Beneteau Swift Trawler 35, the Loop-Friendly Single-Engine Swift

A best seller rebuilt from owner feedback

The Beneteau Swift Trawler 35 is what happens when a builder takes its most popular boat apart and listens to the people who own it. Beneteau sold more than 350 of the Swift Trawler 34, according to Power and Motoryacht, and Boating reports that the company studied feedback from experienced cruising owners and the 34's few warranty claims before drawing the replacement. Beneteau announced the 35 in July 2017, showed it beside the outgoing 34 at the Newport show that September, and gave it a US debut at the Annapolis powerboat show in October.

Soundings called it new from the keel up, while Power and Motoryacht described the same semi-planing hull concept and adventure-cruising ethos in a reimagined package from Beneteau Power and Andreani Design. Either way, the result kept everything that made the 34 the default small trawler on the Great Loop and fixed the things owners complained about. It stayed in the range until 2025, when Beneteau unveiled the Swift Trawler 37 as its replacement.

Seven feet lower for the Great Loop

The single most important change for American buyers is height. The 34 carried a tall mast and boom that many owners never used; the 35 replaced it with a radar arch. PassageMaker reports that this cut bridge clearance from about 25 feet to about 18 feet, and Beneteau lists a maximum air draft of 18 feet 1 inch. The lowest fixed bridge on the Great Loop route sits at 19 feet, so a beneteau swift trawler 35 can clear it without lowering anything.

The other dimensions suit inland and coastal cruising: 37 feet overall, a 13-foot 3-inch beam (Power and Motoryacht lists 13 feet), a 3-foot 10-inch draft and 18,187 pounds light. Tankage is modest at 211 gallons of fuel and 80 gallons of water, plus a 23-gallon holding tank according to Soundings, which is fine for hopping between marinas but limits long open-water runs at speed.

A fold-open transom and davits instead of a flybridge dinghy

The most visible update is aft. Two nearly full-width transom doors with built-in flip-up seats open the cockpit to the swim platform, creating a waterside terrace at anchor under a retractable awning from the flybridge overhang. Beneteau also added telescoping dinghy davits that rise out of the hull and handle up to 400 pounds, enough for a 10-foot RIB with a 9.9 hp outboard. That moved the tender off the flybridge, which now has a large U-shaped settee and table and a rotating helm chair, and the upper helm has the same electronics and controls as the lower one.

The side decks are asymmetrical, wide to starboard and narrower to port with a high rail. A full-glass sliding door beside the lower helm lets the skipper stand on the side deck to watch the dock, then step off through a small bulwark gate with lines in hand. PassageMaker found that arrangement, plus bow and stern thrusters, made shorthanded docking easy. Forward, a sunpad with fold-up backrests turns the foredeck into a lounge.

Two cabins and finally a dry head

The salon has a starboard sofa that converts into a double with a memory-foam mattress, a loose pedestal table that can be carried to the cockpit, and a wraparound privacy curtain. Forward and to port is a U-shaped galley with twin sinks that convert to a worktop, a built-in cooktop and separate oven instead of the 34's gimbaled combo, a large fridge under the helm seat and a drawer freezer. A cushioned galley extension can serve as a forward-facing passenger seat next to the helm.

Below, the owner's cabin is in the bow with an island queen that now has steps on both sides, replacing the 34's awkward climb over the foot of the berth, and larger hull windows. The guest cabin to port has bunks and works for children or, as Boating suggests, a compact office. The head to starboard fixes the 34's biggest complaint: a magnetic shower door and fold-down bench now separate the shower and toilet from the rest of the compartment, so everything does not stay wet after every shower.

Running on a single 425 hp Cummins

Power comes from one 425 hp Cummins QSB 6.7 turning a large 24 by 24-inch five-blade bronze prop through a 2.5:1 ZF gear, the same basic package as the 34. Boating noted the 35 is slightly heavier and therefore slightly slower than its predecessor. Published speeds vary: Power and Motoryacht quoted an approximate 17-knot cruise and 24-knot top, Soundings expected about 20 knots top with a 10 to 15-knot cruise, and PassageMaker's quick sea trial on Lake Washington saw an easy 19 knots wide open.

At trawler speed the boat is very economical. PassageMaker recorded about 6 knots at 1,000 rpm on roughly a gallon an hour, and said the boat felt best on plane around 2,000 rpm. It tracked well enough to take a hand off the wheel at speed, had little bow rise getting on plane, and spun easily at idle with both thrusters.

Systems were upgraded too: a bigger Dometic air conditioning plant mounted under the galley, more freezer capacity, a 7.5 kW Onan generator, fuel and waste deck fills side by side near the helm door, and a dashboard that hinges back for access to wiring. Beneteau's Seanapps unit let owners check batteries, tank levels and maintenance from a phone.

Owning a Swift Trawler 35 in 2026

Budget about $18,000 to $35,000 a year for insurance, a 40-foot slip, a haul and bottom paint, Cummins and generator service and fuel. The QSB 6.7 is a widely supported engine, and Beneteau's US dealer network is a genuine advantage over boutique trawler builders. Engine access is through a large salon floor hatch, and the sofa unbolts to open a second hatch for major work.

With production ended in 2025, the used market is all 2018 to 2025 boats, and they compete directly with late Swift Trawler 34s and with American Tug 365s. Boating named the American Tug 365 as the 35's toughest competitor at $465,500 new in 2018, against $393,100 for the tested Beneteau, which sums up the choice: the Tug is heavier and more robustly built, the Swift is lighter, more open and cheaper.