Cushy Cruiser

Beneteau’s restyled and upgraded Swift Trawler range goes right up to 70 feet and while this is the first 47 in New Zealand, the model is already a year old and this boat is hull #20.

The new Swift range has updated styling, which includes softer lines and more angled windscreens to distinguish the vessels from Beneteau’s sports boats and displacement trawlers, but they still retain the typical trawler eyebrow above the windscreen. Beneteau has been building trawlers since 1883.

The Chatfields took delivery of their new Swift 47 in January, but with Covid-19 getting in the way they hadn’t had much opportunity to use her before we met up with them in early June. But they told us they’d thoroughly enjoyed their first few trips aboard the boat, which were completely incident-free.

The Chatfields’ first vessel was also a trawler-style yacht, but its displacement hull was happiest cruising at