Birchwood Boats

[ian38_39]

Hi,
Am looking for a replacement for my current boat.
The new one will be based on the Norfolk broads needs to sleep 6 in 2 cabins and saloon, be a capable of Sea work with a cruising speed of around 20 Knots and around the 30-32' mark, I was considering a Sealine 328 but with this years weather am now thinking of a hard top.

Looking at the boats that might fit the bill I noticed that some of the mid to late 80s Birchwoods looked pretty good and fell close to the £55k budget but have read that Birchwood made some great models and some rubbish.

What should I look at and what should I avoid.

Would love a Fly but it won't fit under the bridges.

Ian

 

[Garryt]

Sealine 310 Statesman should privide what you need and within budget, but it's a Flybridge!

You tend to get greater options for the accommodation on a flybridge, as there is normally a "double" in the upper cabin in addition to any other accomodation.

 

[Whitelighter]

The boat that immediatly springs to mind is the Birchwood 320 Challenger. No idea if they are rubbish or not, but there seem to be a vouple of examples around.

Newark Marina have a 1993 model up for £59,950 here - 320 Challenger

As I have said, no idea if they are any good, but with twin diesels it must be worth a look.

 

[Sixpence]

I may well be wrong , but I don't know of any 'rubbish' Birchwoods , mine is an old 25ft Interceptor which is out for refurbishment as she dates back to the 70s and she's a good solid boat . Which ones are supposed to be 'rubbish' ?

 

[Medskipper]

Hi Ian,

I have not only read about some awful quality of build about Sealines, I have also spoken directly to people who have told me absolute horror stories regarding poor quality of build with Sealines, particularly in the early days of their production.

Birchwood boats by contrast made excellant boats for many years and the build quality was good, However Birchwood boats suffered two or even three take overs and quality of build was reported by many to have suffered. I think its the late nineties boats and onwards that had some problems.

I have owned quite a number of boats, among them two Birchwoods. My first boat was a Birchwood 25. These have really stood the test of time and many are now thirty years of age and still going strong. My current boat is a Birchwood 37 as well, and the build quailty is excellent! Its a 1984 model and I can see it going on for another 20-30 years still, not many modern boats you could say that about!

If I were you I would certainly look at the Birchwood 37s but they do have a large flybridge and it sounds as if this might not be suitable for you?

Regards Barry

 

[Nautorius]

Hi Ian,

To be fair birchwoods over the years have made good solid boats. However they also have a tendency to go bust and so a boat built in that period may be a little dodgy! Overall if you stick to the river/estuary models you should be fine. Personnaly I love the old 'TS' series, ie, TS31 and TS37 such as This TS31 You may also consider 1980s brooms!

Shame you do not have £80k more because SamiLymington's Broom 345 is superb!

Cheers

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[pheran]

My understanding too, is that some of the 90's built boats can be a bit 'suspect' due mainly to all the commercial problems the Company had during that period. Birchwoods have never been up to the build quality of, say, Princess or Fairline, but I had a 1984 Viceroy and found it perfectly adequate. And in terms of its capabilities at sea, it was one of the best I have ever owned. Always felt total confidence no matter how rough things got.

 

[Medskipper]

I have to disagree with that statement! I have seen some pretty poor workmanship on both the makes that you mention! I believe Birchwood boats build quality was as good as either makes! Take the princess 32 for instance, there was some pretty poor quality exhibited on that vessel!

Barry

 

[Garryt]

Let's face it, all manufacturers have their moments of "Friday boats"! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[ian38_39]

seem to have opened a can of worms, it was just a comment I read in MBM as an editors response to a Birchwood question, have to admit to not knowing anything at all about Birchwoods other than the mid 80's stuff looks modern enough to have been produced today with some roomy and light interiors.
Have a Sealine 255 at the moment but can't really say much about build as it was neglected prior to me buying it, apart from having 2 new engines and outdrives nothing else worked but the hull and fittings seemed to have stood up to the neglect.

Would love a flybridge but the boat is shared with my parents who only use it on the broads, could do with getting down to 10' airdraft to give reasonable access around the broads

Ian

 

[mont]

Birchwood 320 'Cala Mara' . My friends old boat.
PM me if you want the low down on that specific boat.

 

[pheran]

[ QUOTE ]
I have to disagree with that statement!

[/ QUOTE ] Thats the difference between a former Birchwood owner and a current owner I guess! I made the same comparison to one of the staff on the Birchwood stand at SIBS some years ago. He agreed that the other two makes mentioned were some way ahead but said he hoped that was the direction in which Birchwood would be heading.

 

[mont]

Your blocking pm's so cant respond to pm !

 

[nickcred]

Hi Guys

As the owner of Medskippers previous Birchwood 25 which I purchased 7 years after he sold it to the guy I purchased it from I can confirm she is still going strong, is well built, comfortable and imho still looks pretty modern for a 1978 boat. And thanks Barry the cockpit table and step remain unchanged all these years later.

I have looked at 1980's larger versions and all appear to have good build quality and amazingly spacious layouts.

 

[thechevychase]

TS37,excelent build quality,good solid boat - a lot better in both buid and performance than my previous Princess 41

 

[Medskipper]

Clearly a misguided fellow!
Barry

 

[mont]

Still no pm available so here goes ...
That specific boat was for sale 2.5 years ago - we looked at it then at £69,950. It was quite tidy but very damp / wet inside (viewed in Feb 05).
It was previously owned by a couple we became friendly with on our pontoon who had bought a Broom 10/70. It did sell some time later but then re-appeared at Newark back for sale - dont know why.
My new friend in discussion mentioned his old B.320 and we made the connection having viewed it. He said he was pleased we hadnt bought it as he felt 'that for anything other than river use it didnt have enough power'. When he'd been at sea it would struggled deparately to get onto the plane on full rev's and seemed stuck at 16 knots = poor fuel consumption.
Whilst it may be a case of being underpowered ( unlikely at 2 x 170hp !!!) there are obviously lots of other factors which could have caused the problem - propped wrong etc etc.
If you do intend to do some sea work then without some research / solutions I can only pass on his thoughts ....
Hope this assist and is in no way a presumption that a B.320 is good / bad or whatever only the secondhand thoughts of the owner of that boat.
Surely for the broads 3.5 m air is ok for s.broads in which case a small fly will do ?? or are you a serious ditch crawler ?? /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[oldgit]

The Birchwood 33 might be worth looking at with low airdraft, lots of interior space and prob plenty of examples to choose from.

 

[Medskipper]

Yes agreed, they are a good boat, I personally liked the GT version.

Barry

 

[ian38_39]

Thanks for that have seen quite a few boats that appear to have engines only just big enough to get them on the plane and would have thought 340hp over 2 enines would struggle for a 32' decent beam boat.
The 33 would be fine but SWMBO says they are too old fashioned and I havn't seen any with enough pwer to get them properly over the hump.
As to the ditch crawling don't mind losing the bits past the really low stuff but 10' and you lose 2 rivers completley on the broads, Parents are 70 and won't go to sea but am trying to convince them that a 310 statesman or simular makes sense, boat is on the south most of the time.
Have to admit though being on the Broads means can use the boat every weekend without having to phone the bank manager for another loan for fuel, just wouldn't like to have the sea option taken away as it's nice when feeling flush, and if going to sea I dont fancy displacment cruising, heaven forbid but might as well use a saily.

Ian