Beneteau ST30 Features Walkthrough Video

The Beneteau Swift Trawler 30‘s tried and tested semi-planing hull technology comes along with attractive lines and a layout that encourages relaxation and ease of movement aboard.

She is available as one or two double-cabin versions. Join us as BoatTest.com takes a look at the features on this popular trawler:

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

Hi, Capt. Steve from BoatTest.com and take a look at this – the Swift Trawler 30. The design team at Beneteau has ensured that because we’re getting smaller and therefore more affordable, not only are we making the trawler lifestyle available to more people but we’re limiting the compromises because of some clever solutions. Let’s take a look at them as I do a features walkthrough.

Now as we step aboard the swim platform, all teak decking comes out about 3-feet from the transom which gives us plenty of room for enjoying, relaxing our day at anchor, watching the kids swim in the water. There’s a swim ladder that will latch into this position.

Now my first thought about that is we can’t deploy that from in the water. But to maintain our CE certification and have a ladder that is deployable from the water, we’ve got one right over here; a rope ladder that fits into this position.

The trawler lifestyle means we’re going to be spending a lot of time at anchor and that means a tender. Well, with 3 feet of deck space, not too much room for that but if you bring the tender up in its side and use this clever solution by Besenzoni, we can now come out and support our tender quite nicely.

Now that’s just the first of several creative space solutions that we’re going to see on the Swift Trawler 30. Let’s take a look at some more as we move into the aft deck.

Now certainly the aft deck seems a little bit cramped, not too much room to move around. However, by opening up the transom and bringing down the seats and then taking the ladder and moving it up against the forward bulkhead, now we’ve opened up this aft deck, made great entertainment space – this is a clever use of space.

And here’s where we start to see the first indication that this is not a boat made just for protected water with 33-inch high bulwarks. Now we can further add to this entertainment’s space.

Furthermore, we can also take this table and move it out onto the aft deck if you want. Over the port hand side, we have both a galley and entertainment area that starts with the fusion stereo connected to a Bose sound system. This can also be wired into the TV that will go in this position as an option.

The galley – soft-close drawer, microwave oven, refrigerator underneath, the double-basin sink, we have plenty of counter space and even more space for cutting on top of the gas stove. And when we are cooking, we’ve got a splash guard.

The gas bottles are stored up in the bow and we have a second refrigerator right here. And when cooking, ventilation is not a problem, thanks to the opening side window and the wide opening door over to starboard.

And again I’m just so impressed with the wide open space – 6-and a-half feet of overhead clearance. It shouldn’t be this roomy on a boat with a hull length of 31-and-a-half feet. Now even with the table in position, we still have plenty of space around the salon, thanks to some creative solutions. The foot of the table goes underneath the sofa for stability in a seaway.

When it’s time for dining, bring it out a little bit, we can now fit in behind the table and when you’re adding more people to the dining experience; pull these out, flip this over, do the same thing to this side and now we have a comfortable dining experience for our 4 guests.

To the starboard side of the salon, we have a sofa coming out 2-feet 4 and aft 6-feet 4-inches. Now this is a cruising couple’s boat and we have one stateroom, but of course we need to be able to accommodate somebody that may spend the night.

On the off chance that we have additional guests onboard that can easily be done just by removing these pillows, bringing out the storage underneath and then this cushion moves into this position. This is both functional and convenient and the best part, none of this needs to go into any other storage that the owner is going to be using.

So now let’s take a look at where we’ll be overnighting our cruising couple. Right down the center companionway, we come to our stateroom fully forward. Now we’ve got an island berth with access to both sides.

Hull side windows with opening port lights plus the usual overhead hatch – all giving us natural light and great ventilation, but more importantly it’s all about the clever use of space on this boat. That’s exemplified right here because in the Swift Trawler 30, they didn’t jam this berth all the way forward which meant that the berth would have had to have come up.

Instead, they kept it back a little bit, gave us more anchor rode storage and in that manner the berth is able to be kept low – 30 inches. So we’re able to just sit right on top and we still have storage underneath.

On something this size you would typically see a wet head, not so on the Swift Trawler 30. Over to the starboard side, we’ve got the toilet and sink. Over to the port hand side, in Europe this would be a cabin. Here in North America, it is an absolutely huge shower. The shower includes a teak seat with plenty of storage, two opening portlights giving us natural light and ventilation.

Now at the bottom of the companionway, there’s a hatch that opens up to the gray water tank. So again an owner-operator’s boat make everything easily accessible. Here, when hair and things like that get washed down from the shower, it’s easily removed just by accessing this port.

Up in the flybridge we’ve got open deck space that’s great for putting some deck chairs, beach towels, 6-and-a-half-feet by 4-feet. Looking just ahead, wraparound seating, an adjustable seat back on the helm seat plus the table can swivel into position.

Rail height all around the bridge deck 27 inches. At the bow a sunpad is available as an option. For bow and docking, we have a split bow rail.

Well, clearly the design team at Beneteau has found some clever ways to fit more features into less space, and I’m pretty impressed with how they’ve done it. That’s my look at the Swift Trawler 30 from Beneteau. For BoatTest.com, I’m Capt. Steve. We’ll see you on the water.