Beneteau Swift 34 - Well-built and sturdy
Posted By: BoatTest.com | September 23, 2012
The Beneteau Swift 34 docked for the night on the last half of the Greatest Loop Cruise.
Intracoastal Waterway in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
In this image of the Beneteau Swift 34 you can clearly see three bent blades on the five-bladed prop.
On the Beneteau Swift 34 the keel provides a fair amount of protection to the prop and rudder.
Shown here is the waterline view of the bow and hull on the Beneteau Swift 34 after being hauled out for repairs.
The rudder on the Swift 34 after impact.
This image of the bilge and main shaft show a perfectly dry space. Note that there is little to no corrosion in this area even after almost 5,000 miles.
On August 21, 2012 the BoatTEST.com Cruising Team was onboard the Beneteau Swift 34 as the crew for the last leg of the Great Loop cruise. They were traveling north on the (ICW) Inter Coastal Waterway out of Georgetown, South Carolina where they had spent the night. While passing through the Myrtle Beach, SC area, traveling at about 7-8 knots, there was a sudden bump and the helmsmen at the time, Joe Bainton put the Swift 34 into reverse, backed up, and then came to a full stop. Clearly, the Swift 34 had contacted something, but was it an object or the bottom?
The impact seemed to be relatively gentle so Skipper Jeff Hammond took the helm and began traveling forward. Since the Swift 34 responded and began to ease forward, it was clear there was a working shaft. He then increased speed, first at just 3-4 knots, then gently increasing up to 6-7 knots where he experienced a vibration. As most of us all know, this usually indicates a bent prop. The crew began to check the lazarrette and the steering gear as well as the engine compartment for any water coming on board. All dry! No water. So the next step was to locate a place to have the 34 hauled out to get the prop looked at, and a sure bet the rudder would need looking at as well.
After a quick call to the Beneteau team to let them know what had happened, we started the search for a marina to have the Swift 34 hauled out to see the damage. Luckily Hague Marina, owned by George Russ, was just a few yards back down the ICW. The 34 was immediately hauled out and the damage was indeed a bent prop, three of the five blades, along with the rudder being bent up to look more like a spatula than a rudder. Given the damage, the impact must have been far greater than it actually felt. The fact the impact did not feel significant says something about the sturdiness of the construction of the Swift 34.
Onboard was a spare prop, from an incident several weeks earlier at the beginning of the journey, so within no time, (44 minutes) the prop was removed and replaced and that issue was resolved. Since there was no spare rudder onboard, it would need to be sent out to be straightened.
The rudder arrived the next morning at 10:15 and by 10:45 it was fully installed and ready to go. The Swift 34 was launched and the journey continued.
Observations:
When the Swift 34 made contact it was traveling at 7-8 knots and had an estimated gross weight of 20,208 lbs. This combination of speed and weight exerted huge force on the prop, main shaft, rudder and the hull at the point of impact, enough to bend the rudder over almost 45 degrees. As a testament to the overall strength of the design and build, even with these forces, there was no structural damage to the Beneteau Swift 34. All this force had no impact of the main shaft which remained in perfect functioning order. There was no leaking of any seals on the main shaft or with the steering gear. Furthermore there was no evidence of the impact on the hull.
All too often an incident like this creates little problems down the line through several systems, but not in this case. Beneteau told us they set out to design and build a boat that was strong with very good handling characteristics that could handle any conditions found in coastal cruising, and to do this in a boat that most couples could afford. In our opinion they have surpassed this goal. The many tests and now this two and a half week cruise onboard has proven to us that the Beneteau Swift 34 has what it takes and is a great boat for a couple or even singlehanded operation.