kg. It has a draft of 1.4 meters and a sail area of 27 square meters.
  • Albin Delta 31: A 31-foot sailboat built by Albin Marine in 1983. It has a length of 9.4 meters and a beam of 3.2 meters. It has a displacement of 3,500 kg and a ballast of 1,400 kg. It has a draft of 1.6 meters and a sail area of 40 square meters.
  • Albin Express: A sailboat built by Albin Marine in 1978 with two different models: the Express I (7.8 m) and the Express II (8 m). The Express I has a beam of 2.5 meters while the Express II has a beam of 2.7 meters.
  • Albin Nova: A sailboat built by Albin Marine in 1981 with two different models: the Nova I (9 m) and the Nova II (10 m). The Nova I has a beam of 3 meters while the Nova II has a beam of 3.3 meters.
  • Albin Stratus: A sailboat built by Albin Marine in the early '80s with two different models: the Stratus I (36 feet) and the Stratus II (33 feet). The Stratus I has a beam of about three meters while the Stratus II has a beam of about two-and-a-half meters.
  • Monark700: A sailboat built by Monark Boats AB in Sweden in the late '70s with two different models: the Monark700 I (6.9 m) and the Monark700 II (7 m). The Monark700 I has a beam of about two-and-a-half meters while the Monark700 II has a beam of about three meters.
  • Omega42: A sailboat built by Omega Yachts AB in Sweden in the late '70s with two different models: the Omega42 I (12 m) and the Omega42 II (12 m). Both models have similar dimensions.


Jens Östmann is a nautical designer who has designed sailboats including the Sweden Yachts 42, Sweden Yachts 45, Sweden Yachts 390 and Malö Yachts 370.

  • The Sweden Yachts 42 is a light sailboat which is a good performer. It is very stable and stiff and has a good righting capability if capsized.
  • The Sweden Yachts 45 is a moderate weight sailboat which is a high performer. It is very stable and stiff and has a good righting capability if capsized. It is best suited as a fast cruiser.
  • The Sweden Yachts 390 is like a more modern version of the Scanmar. She has a relatively slim hull, lead keel and shallow skeg in front of the rudder. She was designed by Peter Norlin and Jens Östmann, over 70 boats being built between 1991 and 2006.
  • The Malö Yachts 370 is a family yacht developed for sailing performance and comfort. Designed by Peter Norlin/Jens Östmann team. 

About the Builder:

Sweden Yachts is a Swedish sailboat builder that has been producing high-quality boats since 1976. They are known for their advanced technologies and 40 years of industry leadership in design and innovation.

Sailboats built by Sweden Yachts include the:

  • Sweden Yachts 340
  • Sweden Yachts 36
  • Sweden Yachts 38
  • Sweden Yachts 42
  • Sweden Yachts 45
  • Sweden Yachts 50

This additional info was drafted by sailboat-cruising.com using GPT-4 (OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model) as a research assistant to develop source material, and believes it to be accurate to the best of their knowledge.


Other sailboats in the Sweden Yachts range include:

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