First to answer the question , no.

The part about the boat getting destroyed and all that concerned me.

You scout your swamp, preferable one you can see crypts from the shore. You park in a safe place in the morning (you wait in your boat for morning if you have to).

You carefully make your way to the closest crypt and build a small base with teleport on top.

You break your boat down , take it back through the port and put it in a box.

You harvest your iron, put it boxes at your swamp base and when you are ready to take it home you port home , get your boat mats, then port back. Build your boat, load it up and take it home.

also , in the beginning when you are in the swamp in copper ( some people wear troll i have no idea why) you should always have poison resist active.