Pursuit 3400 Offshore

It was five years ago. Severe weather rolled through the harbor at Clinton, Connecticut, on Long Island Sound’s north shore. A sailboat broke free of its mooring and drifted onto a 1991 Pursuit 3400 Offshore, holing the boat’s side and smashing a portion of its upper works. Repair estimates totaled her.

That didn’t bother Skip Swift; it was just what he’d been looking for: an express- style fishing boat with a large cockpit and all the comforts and amenities. “She was sitting on the hard with no motors and a hole in her side,” says the 57- year- old owner of Seconn Automation, an automated welding systems and engineering firm in nearby Waterford. “When I looked at her, I knew there would be some serious obstacles to overcome to complete the project, so I started with the toughest one first.”

Swift bought a bottle of wine, cleaned up the interior of the boat and hooked up a bat- tery for the house electrics. With Marvin Gaye on the stereo and a few shots of air freshener, the boat was ready to show to Swift’s wife, Deanna. “I set the table and went and got [her],” he says. “It was pretty easy from there, especially when I told her it was too big to bring to the house.”

The deal was made, with the 34- footer costing $ 5,000. Swift, a lifelong boater, was no stranger to used boats and the work they often require. “I had my first boat at age 15, a trihull with an old Chrysler outboard,” he says. “I was heavy into barefoot skiing.” Other boats included a 30- foot wooden Luhrs, Grady- White and Trophy walkarounds, a 32-foot Trojan and a 19-foot Aquasport — all bought used. “The only new boat I ever bought was a 19- foot Starcraft with a 200-hp Mercury outboard. I traded that for a baby girl,” Swift says.

Just as those boats all needed some work, the Pursuit was going to be a project. Swift Deanna and Skip Swift. had grown up working on boats, since his family owned a marine fabrication company. “I’ve always been the kind of guy who wanted to know every nut, bolt and wire on any boat I had owned,” he says. “Most every boat I’ve had I bought used, and they have all needed something major. Whether it be glass repair or mechanical [work] through the years, I’ve been forced to take a bite of most boatbuilding skill sets. If you can do it yourself and you like doing it, it’s the best way to get a boat that’s safe, reliable and good-looking for a very low cost.”

He stripped the Pursuit’s interior to get inside the damaged hull and repair the hole. He rewired the boat, upgraded the A/C and water systems, refinished the cabin soles and got the VacuFlush head in order. “Like all boaters, I love working on my boat as much as using it,” he says.

The Pursuit needed engines, and Swift discovered a matched pair of them in another derelict. “I found a boat that had caught fire,” Swift says. “I took out the engines, redesigned the Pursuit’s engine mounts and installed them.” He also added new gaug- Pursuit Boats, Fort Pierce, Florida, (772) 465-6006.