Broom Crown 37

 I was at Brooms Boats this morning Surveying another Broom Crown, successor to the successful Continental. The Broom Crown was based on the same hull, but had a restyled superstructure and a significant change to the layout.

This example today was quite unique in that the internal helm was not included in the original build giving the saloon a lot more space. 

Twin v-berths in the forward cabin remained, but the aft cabin enjoyed a centreline double, whilst the settee in the saloon continued to provide an extra double berth. Most boats continued to feature interior and exterior helms and sliding doors on both sides of the saloon giving access to the side decks.

An interesting fact is when this model first came on the market by Broom in the late 70's they were - wait for it - only £12-13,000! A few years ago they were fetching up to £70,000. Last year (2014) boat prices slumped and if you look hard you can now buy an old basic Crown for £40K!

Later Crowns replaced the longstanding Perkins engines with 148hp Volva Penta TAMD40As or 158hp TAMD40Bs.

Surveyors comments: Just make sure she was actually built by Broom. There should be a builders plate with the build number. Telephone Brooms, I know Andrew Stone is still there until spring 2015. He will tell you the  history and confirm the build.

Although mainly early ones (early seventies) there are a surprising number that were Aquafibre mouldings fitted out by other yards.

However good the fit out it will never be worth market price if was not built by Broom.

Get a good engineer to check out the older Perkins 145's. They can consume vast amounts of oil at higher speeds, not noticed on the river, and they smoke profusely at river speeds. A good way to test is to briefly floor the throttles whilst underway (a few seconds is all it takes) having been dribbling along on the Norfolk Broads at river speeds for a while. It can be quite impressive (smoke!).

Nice solid boats. Wet but soft at sea. Lots of entertaining space.

Thinking of Buying a Boat on the Norfolk Broads and Need Help? I specialise in Boats of all types, and I will assist you to make an informed decision. Contact me for a detailed and comprehensive report at:  steventruss1@aol.com