broom 33 or birchwood ts 37??

[pwb12]

I am looking at 2 boats a Broom 33 and a Birchwood TS 37, any thoughts?? watch outs?

 

[Montemar]

I own a 33 but know nothing about a Birchwood 37.
If using at sea go for at least 200hp engines or you will be struggling to get on the plane. Get a survey and as many receipts of work done as you can.
Check out the Broom Owners Club website where they have information under Discontinued models.

 

[pwb12]

Thanks Montemar! I take your point on the 200's.

 

[Robin]

We have a Birchwood, live on it and love it, ours is elderly but re-engined with yanmar 260s and 37L/hour per motor. cruise at 15kts tops at 20, flowscans off clock.

downsides, older ones like ours have old fashioned anchor in bow hawse (changing ours in progress right now to later style on deck roller with newgen anchor). side access to/from low docks made awkward with high sides by aft cabin/ stern deck. Flybridge helm seat legroom could be better we may fit a smaller wheel to avoid knee crush, but have sort of got used to straddling it

 

[Medskipper]

I am looking at 2 boats a Broom 33 and a Birchwood TS 37, any thoughts?? watch outs?

I owned a Birchwood 37 for 15 years and I personally found it to be a good boat. Look for Volvo 200 engines and definitely not a boat with BMW engines as there are little or no spares around. Also as suggested get a survey which will check moisture levels in the hull and osmosis.

 

[QBhoy]

Can’t help much other than I remember looking at a 37 with my mother and father years and years ago. They took issue with the sheer height of the acces point from the pontoon. Most boats like this are a good step up, but this seems crazy high. Might have been a 37 super sport or what ever they are called. Think there is a few variant of the 37. Lovely boat though and came with the unstoppable Tamd61 s if lucky.

 

[Montemar]

Height of the side above a pontoon could be a problem if there is some kind of mobility impairment. We have a Lalizas 3 rung ladder which can be switched from side to side to suit location. There is also access from the boarding platform but probably further to climb.
We know someone who wanted a Broom but went for a Nelson purely because of ease of access.

 

[Robin]

Height of the side above a pontoon could be a problem if there is some kind of mobility impairment. We have a Lalizas 3 rung ladder which can be switched from side to side to suit location. There is also access from the boarding platform but probably further to climb.
We know someone who wanted a Broom but went for a Nelson purely because of ease of access.

I bought a Lalizas ladder but returned it as it didn't fit the side contours well and was flimsy enough to worry the guy who was going to fit the deck brackets for it. We use wooden steps on our home berth (inherited with boat) and a 4 step fender ladder for away day forays. Sten access is limited by RIB in davits and need to reverse in, needing dinghy removal possibly, or be on a long finger to access the bathing platform from the side. In time we may have a bespoke ladder made that will fit the side profile I should add I'm the doddery one and SWMBO though agile does not 'do' jump any more. We use a large slide off snaphook (actually 2) on a telescopic boathook to get lines on initially whilst we sort out getting off without 'jumping' BUT if in doubt SWMBO (72) dons bikini and wiggles her butt and helpers come a-running.:biggrin-new:

 

[Dino]

I viewed a Broom 33 last week and was very surprised with the height of the side decks for a 33 footer. But I suppose that's the trade off for big internal volume.

 

[Montemar]

I viewed a Broom 33 last week and was very surprised with the height of the side decks for a 33 footer. But I suppose that's the trade off for big internal volume.

Right on! It is like a Tardis!

 

[Montemar]

I bought a Lalizas ladder but returned it as it didn't fit the side contours well and was flimsy enough to worry the guy who was going to fit the deck brackets for it. We use wooden steps on our home berth (inherited with boat) and a 4 step fender ladder for away day forays. Sten access is limited by RIB in davits and need to reverse in, needing dinghy removal possibly, or be on a long finger to access the bathing platform from the side. In time we may have a bespoke ladder made that will fit the side profile I should add I'm the doddery one and SWMBO though agile does not 'do' jump any more. We use a large slide off snaphook (actually 2) on a telescopic boathook to get lines on initially whilst we sort out getting off without 'jumping' BUT if in doubt SWMBO (72) dons bikini and wiggles her butt and helpers come a-running.:biggrin-new:

In our case SWMBO falls into the harbour!

 

[pwb12]

Firstly, thanks to all for opinions and suggestions, itvis truly appreciated!!
Now another question as I still am keen on the 33 but the 10/70 also looks good for my needs particularly the upper cockpit for sitting during the day under a big canvas...my only concern is the re sale/ styling!
Again thoughts would be appreciated... ps engine access is important!
I am really struggling with what type of boat to consider. Its probably going to come down to budget

 

[QBhoy]

Always liked the princess 30ds

 

[Greg2]

I don’t think that you can go too far wrong with any model of Broom - they are very well built and something like the 10/70 will always sell pretty well if it is in the right location. Interiors aren’t to everyone’s taste - we like the teak interiors but not so keen on the mahogany as it is a little dark for our liking - a matter of personal taste. The real benefit of an aft cabin boat is the huge amount of accommodation. Some Broom cockpits are better than others - our 41 was truly superb but our Ocean 37 not so much.

Engine access is usually okay but they are under your saloon so you have to be okay with rolling the carpet up but once you have the system of boards is very good. Some models you may need to move/dismantle the settee to get to some bits but not usually service items in my experience. The two that we have owned had small hatches for access to daily check items such as dipsticks. Depending upon the model access to stern glands can be tricky but there will be a way.

Nothing wrong with Birchwoods but as I understand it the build quality varied over the years with different iterations of the company and they aren’t quite the same as a Broom but then few boats are IMHO.

 

[oldgit]

Broom every time. !