Beneteau Swift Trawler 34 – Boat Review by Sea Magazine

By: Roger McAfee (Sea Magazine)

In America, boaters know Beneteau for its sailboats. However, the French builder has, at various times since its first splashdown in 1884, built various types of powerboats. In fact, Beneteau’s 52′ Swift Trawler won the European Yacht of the Year award when it was first introduced in 2007/2008.

According to the folks at Beneteau, there are now more than 36,000 Beneteaus floating around, and, on the basis of units built, an average of 283 per year, it has produced more boats than any other builder in the world. The new Beneteau Swift Trawler 34 is the beneficiary of those 127 years of knowledge and experience.

The vessel has the look of a typical North American sedan trawler, with a trunk cabin forward, a deckhouse with 360-degree visibility and a well-proportioned command bridge, complete with a manually operated, center-positioned lifting mast and boom. The quality of the exterior fiberglass work is excellent with a true and fair hull and no glazing or print-through. However, this is not surprising, since this efficient little trawler is built by one of the most-experienced builders in the world.

The 34 Swift is a semi-displacement hull with displacement sections forward to knife through a chop and planing sections aft for a good turn of speed. A short skeg keel helps with tracking and provides a level of protection for the prop and rudder in case of a debris hit. Her hull is solid fiberglass below the waterline and balsa-cored fiberglass above the waterline and in the decks and deckhouse. Beneteau uses an interior fiberglass grid/hull liner, which provides additional structural rigidity.

There are two access points to the vessel: the traditional over-the-swim-step cockpit door into an uncluttered aft cockpit, or through a bulwark gate on the starboard hull side just at the wheelhouse door. The swim step is at the right height above the water — almost level with the dock — making movement from the dock to the boat quick, safe and easy. A bulwark gate along the hull side, although very useful, is rare on a boat this small.

Another unusual design feature on the Beneteau Swift 34 is the asymmetrical deckhouse. The port sidedeck is 11″ inches wide but does allow access forward with the use of rails; the starboard sidedeck is 15″ wide, a more normal dimension for a boat this size. The offset alignment allows for more interior deckhouse space than on other boats in this range but still gives access forward along both sides of the vessel. A number of other boats blow the deckhouse out to the hull side to port or starboard, which increases interior space but makes it impossible to move forward along one side of the vessel. Beneteau has made an intelligent compromise.

The aft cockpit is almost completely covered by the deckhouse roof, providing good protection from both the sun and rain. The cockpit sole is uncluttered by toe-stubbing cleats. Access from the cockpit forward is easiest along the starboard side — protected by 31″-high bulwarks — to a position just forward of the wheelhouse door where three steps lead up to the foredeck. The foredeck itself is well laid out and features a large sunpad space on the roof of the trunk cabin.

Access to the command bridge is up a fixed ladder from the cockpit. Visibility from the command bridge is excellent, and there’s an L-shaped seat and table for entertaining or just lazing in the sun. The flybridge helm station is to starboard.

Another unusual design feature is a starboard door that closes off the starboard sidedeck from the cockpit. This feature cuts down substantially on the wind blasting down the sidedeck and onto those in the cockpit.

Inside Scoop: 34 Beneteau Swift Trawler

The interior of the Swift 34 is bright, cheerful and traditionally laid out, but with a leather sofa that pulls out to a hide-a-bed instead of the more-common convertible settee. Across from the sofa, flanked by two folding director’s chairs, is a high-low table that can be set at coffee-table height or as a dining table. The sofa — soft white leather on our test boat — is very comfortable, and the director’s chairs could easily be hauled out to the cockpit.

Her dual helm seat — more soft white leather — is forward of the sofa and set so the skipper can easily handle all of the controls and view all of the electronics without having to get out of the chair or, in fact, even stretch very far.

To port, across from the helm seat, is a U-shaped galley, with twin stainless sinks, a two-burner propane stove and a microwave/convection oven. The galley also includes a small dishwasher, a feature some boaters might not need on a 34-footer. The refrigerator is located under the helm seat. Galley storage is good for a small boat, and Formica countertops make cleanup a breeze. Forward of the galley there is a flat dash area, useful for paper charts. That area is also recessed, so anything on the dash won’t skid off as the vessel moves through the water.

Beneteau designers have been busy in the galley area. The sinks, which are oriented across the beam of the vessel, have a clear, lexan backsplash, which does the job admirably without visually breaking up the salon. Small details like this keep the deckhouse of the 34 Swift Trawler open and airy.

The two staterooms and the head/shower are forward and down in the forepeak. The master, with its semi-island double berth, is in the bow. There’s a good amount of storage and plenty of horizontal shelf space on each side of the bed, and while the room is small, as you might expect on a 34-footer, it is comfortable. A guest cabin, with upper and lower bunks, is to port and it, too, is comfortable. This cabin could also be used as a small office.

The head/shower is to starboard and features a vanity, a saltwater toilet, good fittings and an opening port to help with ventilation. The entire unit is molded fiberglass, so cleanup is relatively easy. The space also contains a removable panel that allows access to the helm station wiring and cabling.

Performance: 34 Beneteau Swift Trawler

The 34’s single six-cylinder diesel is a 359-cubic-inch Cummins QSB 5.9 putting out 425 hp. This modern 1,350-pound, common-rail power plant is computer controlled, and it flashed up without even a hint of smoke. It ran smoothly and quietly during our entire test. The engine space is under the salon and is accessed through hatches. The installation is neat and tidy, and the service points are easy to get to. Our test vessel is equipped with a five-blade propeller rather than the standard four-blade pusher. Beneteau says five blades run smoother than four.

With Westerly Yacht Sales’ J.P. Cardinal, at the helm, we cast off for our test in Vancouver’s famous harbor and Indian Arm. With a touch of the thrusters — the bow thruster is standard while the stern is an option — he moved us sideways from the dock in the crowded marina and into open water easily and under complete control.

At idle, 650 rpm, we made 2.4 knots and burned 0.52 gph, and the noise level was 63 decibels. Normal conversation is about 70 decibels. At 1000 rpm, we made 6.4 knots and burned 1.29 gph. We made 7.3 knots and burned 2.7 gph at 1500 rpm. When we went to 2000 rpm, our speed went up to 9 knots, and we burned 5.73 gph. The noise level was 80 dB. At 2500, we were doing 14.5 knots and burning 11.5 gph. Wide-open throttle, 3000 rpm, gave us 19.7 knots and burned 17.6 gph. The vessel came up on plane at about 12.5 knots, 2500 rpm, with a fuel burn of 11.3 gph.

All speeds were measured by an independent GPS, while fuel-consumption information came from the engine’s onboard computer. All tests were done with the trim tabs in neutral.

After we finished our speed run, I asked the skipper to bring the vessel to a full stop, crank the helm hard over and, keeping it there, slowly increase the engine speed to wide open. The vessel behaved very well, with no skipping, shuddering or skidding and pivoted almost within its own length. Crossing its own wake was a non-event, just as it should be.

The smallest of the Swift Trawler line is well thought out and well designed. All of the surfaces throughout the vessel — the wood paneling and all of the other materials and coverings — are easily wiped clean, which allows more time for boating. Visibility is excellent all around, and the staterooms, while small, are cozy and comfortable. It’s a very quiet vessel that could be made even quieter with the addition of carpeting in the deckhouse. The controls are precise and fall easily to hand, and the engine responds smartly. The Swift Trawler 34 handles well at speeds under 9 knots, yet has the ability to outrun most weather systems, if necessary. For coastal cruising a slightly larger fuel tank might be useful.