Our first year, and now we have a dilema.

[boatone]

Have had a deep draft shaft drive boat rafted off me many times as there was no other option for them.

And Ian had the audacity to infer that Fred and I slept together !!!

 

[Richard Shead]

"Triple ace" used to be a forum member, the boat lived above Cleeve lock, very economical on the centre engine only and superb handling with the two outside engines running.

It was well known for only running on one...

Believe it or not I was doing work experience at Quay Marine when it was first commissioned, they had a lot of problems with cavitation at speed and it cost them a fair few folding to get it right, which they did in the end.

 

[Ramage]

Purely for info, Birchwood 33 (shaft driven) draught 3 ft. (Weight 6 tons).

I understand some steel vessels have a considerably greater draught.

 

[dash300]

If you can raise the outdrives totally clear of the water you will eliminate one of their major problems and that is electrolysis which rots the soft aluminium.
This can happen very quickly if permanently moored in the close marina environment next to other boats on hook up. The little anodes they are provided with will waste extremely quickly as they are not designed for permanent immersion.
I do acknowledge the advantages and great on the smaller sports cruisers but to my mind they are far too needy for the larger cruiser.
I have a twin engined shaft setup and can spin in my own length.(Not at the moment however just burbling around on one at the mo as one is misbehaving - which is a major benefit of a twin by the way)

 

[Brayman]

Lets not start a shaft vs outdrive war but certainly shouldn't close your mind to either option, they have pro's and con's, I have owned both and yes drives are a pain to maintian but offer advantages on the river. Have had a deep draft shaft drive boat rafted off me many times as there was no other option for them.

 

[dash300]

Lets not start a shaft vs outdrive war but certainly shouldn't close your mind to either option, they have pro's and con's, I have owned both and yes drives are a pain to maintian but offer advantages on the river. Have had a deep draft shaft drive boat rafted off me many times as there was no other option for them.

Actually it is people expressing their experiences and preferences that I find most helpful on these forums, particularly in areas were I have little of no knowledge. Without such views and opinions being expressed we end up with posts of mindless twatter and in jokes.I appreciate some topics do overun their useful life however and descend into personal ridicule and ego boosting, but by that time I have often picked up some useful info.

 

[HONEYMOMMY]

Actually it is people expressing their experiences and preferences that I find most helpful on these forums, particularly in areas were I have little of no knowledge. Without such views and opinions being expressed we end up with posts of mindless twatter and in jokes.I appreciate some topics do overun their useful life however and descend into personal ridicule and ego boosting, but by that time I have often picked up some useful info.

+1

 

[oldgit]

Give me outdrives every time. We can sneak into many a mooring that a deeper drafted shaft driven boat couldnt dream of getting onto. [/QUOTE]



H,mmm

Virtually all outdrives will be on boats with no keel.Leg turns boat,you will not want proper keel to negate prop trying to turn boat.
Therefore props have to dangle down below transom of boat,frequently being lower than the V of the hull in order to get water flow past the props and provide steerage.
There they are all dangly and exposed and just waiting for the bottom to say Hello !
A nice shaft drive boat such as say a Broom 37 has a keel which is the lowest part of the boat it helps to protect props from ground strikes as well as giving the directional stabilty that outdrive boats can only dream about as they weave there way along subject to every breeze and passing wake.
Lost count of the number of times my outdrive props (inc my spare pair) paid a visit to SteelDevelopments.
They only good reliable trouble free cheap to maintain outdrive ever made will be the one on the boat you are selling.

 

[Chill]

Oldgit has a valid point, thinking back after 3 years on the Thames our 33 Targas outdrive props were well knackered. Our latest 44' shaft drive Sealines props after 2 years are undamaged.

 

[R1chB1ch]

Try looking at a Birchwood TS37. Friends of ours have one and it is cavernous. Double aft cabin, twin up front, dinette converts to large double as does saloon,,, well worth a look.

 

[apollo]

Birchwood TS37 nice inside but similar problem to a Fairline Turbo 36 in that a bit difficult to get on and off.
Folks end up hanging a rope over the side to haul themselves up. Seems a bit of a pain.

Also heard that the BMW engines fitted in some earlier ones were problematical.

 

[apollo]

Ask yourself why there are so many Brooms around on the Thames?
I have owned
• two Birchwoods,
• a largish Freeman,
• a flybridge Princess,
• a flying machine Sealine,
• two Fjords
• and for the last seven years a Broom.

Have had
• Outdrives,
• DuoProps,
• Propshafts,
• Petrols,
• Diesels,
• Single and Twin.

Previously was ribbed by my father for changing boats when the ash tray was full.

But reason we have kept this one is because it is perfect for what we do.

Lessons Learnt in the last 20 odd years –
• Would never buy a Petrol Boat again,
• Would never buy Outdrives again,
• Would never buy a boat that didnt have adequate decks that i can walk around outside St Katherines Dock to go and put the blessed fenders out.
• Personal preference (which i know folks wont agree with and i dont care so there) - will never buy Volvos again.
• Aft Cabin is hard to beat and an Island Double is to die for.
• Doubles in the Bow, you will get the waves lapping all night and keeping you awake - aint that right Uncle Tone?

If you are considering a Broom, there are a few Crowns around at the moment, with virtually same room as a Monarch or the very dated Ocean 42 but twenty grand cheaper and cheaper to moor.

 

[Ramage]

There is an Ocean 37 for sale at Bray, and a Crown 37 (with island bed) for sale at Penton Hook. Both are Perkins powered.....

 

[oldgit]

M,mmmm Broom...boating perfection and enuff windows to keep a net curtain company in business for life.

 

[Chris_d]

The biggest problem with the all the old Broom 37's et' all is the ancient Perkins engines surely, I'm not that familiar with them but I thought many parts are completely unobtainable for the HT varients fitted to most of them, you would have to choose which boat you bought very carefully.

 

[apollo]

Some parts are more difficult to obtain than others, but the Broom Owners Club (£25 p.a.) has produced a manual detailing where to get everything from (and i mean "everything" - its a very thorough document.)

Its more of an issue with boats used on saltwater as the Exhaust Manifold and the Turbo Mount corrode through and are expensive to replace. Mind you prices are still chickenfeed compared to Volvo parts.

For freshwater based engines, less of an issue.

As an aside - I believe the Monarch in RYB has Mermaids and i had these in the Princess and were excellent Ford based engines. Truth be told i wouldnt mind the Monarch myself...

 

[apollo]

enuff windows to keep a net curtain company in business for life.

Well you dont want the riff raff to look in at you eating your beans on toast do you?

 

[HONEYMOMMY]

Just saw a lovely sealine 420

I will leave it to you, to carry on debating

 

[apollo]

Just saw a lovely sealine 420

I will leave it to you, to carry on debating

Well it has propshafts, almost a decent deck, but shame about the lack of an aft cabin.

However, never mind all that, does it have net curtains or a pink loo?

 

[Chill]

Well it has propshafts, almost a decent deck, but shame about the lack of an aft cabin.

However, never mind all that, does it have net curtains or a pink loo?

Absolutely Not!