Pushing a Swift Trawler35 with an outboard.

[Jack Haines]

Really appreciate all the replies and the views voiced. I'm liking the idea of the inflatable strapped alongside in an emergency, it is after all just a peace of mind thing. I suspect I will also go down the mechanics course route and if any have recommendations on those then great.

I'd also be keen to get some view from the Swift Trawler 34 owners who posted.
Are they happy with their boats?
How well does it handle chop?
Is it a viable cruising boat for a couple with the odd guest for periods up to 6 wks etc?
Good and bad points?

Any thoughts appreciated as there isn't a plethora of Swift Trawler feedback on these forums.

My folks are in their 6th season with a Swift Trawler 34 that was originally kept in Southampton but they have since moved to Portugal. Some answers to your questions from my experience of the boat:

1. My folks love the boat, they have been half thinking of a change for a year or so but can't find anything that they think will work quite so well. For a couple it is brilliant and feels far, far larger than it is. The big attraction is how easy it is to crew thanks to the side door, deep starboard side deck and boarding gate.

2. It handles chop well, in fact it feels more comfortable heading into it than it does in a following sea where it can wallow quite badly. It's useful to be able to cruise very comfortably at 8 knots if it's calm or get up to 18 knots if you just want to get on with it.

3. It is a very viable cruising boat for a couple for that period of time but four adults on board for a week would start to feel cosy. We tend to give guests the master in the bow and use the sofa bed ourselves to give them some privacy. The sofa bed is very comfortable but you do have to open and close it every day. We never use the bunks to sleep in, really, as they're pretty claustrophobic, instead using them as a storage area for suitcases and bags.

4. Good points:
- Impressive seakeeping
- Amazing amount of space for a boat of its size
- Large flybridge
- Comfortable master cabin
- Huge lazarette
- Very safe to crew

Not so good:
- It's built to a price and that shows in the general level of finish
- It takes some practice to get used to mooring it with the single scew if you have come from twin engines. Fine with the bow and sternthruster working but lose these and slow speed work can be challenging.
- The bunk cabin is tight for adults and lacking in storage
- Real world top speed is actually just shy of 20 knots in our experience, though that may be more than enough for you.

As for your single engine concern, my parents had this too, having coming from a twin engine sportscruiser. In reality it has never been an issue as the Cummins engine is more reliable than Zurich Airport. It has never missed a beat in 6 years, an absolute rock of a motor. We have installed a fuel polishing system, though, in an effort to avoid what is probably the most likely cause of failure for an engine like this - contamination.

I think that's probably it but, please feel free to get in touch directly if you would like more info.

Jack

 

[Tranona]

Try it.

Doubt anybody would as there really is no need. However, pretty sure it would be less effective than using the alongside method using much less than 15hp and the 35' of boat sticking out in front of the propeller would be uncontrollable.