Beneteau Swift Trawler 50 Features Walkthrough Video

The newest in the Swift Trawler range, the Beneteau Swift 50 incorporates significant design innovations to make living aboard easy. Join us as BoatTest.com takes a look at the features and accommodation on this spacious trawler:

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

The Swift 50 by Beneteau is a cruising yacht designed to go either relatively fast or slow. More importantly she’s also designed to be lived aboard for long periods of time by a couple or for short cruises for a large extended family as well as entertaining a crowd for the afternoon. For BoatTest.com. I’m Capt. John.

After stepping aboard, the first thing we did was to measure her actual square feet of living space. We discovered that the primary living space places such as the salon, dinette, aft deck, staterooms and heads and flying bridge all added up to about 785 square feet. That’s larger than average city one-bedroom condo.

Add in places that could be used for entertaining, sunning or watersports such as the boat deck, swim platform and forward sunpad, and the total usable space on the Swift 50 comes to approximately 943 square feet. So to answer our very first question, yes, the boat is large enough for a couple to live aboard.

But how about entertaining space? The Swift 50 has 3 primary public spaces – the salon, aft deck and the flying bridge. The sofa in the salon seats 4 and its high-low table serves double duty as a coffee table or lifted up and insert a self-contained leaf and seats 6 for dinner with the addition of 2 directors chairs or stools.

The table can also be moved out on the aft deck for alfresco dining. When it turns chilly or rainy because of the large boat deck above, the aft deck can be fully enclosed with Eisinglass. The flying bridge was made for entertaining as well as for running the ship.

There’s seating for 12 adults and again the table is high-low and can be made bigger to seat as many as 8 for dinner. Add a hardtop or Bimini top with Eisinglass and another 3-season venue can be created.

Will the chef be happy aboard? We think so because the whole midsection of the boat has been given over to the galley, which has more counter space than found on many 70-foot yachts. Not only are there covers for the stovetop and sinks, making the U-shaped area a huge place to prepare meals or plate for a dinner party, but across the aisle above the refrigerator and freezer drawers is more counter space.

The 3-burner cooktop is gas, electric is optional. And there’s an overhead exhaust hood with lights. An oven is below. Across the aisle is a microwave with a refrigerator and 2 freezer drawers below the counter.

The twin sinks make cleanup easier, and a dishwasher is optional. I like the trash container on the corner that can be emptied from outside.

On the flying bridge behind the settee is a console for the optional grill, sink, refrigerator and ice maker. This is a great place for entertaining and grilling. Remember with the tender launched, the boat deck provides more space for a cocktail party or sunning. The grill can also be used as the crew galley.

Now let’s look at sleeping accommodations. While the Swift 50 was designed to be easy to handle by just a couple, the fact is she can handle a large family with children and grandchildren. She can sleep up to 10 adults in dedicated beds.

The master stateroom has a queen bed. Forward is the VIP cabin with another queen for 2. The guest cabin has 2 wide bunks. In the salon an optional sofa hide-a-bed sleeps 2 more. The booth dinette next to the helm makes into a pilot berth for 1, and the optional crew cabin sleeps 1 more for a total of 10. There aren’t many 50-foot boats on the market of any type that can do that.

The Swift 50 was also designed to make long cruises by a couple as comfortable and easy as possible. The master stateroom has 2 large hanging lockers of equal size, each with 4 shelves, and more can be added. To starboard is a cabinet for more dry goods.

To port is a vanity or desk and large items that are infrequently used, can be placed under the queen bed which lifts with gas assisted struts. The head is split in two with toilet and sink on one side and a washbasin and separate shower stall on the other.

In the third cabin is a place for a separate optional washer and dryer. So no running ashore to do laundry. Topside is a double-wide 48-inch helm seat that can easily sit a couple. And next to it is a booth for 2 for morning coffee or a chart table for the navigator.

The side door makes it easy for the skipper to slip out to handle the anchor or tie up the boat. Beneteau seems to have thought of virtually everything on this personal cruiser. But if something’s missing, it will probably be found on the option list.

For BoatTest.com, I’m Capt. John Wenz.