Beneteau is updating its popular Swift Trawler 34 this fall with a new Swift Trawler 35 after an eight-year run. The new 35 has all the features of the 34, plus upgrades inside and out, the most obvious being new twin transom doors that open out to create a massive open space from the swim platform through the cockpit into the salon.
I have a very warm spot in my heart for the Beneteau Swift Trawler 34. Five years ago, I spent more than a week on one with George Sass Sr., the photographer, as we cruised 700 miles of the Great Loop from the top of Lake Michigan down to Chicago and then down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers to Hoppie’s Marine Service, 20 miles below St. Louis. We found that living aboard was easy, with a large master and smaller guest cabin, a single head with shower, a bright open salon and a large cockpit where we relaxed each morning with coffee and each evening with something else.
The 34 was particularly easy to drive; visibility from the helm was great, and the door next to the helm opened to the starboard side deck, making line handling easy. Best of all, the single 425-hp Cummins diesel produced an all-day-long comfortable cruising speed of 16 knots, consuming just under 16 gph. The 34 was a solid-running, fuel-efficient, long-range cruiser on a semi-planing flared hull, and its modern French looks drew second- and third-looks everywhere we went.
The new Swift Trawler 35 has the same engine, so the performance should be the same, but it seems to have more windows to let in lots of natural light. The U-shaped galley on the port side opposite the helm has been redesigned a bit, there’s a new awning that extends from the flybridge out over the cockpit, and the flybridge itself comes with either a soft top or a Bimini, both with built-in LED lights.
The new Beneteau will be introduced to the U.S. at the Annapolis power boat show in October.
Specs.: LOA: 37’0”; Beam: 13’0”; Draft; 3’8”; Disp.: 18,187 lbs.; Water: 80 gals.; Fuel: 211 gals.; Power: 1×425-hp Cummins diesel. For more:
