Beneteau Swift 34 Survey Walkthrough Video

The Beneteau ST34 outshines the competition in every category. Join us as BoatTest.com surveys The Greatest Loop, a Swift Trawler 34 that completed the Great Loop. 

The following opinions are solely those of BoatTest.com and its test captain.

Hi, Capt. John here for BoatTest.com. We usually test brand new boats. But today we’re going to survey a vessel that has covered over 6,500 miles in just 4 months. She’s the Beneteau’s Swift 34 – the Greatest Loop.

In addition to being a test captain for BoatTest.com, I’m also a SAMS Accredited Marine Surveyor, so the assignment to inspect the Greatest Loop was right down my alley.

From May 2012 to September, this Swift 34 was operated on the Great Loop route almost every day by 12 different crews. They rotated on and off every 2 or 3 weeks and traveling through rivers, lakes, bays, towns and oceans, put over 600 hours on her single 425 horsepower Cummins engine. That’s more hours than most people put on a 34-foot boat in 5 years.

We had the boat hauled and first I took a general look at her bottom for any signs of damage. I’d been told that she’d hit some submerged items and had run aground during the trip. Despite that, my inspection didn’t turn up so much as a scrape in the bottom paint.

Next, I looked at the running gear. Her rudder was straight and solid and the bearing wasn’t loose. Her prop had no dings or bent blades, her strut was solid and her cutlass bearing showed no sign of excessive wear. The anodes are partially worn, so we know that they’ve been doing their job.

Both bow and stern thrusters look to be in good order. Then we put the 34 back in the water so I can inspect her top sides and superstructure. The docking cleats were all secure and there were no signs of gelcoat cracks. There was no leaking around the base of the windlass into the anchor locker.

Given the pounding boat took in the Atlantic and in Lake Michigan, I carefully inspected the joint where the deck meets the superstructure. There were no stress cracks or spiders. Then I found a stanchion that had hit up piling pretty hard. The stanchion was wobbly and the gelcoat was cracked. I consider this normal wear and tear, and it’s easily repaired.

Next I checked all doors and hatches with hinges to make sure all were in good shape and nothing was out of true. The rubber rub rail showed no impact damage. It’s easy for someone to back into a piling, so I always check the swim platform looking for damage.

The joint to the transom was flawless and I had checked the underside at haul out. Virtually all of the people driving the boat were big man, so on the flying bridge, I checked the base of the bucket seat to see if the wobbled or was cracked. It was fine.

The flying bridge instruments were all functional and showed no excessive damage from exposure to weather and sunlight. The boat had been through several 35 to 40 knot blows, so I checked the Bimini frame and its hardware attachments – all were solid and they canvas appeared like new.

Now let’s head for the lazarette. Here I look for galvanic corrosion, water intrusion, leaking through holes and loose hose clamps – all of which are the normal result of hard use or less than the best installations. I checked all of the hydraulic lines going to steering gear for signs of leakage or wear.

Since the Swift 34 is a single-engine boat, I know both thrusters got lots of use, so I looked carefully at the stern thruster for leakage. Nothing. I next went forward to the bow to check the bow thruster, which is under the master bed. Same story. No leakage, no corrosion.

The engine room is accessed under the salon deck. Things look good down here too. The shaft and driplet stuffing box were fine. The engine mounts were solid and showed no signs of movement. Hoses all look good. There were no leaks visible and the engine raw water through hole ball valve was functional.

Finally, I checked the accommodations, inspecting cabinets, drawers, window seals the upholstery and all plumbing facilities and virtually everything except for a broken screen door was in good working order.

While it was clear that a crew had cleaned up the Greatest Loop after she got back from a voyage, some things just can’t be washed away. Stained vinyl, worn upholstery, broken fiberglass corroded electrical terminals – all leave telltale tracks and the only things I found, what you’ve just seen.

So after 6,500 miles, that’s our survey of Beneteau’s Swift 34. In my opinion this boat’s done really well. For BoatTest.com, I’m Captain John Wenz.