Broom 39 / Ocean 38?

[MikeGBR]

I'm currently looking to purchase a 38-40' Broom and have been looking at the (John Bennett) 39 and Ocean 38. The obvious difference is that the 39 is deep V, while the 38 is a semi displacement hull form My initial plans are to cruise around the East Coast but then venture over towards Holland and possibly the Baltic. Can anyone please tell me which hull form they would consider best suited ; whether there is much difference in the handling of the two different hull forms at low speed and whether the 39 is likely to have lower fuel consumption at higher cruising speeds? As most of my previous motorboating experience has been on a Stevens 1140 on the French canals, I quite like the idea of having a keel to protect the props and rudders in shallow water but wonder if the keel significantly effects the high speed performance and fuel efficiency? I have also come across different engine options: Volvo Penta TAMD61 A (330 HP) ; Canterpillar 3116 (350 HP) and Yanmar (250 HP). Would anyone have any particular recommendation or comments?

 

[oldgit]

I'm currently looking to purchase a 38-40' Broom and have been looking at the (John Bennett) 39 and Ocean 38. The obvious difference is that the 39 is deep V, while the 38 is a semi displacement hull form My initial plans are to cruise around the East Coast but then venture over towards Holland and possibly the Baltic. Can anyone please tell me which hull form they would consider best suited ; whether there is much difference in the handling of the two different hull forms at low speed and whether the 39 is likely to have lower fuel consumption at higher cruising speeds? As most of my previous motorboating experience has been on a Stevens 1140 on the French canals, I quite like the idea of having a keel to protect the props and rudders in shallow water but wonder if the keel significantly effects the high speed performance and fuel efficiency? I have also come across different engine options: Volvo Penta TAMD61 A (330 HP) ; Canterpillar 3116 (350 HP) and Yanmar (250 HP). Would anyone have any particular recommendation or comments?

Might be worth asking this on the Thames forum as well.
Think there are some Thames based boaters who pop across La Manche who have this type of boat.

 

[Greg2]

We have owned two Brooms - an Ocean 37 (semi-displacement with a keel) and a 41 (deeper V with no keel - same hull as the 39). We have also looked at the 38 extensively as we wanted one after the 41.

The 41 was a superb boat - very capable at sea and easily handled at low speed and in close quarters. It had a small skeg keel so tracked very well at low speed and because the gearbox lubrication allowed, it we often used to run on one engine on the rivers.

The 38 was designed for use inland and coastal to replace the previous Continental/Ocean/Crown series. Originally badged as the Ocean 38 it was subsequently re-designated as the 38cl. Whilst designed with the European waterways in mind it turned out to be a surprisingly good sea boat, which contributed to the change in designation.

in terms of handling, both are capable sea boats and will be good at low speed and in close quarters. On thing I have noticed when helming a 42CL and our current Hardy (semi-displacement with a keel) is that the keel makes lateral movement a bit more difficult. With our 41 I could click an engine into astern and the prop walk would kick the stern in nicely - with the 42CL and our Hardy I have to give it a few more beans but that increases forward or astern movement. Not a major issue - just different handling characteristics.

On speed at sea, the 39 will probably be faster and more fuel efficient but there won’t be a great deal in it IMHO. In fact I know of a 38 that had large engines and it flew! The semi-displacement hull of the 38 will enable a greater range of cruising speeds. Worth saying that if speed is your thing then these boats won’t suit you - our 41 had 300hp Perkins and 18 knot cruise and 23/24 knots flat out. A 38 with the right engines will match that and possibly more.

Yanmars were the engine of choice for many with the 38 but as time goes on they have lost some of their attraction. Parts are horribly expensive unless you can source equivalents from Toyota (I think the Landcruiser had the same engine) and they are very finely engineered so if it all goes wrong a re-build of the top of the engine is difficult. It can be done - I heard of a 38 that was unlucky enough to have both engines go pop at different times. Re-builds were only possible because the engineers managed to source new blocks from Toyota but it wasn’t easy.

To summarise, both have excellent build quality and are very capable boats so it really comes down to preference about their respective characteristics. For me, the semi-displacement with a keel was the way to go with similar cruising aspirations to you. In fact, we have sacrificed speed and now cruise at 10 to 12 knots - slower if conditions are pleasant.
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[MikeGBR]

Thank you Greg2 for your very comprehensive reply. I would definitely say that I am primarily concerned with handling and fuel economy. When you say that the '38 will enable a greater range of cruising speeds' are you suggesting that the 39 will have a narrower speed band in which it will be operating efficiently? Is it likely to be significantly thirstier at low speeds?

 

[sarabande1]

We owned a Broom 37, not the Ocean 37, but the model that later became the 39 and 41. It was fitted with Sabre 275hp engines which pushed it to around 25kts with a clean bottom. We used to moor it in Southampton so it was used as a sea boat rather than an inland waterway cruiser and we crossed the Channel many times in our 37. Whilst being a medium V (I think deep V is a bit of an exaggeration), the 37/39/41 hull also had a small keel which gave the boat a good grip on the water when manoeuvering in a marina and also gave the props some protection in a grounding, as we found out in Chichester Harbour one day! As a seaboat she was very solid although a little bit tender in a big following sea, which may have been down to that keel. Nothing really to worry about but occasionally I found myself steering manually rather than leaving it to the autopilot. I have to say that the most irritating thing about our 37 was the exhaust drone at cruising speed. Because our boat was not fitted with water trap silencers and because the helm position is well aft, the exhaust drone at the helm was enough to drown out normal conversation. I think Broom did fit water trap silencers on the 39 and 41 but worth checking

Otherwise, like all Brooms, our boat was as solid as a brick outhouse and extremely roomy inside for its length

 

[Greg2]

Thank you Greg2 for your very comprehensive reply. I would definitely say that I am primarily concerned with handling and fuel economy. When you say that the '38 will enable a greater range of cruising speeds' are you suggesting that the 39 will have a narrower speed band in which it will be operating efficiently? Is it likely to be significantly thirstier at low speeds?

With a semi-displacement hull you can cruise at any speed but the faster you go has a real impact on fuel efficiency. The benefit is that you can push on in lumpy conditions that preclude a planing boat from planing — particularly in a head sea.

With a planing hull there is a speed range between hull (displacement) speed and the speed where the boat gets ‘over the hump’ and starts to plane that is generally very inefficient in terms of fuel burn and the boat can be riding with the bow high and the stern digging a hole.

This is a simplistic explanation and there are big variances depending upon hull design of particular boats. Our 41 didn’t really have a noticeable ‘hump’ when increasing speed - it just gradually changed its angle of attack. With our Hardy we can choose any speed but the previous owner advised that above 12 knots it starts to get very expensive!
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[Simi]

Go on the Broom owners club website click on gallery then boat models it give a list of all brooms click on the relevant ones it give full details of the various models

 

[volvopaul]

Two very different boats from the same builder , the 37/39 same hull would be a better sea boat , engine access can be difficult with the Volvo 306 especially the impellers .

The 38 is a great boat with the Yanmar 6Lp 250 hp engines .

Id say it’s down to personal preference, budget and boat conditions.