No more Broom boats

The covenant was an assumption by myself based on how I think the Broom family would have liked to have safeguarding the loyal employers for a few years. The downturn in sales of this type of boat along with the distinct lack of investment to build with the times would have been a major contributor to the final outcome.
Or was this deliberate knowing that one day they would be sat on land with a massive investment income , watch this space as they say. The Harbour yachts thing didn’t get anywhere , the hire fleet will continue to make money but to run that you don’t need a site that size and boats can be built virtually anywhere these days up to a certain size .
I’m sure all will be revealed , whatever we think the boating industry has a big gap in it for the Broom type of owner .
 
Re: bye bye Broom ......

It's (net) curtains for Broom:cool:

That's a shame. Caravan and motorhome sales are on the up, the outdoor leisure industry in general is doing well. I wonder why the leisure boat industry isn't enjoying a revival?
 
Yes end of an era. In the Broom family days they built serious cruising boats to last. It's the classic demise of a family business where there was no clear succession and no vision how to break out of their market niche. When I visited the factory about 12 years ago I thought I had gone back in a time warp to the 1940s such were the building techniques, old school craftsmanship that cost the moon. I half expected a Barns Wallace type of figure to appear with engineering drawings from one of the many higgledy pigeldy sheds, and workmen in brown coats with pencils in their ear like the clip from Dambusters when they were testing models of the bouncing bomb.

Haines marine seem to have long since filled the vacuum in that market niche since the Broom family ceased involvement. We've owned both Broom and Haines boats. IMHO Haines moved with the times while retaining styling, but Broom seemed to 'bling up' which may not have suited their conservative customer base and needed to modernise production. There is no doubt the aft cabin format really suits a segment of the market in the colder UK climate, but they should have introduced boats suited to the warmer med where some of their client base had already moved to. Their aft cabin layout was top drawer for the cold wet climate around these islands, often with more accommodation than FB and hard top boats 50% longer. The odd time we had to endure slamming in an Altlantic F6 swell we always felt an added degree of comfort in the strength of a Broom build.
 
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Re: bye bye Broom ......

Actionmat said:
It's (net) curtains for Broom:cool:

That's a shame. Caravan and motorhome sales are on the up, the outdoor leisure industry in general is doing well. I wonder why the leisure boat industry isn't enjoying a revival?
Click to expand...

What makes you think that it isn't?
 
Re: bye bye Broom ......

ari said:
What makes you think that it isn't?
Click to expand...

A steady decline in numbers on the Thames. Families are taking staycations and the inland waterways are missing out, the only increase is the presence of liveaboards on public moorings. I can only speak from my own experience.
 
Re: bye bye Broom ......

This is sad news, the North European cruiser is dead, or nearly there. Hope Hanse manages to carry the flag.
I was a fan of Broom designs as in practicality and usage they are made to cruise the Northern part of Europe.

Actually reading here and there, IMO Broom could have survived more in the niche of building the British aft cabin cruiser more then anything else.
Yes it needed to advance, something on the lines of what Pearl did with the 50 and 60, or what Ferretti did with the 69 Altura some ten years ago.

No advancement in British boat design it seems, the only thing they do is copy the Italians and there designers. Nice job!
 
oceanfroggie said:
Haines marine seem to have long since filled the vacuum in that market niche since the Broom family ceased involvement. We've owned both Broom and Haines boats. IMHO Haines moved with the times while retaining styling, but Broom seemed to 'bling up' which may not have suited their conservative customer base and needed to modernise production. There is no doubt the aft cabin format really suits a segment of the market in the colder UK climate, but they should have introduced boats suited to the warmer med where some of their client base had already moved to. Their aft cabin layout was top drawer for the cold wet climate around these islands, often with more accommodation than FB and hard top boats 50% longer. The odd time we had to endure slamming in an Altlantic F6 swell we always felt an added degree of comfort in the strength of a Broom build.
Click to expand...

Yup many boaters dont realise how good the modern Broom boats are in lumpy seas. My old 37 saw us across the Channel a few times in conditions we didnt really want to be out in. I have thought for a long while that Broom (and indeed other Brit boat builders) could and should have capitalised on their reputation for build quality and seakindly hulls by producing boats that tapped into the growing trawler yacht market. All of the big Italian builders and, of course, Beneteau have seen an opportunity here and have done very well out of it. Its beyond me as to why all the Brit builders including Broom have stuck with their formulaic designs
 
+ 1 to this and OF post.

Deleted User said:
Yup many boaters dont realise how good the modern Broom boats are in lumpy seas. My old 37 saw us across the Channel a few times in conditions we didnt really want to be out in. I have thought for a long while that Broom (and indeed other Brit boat builders) could and should have capitalised on their reputation for build quality and seakindly hulls by producing boats that tapped into the growing trawler yacht market. All of the big Italian builders and, of course, Beneteau have seen an opportunity here and have done very well out of it. Its beyond me as to why all the Brit builders including Broom have stuck with their formulaic designs
Click to expand...
 
Deleted User said:
. Its beyond me as to why all the Brit builders including Broom have stuck with their formulaic designs
Click to expand...

I don,t think it’s an accident ,like they have never considered entering the trawler mkt .
They have made a concious decision to stay out .
It may be more of a marketing issue not wanting to dilute the brand or move the brand in that direction .
How ever they could do both ,just rebrand the trawler side , bit like Yoyota vs Lexus - realise that’s a different direction UP .
But the principle is the same .
But FL ,Priny and SS seem to want move into the sporty day ish / villa owner Med glamour segment and keep the brand name on those .
There’s only a certain amount of exsisting production capacity without expensive new facilities ,and if the order book is healthy- ie current stuff is shifting then by default they are doing somthing right .

Aside others are well established now and our 3 equally at what they do

https://imgur.com/a/TTSz7
 
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