The right boat for me

[Suffolk_Newbie]

Due to family circumstances, my boat purchase hasn’t happened yet, but I’m determined that by the 2027 season I’ll finally be making it a reality.

Where I’m still wrestling with the decision is what to buy.

My intended use is:

• Kept on the Norfolk Broads
• Comfortable accommodation for 4–6 people (two cabins)
• My wife is very clear that a separate shower cubicle is a must, not a wetroom
• Regular coastal cruising along the East Coast
• Once per year down to the South Coast
• Longer term, once I’m confident, trips across to France, Belgium and the Netherlands, with the option of using inland canals

Budget will be around £150k.

The dilemma is that the boats that seem most suited to this kind of mixed inland/coastal cruising are the likes of a Broom or Haines in the 36–40ft range.

However, at my budget, that generally means looking at boats that are 25+ years old (and Haines are rarely available).

The alternative is something newer (15–20 years old), such as:

• Fairline Targa 38/40
• Sealine SC35
• Nimbus 365

So my question is: Is it better to go for an older but purpose-built Broads/coastal boat like a Broom, or a newer sports cruiser-style boat that may be less ideal inland but benefits from being more modern?

Would really appreciate thoughts from owners with experience of both.

 

[jandnrowe]

Hi there, you've got a healthy budget there to play with and some nice boats to look at - all have their merits. I've a modest 'Sports bridge' type river cruiser on the northern broads with just enough power to get across Breydon to the south and need no more. My first question to ask is how often will you take to sea and secondly where will you home moor? I expect you'll be southern based for sea access, otherwise you'll likely have a long run even before heading offshore. I'd get a mooring first as they get signed up early - before we found ours, all southern ones were full and luckily the seller of our boat was able to pass on the mooring.

 

[SimonX]

I think you'll struggle to find a sports boat that has a separate shower although I may be wrong. It was one of my wife's beef's about our Bayliner 3055. I would be wary of the sterndrives on the SC35 although it is a gorgeous looking boat. I read somewhere that bed length is an issue on it if you are tall. I have a friend who has the smaller Nimbus 335 and loves it and travels all over Europe in it
We are within a few steps of pushing the button on a Broom 42CL or 425 and out initial brief was quite similar to yours but, due to a change of plans, we are buying in the Netherlands and basing the boat there. 38CL or 39KL for you maybe?

Saw this one today: Broom 39KL For Sale | Norfolk Yacht Agency | NYB165404

 

[oldgit]

Better to be overpowered non tidal than underpowered coastal.
Friend puchased a Greenline 39 powered by a D3 220Hp , boat ideal for his purposes at the time .
Modern interior with amazing single floor from swim platform to front bedroom and oodles of storage space.
As with you, idea non tidal mostly but with view to the tidal and coastal gig later, thought that the claimed 15 knot Greenline would do the job.
A couple of coastal trips later , like most folks with company for bit of reassurance, that idea soon hit the wall.

Now purchased a Haines 400 with couple of 260 Hp Yanmars.
Haines over Broom due to better access when clambering aboard.
The Greenline is still for sale at very attractive price, located on the Thames.**
** Where it belongs.

 

[NBs]

Galeon have separate wc/duch 33-390. Well-made and nice interior. I have extensive experience with the 2004 380 model and have nothing bad to say about the quality or sea characteristics.

 

[Dave1966]

I’ve owned a 39kl and a 42cl in the past. Both excellent boats that will do what you want and pretty much within budget. I used mine coastal and river. The NYA one above looks good and NYA are great people to deal with.

 

[dunedin]

Better to be overpowered non tidal than underpowered coastal.
Friend puchased a Greenline 39 powered by a D3 220Hp , boat ideal for his purposes at the time .
Modern interior with amazing single floor from swim platform to front bedroom and oodles of storage space.
As with you, idea non tidal mostly but with view to the tidal and coastal gig later, thought that the claimed 15 knot Greenline would do the job.
A couple of coastal trips later , like most folks with company for bit of reassurance, that idea soon hit the wall.

Now purchased a Haines 400 with couple of 260 Hp Yanmars.
Haines over Broom due to better access when clambering aboard.
The Greenline is still for sale at very attractive price, located on the Thames.**
** Where it belongs.

What speed did the Greenline achieve in coastal mode, and what was it that was an issue? Plenty of people enjoy very long distance coastal and offshore cruising in trawler style motor boats at well under 15 knots, in displacement mode.

 

[oldgit]

Had the pleasure of helping to move the Greenline from the Medway up to Penton Hook via the Thames Estuary to be sold.
It struggled to acheive anything over 12 knots and would hate to think of of its SOG against any decent tide.
Appreciate that some skippers do amazing passages slowly, we have one particular very experienced skipper with a single engined Pedro who thinks nothing of spending 15 hours getting from Dunkirk to Rochester, the rest of us took about 6 hours.

Most folks prefer to do their first exploration of the coast in company with others for peace of mind ?
This can create a little problem, a slow boat can watch his accompaning companions disappear over the horizon or all the other boats are creeping along while they really really want to get a move on.

 

[PaulRainbow]

What speed did the Greenline achieve in coastal mode, and what was it that was an issue? Plenty of people enjoy very long distance coastal and offshore cruising in trawler style motor boats at well under 15 knots, in displacement mode.

We usually coastal cruise at 10 knots. The other motorboats we cruise with do the same.

 

[dunedin]

We usually coastal cruise at 10 knots. The other motorboats we cruise with do the same.

Which should be very achievable with a single 220hp.
We can easily cruise at 6 knots at under 2,000rpm using about 20hp at that revs pushing 10 tons and a lot more windage with a 36ft LWL.

 

[SimonX]

I’ve owned a 39kl and a 42cl in the past. Both excellent boats that will do what you want and pretty much within budget. I used mine coastal and river. The NYA one above looks good and NYA are great people to deal with.

We only had a very brief look at it to compare the interior size with the 42/425 but it looked in very good condition.

 

[Greg2]

Where to start!

We have owned two sports cruisers (three if you stretch the definition to include a Princess 32 on the basis of layout), two Brooms and currently a Hardy 36. The thing is that they are chalk and cheese so I think deciding what you like and what your realistic intended use will be are important first steps. All boats are a compromise so whilst your good lady might currently think a separate shower is very important, in reality it is just another feature that sits amongst many others that might be the subject of compromise to get what suits you best.

Whilst a Broom is probably more suited to both inland and seagoing use (it is what many were designed to do) the reality is that sports cruisers are also okay inland - we used both of ours on the Broads and at sea quite happily. Perhaps more important to you is the type of accommodation you prefer - in general terms a sports cruiser will provide more spacious and comfortable cockpit space (which is where you will spend most of your time during the season) with the interior accommodation, particularly the saloon, tending to be a tad snug. A Broom on the other hand will excel in interior space whilst cockpits vary from being about okay to good on larger boats.

Propulsion is another factor so a sports cruiser is likely to have outdrives so handling characteristics in close quarters can be more difficult to master (but far from impossible) and they will involve additional maintenance costs and a higher risk of problems than the shafts on a Broom.

It is worth spending time viewing as many as you can and spending a bit of time aboard - good Brokers such as NYA are okay with leaving you for a while so you can get the feel of a boat. You will know when it feels right but the downside is that it is not unusual for people to find that their first boat isn’t their ideal boat and to look to change within a year or two! We are on our sixth so that probably says something!
.