In 1969, 90 36ft longboats were built by Swan. Naturally, they became known as the Swan 36 with only two varieties offered–one with the long galley as in Nora and one with a smaller galley and an additional sitting area.
Production continued until 1971, with a total of 90 Swan 36 boats being built. Swan 36 is a fin keeled, fiberglass constructed masthead sloop first manufactured by Nautor’s Swan in 1967. The first Swan sailing yacht ever produced by the firm, it was designed to serve recreationally but also compete in the One Ton Cup. The 36 was designed by Sparkman & Stephens who were the number one designers in the world at the time and also the designers of the first 775 Swan yachts built by Nautor. You can read more about the Swan 36 by clicking here.
The Nora
Mannie had always wanted to sail. When a relative left him just enough money to buy a cool boat, he chose the best boat as he knew the resale value would be great. As the boat was based near the North Sea he decided to keep it there. For many years he sailed there, generally going solo.
About 12 years ago, Mannie decided he wanted to sail near his home, so he bought the same type of boat and put her on Lake Champlain. His original boat was given to his son, who continues to sail on the North Sea. Fritz Horton, Andy, and Holland Horton, Jeff Hill sailed Nora recently, while I had the real pleasure of following her with Doug Mueller in his Boston Whaler.
