2020 Beneteau Swift Trawler 50

Bridge clearance has also been addressed with the Great Loop in mind. Lake House's mast arrangement has been customized to fold down efficiently—an important distinction on a boat whose owners haven't simply prepared for the Loop; they have actually completed it.

The three-stateroom interior works especially well for extended cruising and provides genuine separation when family or friends are aboard. The full-beam master is comfortable and private, with separate head and shower compartments, while the two additional staterooms provide generous accommodations without compromising the boat's primary living spaces.

The salon and galley are open and bright, with excellent visibility and easy movement between the interior and cockpit. There is a washer and dryer, generous refrigeration, a wine refrigerator, and the storage and household conveniences that become increasingly important during extended time aboard. Even the service lift between the galley and flybridge is one of those seemingly small details that makes considerably more sense after you've carried a few meals and drinks upstairs.

Storage deserves particular mention. There is an impressive amount of it to begin with—ample cabinetry, pantry space, drawers, lockers, bicycle storage and a large aft storage garage with convenient access from the swim platform—but the current owners have taken it a step further.

Virtually every drawer, pantry, cabinet and locker has been thoughtfully organized around the way the boat is actually used. Plates and glassware have their places. Pots, pans, provisions, extra linens and clothing have their places. Cleaning supplies, filters, oils, hoses, cords and spares are organized, and even the InstaPot has a home. Much of the galley equipment and organization stays with the boat. For someone who appreciates an organized cruising boat, there is remarkably little left to figure out.

The same thought has gone into Lake House's exterior living spaces. Extensive custom canvas and sunshades allow different areas of the boat to remain comfortable throughout the day. The aft cockpit can be screened and enclosed to create what the owners call the “lanai,” effectively adding another living area while providing shade, weather protection and screening from insects. Additional lounge and shaded areas give owners and guests several different places to spend time outside rather than concentrating everyone in a single cockpit.

The large flybridge becomes another substantial living and entertaining space, with a second helm, seating, dining table and excellent visibility. Aft and below, the hydraulic swim platform provides a convenient water-level platform as well as a practical means of carrying and launching the tender. The aft storage garage can be accessed from either the cockpit or swim platform, making cruising gear, bicycles, equipment and supplies considerably easier to organize and retrieve.

There are other practical details throughout the boat that are easy to overlook individually but become important during extended cruising: a centralized fueling location, accessible machinery spaces, engine-room access directly from the cockpit rather than through the salon, safe walk-around side decks, a side door adjacent to the lower helm, a centrally located galley, wraparound cockpit seating, an enclosed flybridge and the hydraulic swim platform. Taken together, they make the Swift Trawler 50 an exceptionally well-considered boat for this type of cruising.

With approximately 714 gallons of diesel and more than 200 gallons of freshwater capacity, the design provides the autonomy expected of a genuine cruising boat. Lake House's approximately 1,500 engine hours reflect the fact that she has been used for exactly that purpose. She has traveled, completed the Great Loop and been maintained, equipped and improved along the way.

Perhaps the most valuable thing Lake House offers her next owners is that much of the learning curve has already taken place. There is a difference between a boat that is theoretically capable of the Great Loop and one that has actually completed it. The systems have been used, the storage has been lived with, the canvas and shade arrangements have been developed, the mast has been configured for bridge clearance, and countless small decisions that normally get made during the first year of extended cruising have already been addressed. Much of the guesswork has already been taken out of the equation.

For someone considering the Great Loop, ICW, Bahamas, extended East Coast cruising or simply a comfortable live-aboard, Lake House represents a proven and unusually well-sorted platform. She offers the space and comforts of a substantial cruising boat while retaining the shallow draft, maneuverability, bridge-clearance capability and practical features that matter in the places her next owners are likely to take her.

Lake House isn't simply Great Loop capable. She's done it—and she's turnkey and ready to go again.