[1] The Swan 601 is a racing keelboat, built predominantly of resin-infused carbon fibre covered with gelcoat, with wood trim and a teak-faced deck.
The hull has a nearly-plumb stem, a reverse transom with a drop-down tailgate swimming platform, an internally mounted spade-type rudder controlled by dual wheels and a fixed fin keel.
[1][2] The boat is fitted with a Japanese Yanmar turbocharged diesel engine of 100 hp (75 kW), with a three-bladed low drag propeller for docking and manoeuvring.
[4][8] In a 2005 review for Sail Magazine, Tim Jeffrey wrote, "after spending a day as part of her racing crew, I could find nothing menacing on board.
The yacht is the second model of Nautor's more overtly race-oriented one-design classes and follows the similarly tautly styled and surfaced Swan 45.