Beneteau Swift Trawler Owners?

A chapter apart deserve His Mayesty the Nordhavn... I did have a one day sea trial, on the 55 model, in 2010 and she is absolutely stunning even if is not a mediterranean boat.
She is imponent, mute instead than quiet, and stable like a solid rock!
That day was winter, with a 25 to 30 ( and gusts up to 40) kn wind and a 3 to 5 ft swell cause we weren't in open waters and the sensation was to be in a cruising ship without Any noise or movement even without turning on the fins... Incredible!
Is necessary to say that, even inside seems a Royal palace and in the engine room is possible to walk,

• There's only one sidewalk on the starboard side
• The flybridge is smaller than the st42/44
• Isn't simple to manouvre in the harbors cause has one engine
• The depth is 2 meters
• If you sit in the cockpit (in the back of the boat), that is pretty small, you can't see the sea cause of the monumental freeboard
• There are a lot of stairs to go anywhere
• There's not dedicated space for sunbathing

She is for open oceans, long range cruising or liveaboard, a wonderful retirement boat but isn't useful for the normal mediterranean cruising.
in Any case, if in your plans there is a trip near Rome, I'll be glad to show you the best st42 in the mediterranean sea.

Alex Thanks for the input,

I can't find any information on how the different (used) boats are build.
It is very interesting to know how the hull is constructed especially under the water line.
Balsa core -> Walk away
Foam core -> Walk away
ST 42/44 is Balsa core with resin vacuum infusion.

Grand banks is quality build. It seems that one looks to the quality of the furniture to have an idea on the build quality. I am interested in how the hull is build.

Grand banks have also big problems,
1. Steel fuel tanks that rust away
2. Teak with screws in the deck, gives rotted deck
3. Deck made from plywood
One positive on Grand banks solid hull under the waterline for the older models, no idea on the newer.

I'm not so expert about hull construction of each manufacturer but I can say that I saw with my eyes how is built the st42/44 hull and was, for my non expert eyes, quite impressive but when, at Dusseldorf boat show, I saw a section of a Nordhavn hull I was absolutely stunned... 8 cm of solid vinylester resin and some other material between the various layers... it seemed really bulletproof!
For that experience I assume that the weight of a boat shows something about her solidity i.e. the Nordhavn 43 weights (dry) 27 tons and the st42 only 11 tons even with bigger and heavier engines.
I checked the hull of my boat when I changed the flaps and the swimplatform and, under the waterline, it's about 2 to 3 cm of resin that's good for a recreational boat but not enough to be bulletproof!
Have you ever evaluated Krogen express 52, Selene yachts, De Fever yachts, Fleming or Outer Reef? they are surely more expensive of Beneteau series and some model are difficult to find in Europe but all they seem have more solid hulls than a conventional european recreational boat.

Now into second year of ownership with my 2011 ST34. Continue to love the boat! Engine has 1400+ hours and no issues whatsoever. Had to replace original Stern thruster batteries back in April (they were 7 years old) so that is very normal. Been across Pamlico Sound several times to Ocracoke Island and back. In 3-4 foot seas boat handles quite well and feels very safe and stable. Of course sea conditions here are nothing like what Alex in Italy describes in the Med but there is no reason to go into the open Atlantic in eastern NC.

After 20 years under sail, most in a Beneteau 36CC, we opted for the convenience of a power boat and purchased our 2005 ST42 in 2016. th boat was a one owner, local boat that surveyed well and the price was right. Now, after 2 years, I'm still thrilled with our purchase as the boat works well for our type of use. We are basically day-sailors with an occasional overnight mixed in. We also spend many nights on the boat at our marina, using it like floating condo. Here are a few pros and cons:

Cons first...

It is a light boat that likes to hunt and sail at anchor. This can be remedied somewhat by snubbing the anchor to a side cleat to keep the bow out of the wind.
It generates a huge wake, even at displacement speeds. This really surprised me. We cruise in a river much of the time, and have to keep the speed below 7 knots to keep from literally swamping other boats.
Ours has 3 A/C units (a must in South Louisiana), 2 in the salon, which makes it quite noisy.
It has developed several stress racks in the fiberglass, as did our Beneteau sailboat. Not a huge deal, unless you don't deal with them.
Squeeky floor, especially the stairs, which feel cheap and wobbly.
Poor drainage from upper deck/ fly bridge that relies on drain s that are far too small to work properly.
Salon is too narrow for additional chairs, and settee is too shallow to be comfortable. I think the extra width on the 44 has helped with this.
Sliding door to aft cockpit is hard to slide.
All the black rubber gasketing around windows and door panels tends to degrade and make black marks on everything around them if your not careful when washing/ wiping. I replaced mine with white.
Exterior latches at boarding gates and at side deck doors are poorly made and don't work properly.
One of our trim tabs broke away from the hull, leaving holes below the waterline. There was no backing plate and the tabs were mounted thru fiberglass only...Not good!
My most annoying issue is that the top layer of finish (polyurethane?) on all interior, concealed wood surfaces is peeling off in sheets. the outer finish on the cabinetry is holding up fine, but the inside surfaces on drawers, dividers, bunks, and underfloor bulkheads is all coming off and is a mess to deal with. There does appear to be a coat under the top layer and I'm not concerned about the performance of the finish, but it is unsightly.

Now for the Pros...

The boat is beautiful, and gets noticed wherever we go. I know this doesn't make it perform better, but it makes you proud to own it!
It has plenty of speed, yet it is very economical to run. Ours has the twin Yanmar 370's which are well suited for this boat. We cruise in open water at about 19 knots and the boat cuts through waves very well.
The upper deck is huge, and we don't stow the dinghy up there. Rather, we use it as our entertaining space and it's perfect.
The covered side decks and tall gunnels are very reassuring, as are the tall, sturdy lifelines forward.
The Europa style flush deck design is great, much better for us than the up and down design of classic trawlers. That was one of the main reasons we switched from a sailboat.
All systems are very accessible for the most part, and fairly straight forward.
Did I mention it's BEAUTIFUL? Life's too short to own an ugly boat (Sorry Great Harbor and Deisel duck owners...)

All in all, it's a reasonably affordable production boat. It's not the best built boat nor does it include the finest features and finishes. However, everything on it looks very good for what it is, and for the price, I can't find anything close. I wouldn't want to cross an ocean aboard it, but for short trips and coastal cruising, it's a fantastic boat and a great value.

I substantially agree with swiftsugar... The cons exists but the pros makes you the proud owner of a fantastic, useful and reasonably serious cruising boat!

Hi all, perhaps someone can answer a small question. Has anyone replaced the sliding rear glass door lock and key assembly on their Swift Trawler? It seems earlier models (regardless of size) have a rather weak, small door latch and key assembly that does not lock well and stay secure. I want to upgrade mine without replacing the entire sliding door/frame. I will also contact Beneteau directly and one of their larger U.S. dealers (Denison). Meanwhile I continue to love my 2011 Swift 34 with no major problems and lots of compliments wherever we travel.
Thanks,
Skip

After the last hurricane in Florida, 2017, the locking system failed to work. I guess from extreme vibration. I was able, with much patience, to take it apart completely and adjust it. Works perfect again. My ST34 is now 5 yrs old.

When you take it apart, is it fixable? Have you looked at the parts catalog online?

Hi, "Fixable" is a relative term! I have taken it apart, adjusted the strike plate height (and depth) and the upside down "J" hook on the door itself. It will hold for awhile but with rocking over time or a good storm overnight it "unhooks" itself and then is unlocked. I place a black painted wooden dowel rod (about 1/2" diameter and 40" long) in the base of the sliding door track to keep the door from sliding open when the lock fails.
Technal is the European manufacturer that Beneteau uses. In later model ST34's (roughly Hull number 180 and up) and other ST's they used a more robust latch/lock. I spoke to the Beneteau U.S. factory in Marion SC who deferred to folks in France who came back and basically told me to buy the same older latch/lock for my door for about $270 as the new lock used on later models (about $500) would not work in my door.

So, long story short, I am basically stuck with a latch that is not reliable and a $2 dowel rod that keeps my door shut when I am not on board. Other than that I still love my boat.

Hi I’m an ST44 owner and have just experienced a fuel tank leak in my 2012 boat which I have owned from new. Has anyone else had the same problem?

I added some more of the white locking blocks in the door tracks so that I could lock the door in place when it was partly open rather than have it hang off of the door lock while I was on passage

Hi Paul. Where was the fuel leak? In a fill hose? the tank itself? this is critical information! thanks for sharing

The leak was actually on the bottom seam weld of the tank on the bottom edge facing the bow so very difficult to get at. Investigation still ongoing but so far the helm seat and sofa has has to be removed then a hole cut in the GRP floor then the black water tank and the port fuel tank had to be removed before the starboard tank would come out.

Any updates? thanks

I’ve claimed on my insurance and am going to pay £200 extra to upgrade to Stainless steel tanks equipped with a small sump and drain to enable diesel bug sludge removal. Apparently I had small quantities in the tanks despite using diesel treatment and always keeping my tanks full over winter to avoid condensation. Standard Beneteau tanks are not even marine grade Aluminium. Total cost of the job is going to be about £10000.

Thanks for the update. Anything further to add since its been a few months? How did removing the tanks go? Any pictures of the process? Any ideas on what caused the seam weld to fail? Any additional information is appreciated, thank you

Just keep in mind that welded stainless steel is not recommended for marine diesel fuel tanks due to crevice corrosion potential, marine grade aluminum is preferred.

THIS, you don't want stainless for diesel or gasoline tanks......I've seen stainless tanks only last 7 years in center consoles.