Birchwood Commodore 31 - comments?

[mbird]

Hi All

We are considering looking at a couple of Birchwood 31 Commodores (sunbridge version) for use 80% of the time on the Norfolk Broads and 20% at sea.

One of those that has caught our eye is fitted with twin Volvo TAMD30 130 hp engines with a quoted cruising speed of 12 kts, top speed 16 kts.

As we have very little experience (i.e. none! ) of sea going vessels, we would appreciate any information you may have regarding sea-keeping capabilites, comfort of ride, handling etc.

Many thanks

 

[Adrianwool]

Good morning to you,
A cruising speed of 12 knots with a top speed of 16 knots is quite low, but, as ever, it depends on the individual as to their own requirements. Personally I would look for something with slightly more power (say around 200hp per engine), this should give you high teens cruising with 23 - 25 knots as a max. Be aware that speeds can be affected by how much cruising gear you are carrying plus how clean the bottom of your boat is. Also be aware that Birchwood went through several iterations of ownership. It may be worth a seperate post appealing to Birchwood owners in particular for more information.

In any case good luck with your humt

 

[oldgit]

Bit more info.

Welcome to the forum.

from 25 years of Motor Cruisers
ibsn 0-7136-3459-6
As this boat did not come with anything bigger than 135hp the question of bigger engines is academic,buying this boat would depend on exactly just how much sea work you intended doing.If it was only the occasional trip perhaps round to the Thames once every two years or so and the rest of the time on the Broads or other rivers then engine options available with this boat are adequate for the job.
Many boats do coastal stuff on a lot less horsepower than that,just very slowly and you have to pick your day.

 

[stuartw]

I would echo Adrian's reply. To get on the plane with those engines will be a struggle. Even on the plane in a lumpy sea, you will have nothing left to force through oncoming wavefronts. This means you would have to go at displacement speed, ie 8 knts & will be very uncomfortable in a lumpy sea, more like a ride at Alton Towers. Those engines and hull shape will be more suitable for river or broads type cruising. I had BMW 2.0 ltr petrols on a 27 ft Countess, which was a much lighter boat ( same hull shape) and could do 27knts flat out, but was pushed back to around 12-13 knots in a rough sea, which, apart from being uncomfortaable was very inefficent.

If you really want to go to sea, then try and find the biggest engines available for that hull size.

Having said all that, the early Birchwood range have great space inside, so the Commodore is not a bad choice.

Good luck

Stuart

 

[seamaster30]

Hi All

We are considering looking at a couple of Birchwood 31 Commodores (sunbridge version) for use 80% of the time on the Norfolk Broads and 20% at sea.

One of those that has caught our eye is fitted with twin Volvo TAMD30 130 hp engines with a quoted cruising speed of 12 kts, top speed 16 kts.

As we have very little experience (i.e. none! ) of sea going vessels, we would appreciate any information you may have regarding sea-keeping capabilites, comfort of ride, handling etc.

Many thanks

If you are going to spend 80% of your time on the Norfolk Broads then the boat will be fine.
If you get a better sea going boat like the other posters are suggesting it will be a real pain keeping it slow enough on the broads.

 

[Medskipper]

Hi,

I have the larger version of this boat, Birchwood President 37, it is the flybridge version.
It believe my boat has the same hull shape which is semi-displacement. Other posts are talking about planning hulls. It has always been my understanding that a semi displacement hull is somewhere in the middle, its not planning, but will a bit and its not displacement because it will at a push plane! It is said that in rough seas a planning boat has to slow down to displacement speed anyway and that means a lot of discomfort! because its not made for displacement! on the other hand a semi displacement boat will push through some quite rough seas with a little more comfort. I find my boat reasonably comfortable in heavy seas and I have been out in some pretty bad weather, but has been stated speed is down to 10-12 knots.
The good thing about these boats is that they are spacious and built well, Birchwood boats have gone through some rough times, but this model was built by the original Birchwood company at a time when they were building good vessels.

The other thing to remember is that most folks these days are slowing down their cruising in an effort to save on the fuel bills! so do you really need a 20 knot boat on the broads?

Don't buy it unless you have it surveyed, but if the survey if fine, I would say go for it, I don't think you will be dissapointed!

Barry

 

[pheran]

I would echo what Medskipper has said. I had the Viceroy, the flybridge version of the 33 and arguably, one of the best sea boats we have ever experienced. Most of our sea travel was long distance, not just a blam about the bay for a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon. I re-engined that boat myself and after a lot of consideration, fitted 2 x 100hp Ivecos. This gave us a very comfortable 10-12 knot cruise with a maximum on flat water of 14 knots. It also gave us a tremendous range, a massive plus for us when you consider some of our trips involved legs of more than 16 hours running without a stop. (believe me, listening to a couple of diesels running at constant speed for 16 hours is enough to make you consider origami as an alternative hobby)

I like the Commodore. Although not the greatest build quality, at least in the interior appointments, it nevertheless offers a lot of space and great 'usability'
Good luck in your search.

 

[Greg2]

As others have said you won't get speed but the engines will be fine for sea passages, particularly if all you are interested in is perhaps the hop between Gt Yarmouth & Lowestoft, maybe Southwold or occasionally the Orwell. Using the tide is the key.

More of an issue for me would be the use the boat has had and how it is equipped. For sea trips you need to check that safety stuff is okay e.g. it has adequate bilge pumps, (ideally a manual pump as well as electric) and that you have what you need to cope should things go awry e.g. spare belts, fuel filters etc. It will also need the basics i.e. compass that is accurate, ideally GPS or a plotter etc. If it has spent years on the river it is worth bearing in mind that diesel tanks can sludge up and movement of the boat at sea can stir this up and clog filters. Doesn't happen on all boats but worth dipping the tank in advance.

 

[mbird]

As others have said you won't get speed but the engines will be fine for sea passages, particularly if all you are interested in is perhaps the hop between Gt Yarmouth & Lowestoft, maybe Southwold or occasionally the Orwell. Using the tide is the key.

More of an issue for me would be the use the boat has had and how it is equipped. For sea trips you need to check that safety stuff is okay e.g. it has adequate bilge pumps, (ideally a manual pump as well as electric) and that you have what you need to cope should things go awry e.g. spare belts, fuel filters etc. It will also need the basics i.e. compass that is accurate, ideally GPS or a plotter etc. If it has spent years on the river it is worth bearing in mind that diesel tanks can sludge up and movement of the boat at sea can stir this up and clog filters. Doesn't happen on all boats but worth dipping the tank in advance.

Thank you for all the advice guys. For us, I think semi-displacement is the way to go, given our requirement for a quite useable river vessel.

The particular Birchwood I have my eye on has been used quite extensively around the south coast, Channel Islands, and French Canals. I believe it has a full inventory of nav equipment with a fair few sea miles under her belt.

Hmm... I think I need to go see one in the flesh...!

 

[Vulkyn]

I am also interested in the birch wood 31 serious ... did you end up getting the boat ?

 

[Greg2]

This is an old post....don't think he ever did get a Brichwood. Certainly not got one now and the last boat wasn't one either.