Advice needed pls. things to look out for on Broom Ocean 40?

[kdtran]

Dear fellow members.

Having owned boats with far to many ropes and flappy bits for the last 3 years, I have finally taken to my senses and am in the process of returning to proper boating. I am due to look at a Broom Ocean 40 (late 80's model) in the near future, and would very much appreciate any inputs from the forum reg. if there are any specific issues or features I need to pay special attention to/look out for on these vessels.

I have some experience with the engines (TAMD 61A, 306hp with approx 2500 hours on them) and are aware of the issues with the pipe between the JW and AC cooler being prone to leaking, but are there any other things on these engines I need to pay special attention to apart from the obvious like color of smoke, strange sounds, leaks etc?
Are there any known challenges with the hull construction?
Any thing in particular to look out for on the electrical side?

Boat has spent all its life in Norwegian waters and seems to have been well looked after based on the pictures and information I have received so far.

Your input will be greatly appreciated.

Best regs.

 

[Whopper]

Check for perished window seals and resulting leaks. Lots of wood on the older brooms so easy to spot offending leaks. could be an idea to take a hosepipe to the windows to check for leaks. Not particularly expensive to fix leaks but just something to be aware of. Any history of replaced cutlass bearing and stern glands? It might be something to consider. I'm sure someone with more engine knowledge will comment shortly.

My father had a crown of similar vintage about 10 years ago. Problems I remember: battery charger packed in.. It had one electric toilet which was useless so we changed to manual. It also had a separate cool box fridge which absolutely hammered the batteries. If I think of anything else I'll comment again later..

Nice boat by the way so best of luck!!

 

[Spi D]

Norway?

If you buy it up there and want to bring it into the EU remember to factor import/VAT costs in as Norway is not a member. Also pay attention to CE marking - despite the boat being originally from within the EU.

 

[Medskipper]

Firstly I hope it goes without saying but get a full survey on it! These boats have been in the water for a long time and although well built may now be suffering from osmosis. Also you could get a full survey on the engines as well. Most surveyors wont be able to survey the engines so you will need a mechanical engineer to survey them.
At the very least have a oil analysis done it will help to tell you the state of the engines, your surveyor can get this done, it's inexpensive probably less than £100.
Good luck Broom are very good boats, they don't build them like that any more!

 

[asteven221]

Check the exhaust elbow bends as they corrode and can break off. Easy to spot. Otherwise I had no complaints about these engines in the few years I ran a boat powered with them. If it's Twin Disk MG506 gearboxes, they are very expensive and very heavy, if you need to do work on them. I know cause I replaced one!

 

[kdtran]

Thank´s for advices given so far.
I am actually based on the west-coast of Norway, and the boat has it´s home port only 10 minutes drive from where I live so export tax to EU will not be an issue, at least not this time around

I will check the stuffing boxes and prop. arrangements. Would it be reasonable to expect to see a similar arrangement as with Princesses of that time, i.e. water lubricated with triple replaceable gaskets?
I´ll certainly ensure that she is lifted for inspection prior to any potential purchase so that I can inspect for signs of repairs/groundings as well as osmosis.
Reg surveys:
For some strange reason, this is not easily done in Norway. Surveyors are few and far apart I´m afraid, but I´ll trust my blond hair and blue eyes for all they are worth and know that everything will be ok.
(...)

Only joking. I am fortunate enough to have managed to obtain a Uni. degree in marine engineering in addition to being "born and raised" in motorboats and have been doing boaty stuff + sales and engineering related to marine diesels ever since I graduated close to 20 years ago, so I should in THEORY be able to steer away from some of the worst pitfalls. That said, there is an enormous amount of things I don´t know and I DO tend to get slightly distracted by a clean engine room ( oohhh loooook, green and shiiinyyyyy...)

Best therefore to have a clear impression of what to look for before entering the boat as I am already planning what electronics to upgrade and what hp size outboard I should purchase for the dingy.

......." What was that dear? I have to sell the Swedish built boat with the 15 meter tall towel drying rack, PRIOR to buying a new boat????"

Nah, I´ll bring here with me to look at the Broom. That will soon have here convinced.
Now where´s that number to my bank manager..

 

[Spi D]

This one perhaps?

http://www.finn.no/finn/boat/used/object?finnkode=48975152&searchclickthrough=true

87(!) photos on the ad.. as usual pretty good pic quality on www.finn.no

SWMBO is bound to love the room on this one compared to a sail boat, if that is what your 15 drying rack is placed on.

 

[kdtran]

This one perhaps?

http://www.finn.no/finn/boat/used/object?finnkode=48975152&searchclickthrough=true

87(!) photos on the ad.. as usual pretty good pic quality on www.finn.no

SWMBO is bound to love the room on this one compared to a sail boat, if that is what your 15 drying rack is placed on.

Yes, that's the one, and this is the towel-rack holder I am trying to sell http://www.finn.no/finn/boat/used/object?finnkode=46560426&searchclickthrough=true

Frustrating to know that I paid Broom money for it two years ago and have thrown in a stupid amount of money on upgrades in my ownership, making the loss considerable..
Guess that's boating for you and am still prepared to do the same mistake again!

The Broom does hit all the right buttons for me w.r.t. apparent build quality and sea-worthiness and also has sufficient internal space for a family of 5.
If needs have it, being able to cruise at 3 times the speed of the Najad is also of a major attraction to all my family members even though this results in a fuel consumption that is 4 to 5 times higher than what I am used to.
My assumption though is that the difference will not be THAT big at 8 - 9 knots so a considerable amount of time will be spent pottering along at that speed.

The scenery locally in my part of Norway is very nice, but the "downside" to this is that you tend to spend 3 - 4 weeks in a row aboard during the summer period and if you want to be "guaranteed" nice weather you need to go to the south coast which is a good 400 - 500Nm return trip from where I live. (Takes bloody ages in a sailing boat!! ) Living space and available cruising speed is key in other words, at least for our type of boating

Other options I have been looking at is P45 from 1989 - 1991 in 3 cabin version (slightly out of bounds money wise), and P35 of similar age (bit on the small size).
With my old man having owned a total of 6 Princesses of various sizes I know the brand well, but I suspect that the maintenance costs will be higher on these compared to on a Broom due to fuel tanks being ready for replacement (mild steel as apposed to stainless in the Broom), lower build quality and not very impressive electrical installations.

Happy to be proven wrong on this if any of you object to my statements by the way.

 

[Tranona]

Norway?

Also pay attention to CE marking - despite the boat being originally from within the EU.

Not that it is relevant to the OP as he intends keeping the boat in Norway, but CE marking would not be an issue for import into EU as it is pre 1998 and was built in the EEA. VAT would of course still be payable.

 

[Spi D]

Not that it is relevant to the OP as he intends keeping the boat in Norway, but CE marking would not be an issue for import into EU as it is pre 1998 and was built in the EEA. VAT would of course still be payable.

Not so, I'm afraid. The date for triggering CE certification is not the date of manufacture but the date of import. So taking an oldie in will raise the marking issue.

And then think about all the boats in a country that joins the EU. They are all accepted over night, with no paperwork what so ever.

 

[Greg2]

The Broom looks to be a very tidy boat that has been well looked after (your yacht looks very tidy too). As has already been said get a survey and I would also think about an engineeeers report and oil analysis on the engines (you can probably do this yourself given your qualifications).

I am obviously biased but you can't go far wrong with a Broom IMHO. The build quality from that era is fantastic.....our 41 from 1992 is very well built and I felt more comfortable putting our money into an older Broom as opposed to a newer boat from another marque. I would be surprised if you have any issues with the hull....if it is anything like ours it will be very solid with plenty of gel coat to go at with the compounding and polishing.

Thi 41 is our second a Broom, the previous one being a 1979 Ocean 37. Again the build quality was superb and the hull was used for three different models. You may already know this but the hulls were moulded by a company called Aquafibre, which was originally set up as a subsidiary to Brooms to produce their hulls but who went on to mould hulls for other builders as well.

I can't comment specifically on the seaworthiness of the Ocean 40's hull but will say that Brooms are generally regarded as being very sound sea boats. Our 41 is a planing hull and is great at sea. The 37 was round bilged semi-displacement, which meant that she rolled a bit in a beam sea but would cope with most conditions. The family have always felt very safe in the Brooms, particularly when compared with our last boat (a Fairline Targa....good in its own right but a different type of boat and not in the same class as the Broom).

It may be worth joing the Broom Owners club (they have a website) to get access to further advice and information. They do charge for membership but it may be worth it. This link should take you to their page on the Ocean 40 http://www.broomowners.com/gallery/discontinued-models/ocean-40

Good luck with the purchase