personaly i build a tiny house near the water that i use to respawn inside. And then i build some boxes in the house. Once i have collected the metal i sail there with a big ship and also fill my pockets with ore.
I guess that is the best option if not using mods.
( in the swamp i recommend to build your little house up in a tree near the water and some fence that goes out into the water to avoid the leach that attack your ship. )
Alternative build the house and so on a bit outside of the swamp area.