A Swan 36 from the famous Nautor yard in Pietarsaari, Finland was the type of boat that Del Fairley had set his heart on, but the one he found in 2018 on the hard at East Down Yacht Club on the east coast of Strangford Lough was in a very sorry state. 

Undeterred by the deteriorated condition of the boat Del and his wife Gill set about what proved to be a four-year-long restoration project for the Swan, which had, by then, been given back her original name, Lofna. Lofna seems to be seen an alternative spelling of the Norse name Lofn which means ‘praise’.

Lofna's aft deck pre-restoration

So after Lofna’s relaunch in October 2018, she was towed to the pontoon at Down Sailing Club at Ballydorn near Whiterock on Strangford Lough, and Del and Gill spent the winter of 2018/19 making her waterproof while they stripped and cleaned the inside. The next Spring, they trailed her to the nearby Cadoo Boatyard. By that Autumn, Lofna was taken on a new trailer to Bryan Willis's workshop in Larne.

Then began the mammoth task of making Lofna look like new. And for anyone considering taking on a similar job, this is what was involved. The topsides and coachroof were stripped completely and six coats of epoxy resin applied to replace the gelcoat. Hundreds of hours of fairing and surface preparation followed, and then she was resprayed using epoxy primer and topcoat. The coachroof was also resprayed with non-skid paint. Below the waterline, all the through-hulls and seacocks were replaced with modern composite fittings.

The hull had previously had osmosis treatment, so after stripping the old antifouling, this was faired, painted with epoxy primer then treated with an environmentally responsible antifouling. The entire deck-hull joint was resealed with flexible epoxy resin externally and additional laminated fibreglass internally, while the chainplates were remade by Gary Ghio from Cushendall.

The teak deck was in good condition and only required sanding - except the cockpit, where a significant amount of work was needed to replace and recaulk the teak, build custom fibreglass draining hatch frames and remake the locker hatches. The steering pedestal was completely rebuilt with help from Owens Engineering in Waringstown, and an inboard linear drive autohelm was installed under the cockpit. This was particularly satisfying for Del and Gill as they had been told: "that won't fit in a Swan 36". The deck gear was mostly reused, including six self-tailing winches fitted by a previous owner.

Lofna in the  workshop. The topsides and coachroof were stripped completely and six coats of epoxy resin were applied to replace the gelcoat

After all that work, there were two big jobs left to tackle – installing a replacement engine, which at first appeared it wouldn’t fit a Swan 36, but with custom mounts and a remote oil filter it did. The other task was replacing the teak cockpit coaming, which turned out to be rotten inside. This complex job was done by shipwright Daniel Dorman at Whiterock on Strangford Lough, who satisfyingly was able to use reclaimed teak floorboards from the closed-down Belvoir Park Hospital in Belfast.

Lofna's new deck

With help from many willing friends, the 16-metre mast was transported from Whiterock, while Lofna herself was moved from Larne. They were finally reunited in Carrickfergus, where the standing rigging was replaced and the mast restepped.

Del and Gill were delighted to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Lofna's refurbished interior

And so by early August this year, after four years of work, some 3,000 hours of labour and more than ten years on the hard, Lofna was ready to relaunch.

Lofna sailing on Belfast Lough

She completed a 220-mile shake-down cruise to the Clyde in September and is now berthed in Bangor Marina, where work on her interior fit-out, electrics and plumbing are continuing to be ready for the 2023 season. By then, Lofna will be approaching 55 years old.

Lofna in Campbelltown

In 2018 Co Down sailor Del Fairley made a wish list of boats to buy from which he would choose his favourite design, and top of the list was a Swan 36. His wife Gill knew nothing about this! But when Del discovered an unfortunate looking Swan 36 on the hard at East Down Yacht Club on the east coast of Strangford Lough, he jumped at the chance and had a look.

He was undeterred by the sorry state of the boat, which had the name 'Icon' on the transom. Del said, "Sitting on an old trailer in the yard was indeed a Swan 36. It was in a terrible state of repair, with torn covers revealing a white boat stained green by years of dirt. Closer inspection revealed the white paint on the hull had blistered, and a large sign had been taped onto the boat stating, "THIS BOAT IS UNINSURED" - a warning to keep away in case the rusting trailer collapsed. The nameplate on the transom said "Icon", although I was told she had been renamed, Seamróg which is Irish for shamrock. Not the lucky variety".

Lofna's aft deck (anobe and below her cockpit

In his view, the S&S Swan 36 offers a near-perfect combination of beautiful lines from the great Olin Stephens - sailing performance and quality fibreglass built by the now legendary Nautors yard while still retaining the looks of classic yachts of an earlier era. The most miniature S&S Swan is convenient for both sailing and yard facilities, but practicality aside, it also ticks the very important box marked "emotion".

Inside Lofna's forward cabin

A borrowed ladder gave access to the cockpit, which contained a dirty brown pond as leaves and moss blocked the drains. Over the years, soil had started to form on the deck and cockpit seats. Even grass had begun to grow. After the water drained from the cockpit, and as Del walked around the teak deck, he found it in surprisingly good condition. Despite the dirt, the quality of the deck fittings - which included six stainless steel Andersen Self Tailing winches was good. But unfortunately, she had lain in the boatyard for six years.

(Above and below) Lofna's interior as found

Down below, conditions were much worse. The filthy water inside had been drained to the level of an open through-hull. Del continued, "I later learned the yardman had pulled out a transducer to reduce the weight of the water inside in case the trailer collapsed. Below this level, the boat was still filled with a toxic soup of rainwater, used engine oil, battery acid and dissolved flares. The Volvo Penta engine had been completely submerged, and six litres of dirty oil had floated out, forming an oily black internal waterline almost halfway up the saloon door. Even the air inside the boat was acrid and difficult to breathe, but despite everything, the potential of this boat was obvious (to me anyway)".

He continued, "I was prepared to take on a boat in "project" condition, and this one would need a complete refit, but the first and most crucial challenge was, of course, Gill herself! Fortunately, she was also able to see past the condition, and negotiations with the owner were quickly concluded. They bought the Swan in September 2018 – she had been launched in July 1968 as Lofna - a name they promptly decided to return to.

Lofna was the 21st boat built by the Nautor yard in Pietarsaari, Finland, which was started in 1966 by Finnish entrepreneur Pekka Koskenkylä. In 1996, Lofna was in French ownership and located in Mallorca when she was sold to a new English owner who renamed her Icon of Hamble. After 15 years in the same ownership and a major refit in England, she was sold to an Irish owner in April 2011 who called the boat Seamróig, although she was still badged as Icon.

So Lofna was relaunched in October 2018, and Del and Gill thought she would surely float, given how well the hull had kept water in and she was towed to the pontoon at Down Sailing Club at Ballydorn near Whiterock on Strangford Lough. Winter 2018/2019 was spent keeping the rain out while the inside was cleaned and stripped, and the following Spring, they used a borrowed trailer work to take her to the nearby Cadoo Boatyard.

By Autumn 2019, a new trailer had been built, and they set about moving Lofna 50 miles by road from Strangford Lough to the workshop run by Bryan Willis Marine in Larne. After an anxious October journey, Lofna arrived in Larne for the work to continue in the luxury of an indoor heated workshop. The plan is to relaunch Lofna in spring 2022.

Del had thought, "With the investment in time, effort and money so far, we could, of course, have bought a French production boat and just gone sailing, but for us, that would leave the "emotion" box sitting empty. We're still not sure if we found our next yacht or if she found us. Either way, we can't wait to set sail on Lofna and are very much looking forward to meeting other S&S Swan owners on the water in the years ahead".