Farewell Brooms

[Chelsea14Ian]

What is certain is the uncertainty,I may be wrong but have not heard a statement from Brooms.I think they should make a statement to perhaps lay down what's happening and there plans for the future. 

[NeilB]

There's a report in the EDP - http://www.edp24.co.uk/business/broom-boats-brundall-norfolk-broads-to-stop-building-boats-1-5445395 that states up to 20 jobs although some could move to the leisure division which I assume is the hire boats.  It also says they have 24 hire boats which sounds a lot?

With Oyster re-opening lets hope there will be a few jobs available where previous workers have moved on.

EDP doesn't seem very good on facts though, they state Oyster and other boat builders in the UK have been struggling.  Oyster had a full order book, they closed for other reasons.  Princess and Sunseeker have very strong order books, you would struggle to get a build slot at any for at least a year.  Fairline are doing very well and even smaller builders like Cockwells are expanding.  So it's not all bad in the marine industry.

 

[Chelsea14Ian]

I think there hire fleet is closer to 12 or 13.During the season we top up with fuel and water.For sure where there hire fleet are based you could not moor 20 plus  boats.

[Hylander]

If they are to keep their hire fleet they will need fuel , pump out , maintenance etc still.

 

 

[teadaemon]

10 hours ago, Philosophical said:

I'm going to buy a lottery ticket this weekend, if it wins enough I will buy Broom Boats and continue to build boats in Brundall. 

Q: What's the best way to make a small fortune building boats?

A: Start with a large fortune.

Seriously, boats are large, expensive, luxury items that people don't actually need. As such (and as I've discovered), building, servicing, or maintaining them is an industry that's very sensitive to how affluent people feel, and how they think the economy is doing or will be doing in the short to mid term.

Personally, as much as I enjoy working with boats, being a self-employed professional in this business is no longer viable. I'm moving into education, 'cos the chances of people stopping reproducing are close to zero (not to mention that if I do have to change area, it might as well be into something that's useful and rewarding).

[oldgregg]

2 hours ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

I think there hire fleet is closer to 12 or 13.During the season we top up with fuel and water.For sure where there hire fleet are based you could not moor 20 plus  boats.

It's not the biggest dyke, certainly. 12 or 13 sounds more like it, though the boat at the end has now moved on so there's slightly more room.

[JennyMorgan]

Whilst other yards might be doing well I rather suspect that the owners don't actually want to make a profit thus they can justify closing the yard to the planners. Exactly what happened at Pegasus, Oulton Broad. 

[oldgregg]

Yeah, this seems to be what is happening at Broom.

Haines can't build enough boats at the moment, so the market is there.

Seems odd when it's such a major brand as Broom, but I guess taking on the business requires skill whereas putting houses on it does not.

[JennyMorgan]

5 hours ago, JohnK said:

 

Sadly people with significant service could lose their redundancy payment by doing that.

 

Valid point, bit of a gamble for those leaving I'm afraid. Not a good situation to be in.

[rightsaidfred]

I was given to understand Brooms were building Barnes Brinkcraft`s 40ft plus boats while Sheerline were doing the smaller ones as Barnes no longer have room to build themselves having built holiday homes on what was part of the shed they were using.

Fred

[LondonRascal]

We have seen this time and again and many have been surprised that while the planning department might question some new quay heading or a change of use for a former public phone box, when it comes to new stylish housing they seem more keen to listen and allow. The problem is it is a one time cash pot to grab, and perhaps this sort of behavior is what makes me feel sour.

Without knowing the real details at Broom, a cynic may wonder if they really were not making money and loosing it with parts of the business propped up by other areas. Or was it simply that those who own the company were not making enough money and in order to make more will try whatever it takes and if that too fails to swell their coffers sell up and take the cash pot with the value of the sight etc

Haines has a very different approach and it is working; not only do they have a good base of customers who value a more conservative 'hushed' style of design and fit, but they have also been able to start working alongside other businesses and providing them with boats. Take the Haines built boats from Ferry Marina.

Where I wonder was Broom with their very popular Broom 29 from the 1990's which is in popular demand still with many on hire. They updated this model a lot and I think it works, but I think they should have branched out and got some of these sold to the likes of Herbert Woods, Richardson's etc for classy brand new two berth boats but with that broom brand adding some appeal.

They seem to have not been reactive enough either with their designs or they future outlook. This of course is just the ramblings of myself, but I can't help but think if push came to shove and one day the whole show was put up for sale some old boy out there who had a soft spot for Brooms would come and start the place up and rescue the name all over again. Of course Broom has long since not been the 'real' Broom of the past for years, but there are a lot of loyal Broom devotees out there and it is amazing to see how many of these old ladies from the 1970's still attract so much care and attention from their owners, something  you seem not to see so often in other marques.

[oldgregg]

1 hour ago, rightsaidfred said:

I was given to understand Brooms were building Barnes Brinkcraft`s 40ft plus boats while Sheerline were doing the smaller ones as Barnes no longer have room to build themselves having built holiday homes on what was part of the shed they were using.

Fred

I think part of the reason is that Broom were building them for less than Brinks could.. Why they're prepared to build so cheap is probably a different story. They've also built a private one which also has that daft helm seat.

It's Silverline who build the smaller models.

[grendel]

I build even smaller Models 

[ranworthbreeze]

3 hours ago, oldgregg said:

Yeah, this seems to be what is happening at Broom.

Haines can't build enough boats at the moment, so the market is there.

Seems odd when it's such a major brand as Broom, but I guess taking on the business requires skill whereas putting houses on it does not.

I thought the Haines boats used the Broom hulls, but IMHO fitted out better.

Regards

Alan

[Captain]

Hi,

I am regular hirer with Brooms and a hire boat anorak, just to confirm the fleet size was 20 at the end of 2017, as far as I aware they are adding atleast one boat for 2018 called the Chairman's Boat which appears to be an even more luxurious Explorer class boat. Not sure where the EDP get the figure of 24 from although they could be buying or building more which would seem odd in the current circumstances. The class numbers are as follows:

2 Boleros built 2014/5

2 Cadets built 2012/3

4 Skipper built 2015/6/7

1 Commodore built 2014

9 Captains built 2013-2017

Explorer 2 built not sure cc 2016 I think-Strangely these were built for hire on the Thames however I believe they couldn't reach an agreement with the marina at Windsor so they ended up staying on the Broads. I have a promo leaflet somewhere confirming this.

I don't know how they all fit however the Explorers are moored in a different dyke and I have seen some out of the water plus they have 2/3 start days.

Plus the Chairman Boat which I believe was indeed originally built for the Chairman.

Neil

[oldgregg]

1 hour ago, ranworthbreeze said:

I thought the Haines boats used the Broom hulls, but IMHO fitted out better.

Haines use some 'old' Broom moulds, some generic Aquafibre moulds, some of their own design (the Haines 400) and some from others (Alphacraft in the past, and now Ferry Marina for the Haines 26).

When Aquafibre went under, Haines acquired the moulds they needed and the production Broom stuff went to Brundall.

I think it is generally considered that the Haines fitout is better these days, I've heard it referred to as "like Broom used to be".

[marshman]

Sad sad day IMHO. Just shows how vulture capitalists can run down a perfectly good name and destroy a business - this story still has further to run of course with the development eventually of what was a flourishing business and site into more profit for those squeezing the pips!

I see Brundall village foresaw this and have attempted to forestall that with their village plan - sadly it will just prove to be no more than a little thorn in the side which can always be dealt with by bunging more money into the problem. I just wonder, eventually, whether they can build on the site without even one property available for affordable housing!!!

[oldgregg]

Very sad. I'm a big fan of Broom's boats in general.

[JennyMorgan]

19 minutes ago, oldgregg said:

Very sad. I'm a big fan of Broom's boats in general.

But surely Brooms ceased to be Brooms when Martin Boom sold up? Branding just for marketing purposes!

[oldgregg]

5 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

But surely Brooms ceased to be Brooms when Martin Boom sold up? Branding just for marketing purposes!

That's kind of what I meant...

[webntweb]

14 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

But surely Brooms ceased to be Brooms when Martin Boom sold up? Branding just for marketing purposes!

Pretty normal practise in big business, making the most of an established name.

Virgin only own 10% of Virgin East Coast presumably as they thought it would sell more journeys than if it was called Stagecoach East Coast - who own the other 90%.

This partnership has failed; they are handing back the franchise three years early potentially costing Stagecoach about 20% of their market value.

Mind you this hasn't stopped the government giving the same partnership an extension to their West Coast franchise.

[Labrador]

If you are building boats that are not value for money, not the 'in style, etc. They won't sell. This is where Brooms are, they have been struggling to sell boats for several years. Also the people with the sort of money to buy a Broom are the ones who have been financially squeezed in the last few years, existing Broom owners are sticking with what they have.

[Londonlad1985]

1 hour ago, marshman said:

I just wonder, eventually, whether they can build on the site without even one property available for affordable housing!

Sadly I think the definition of affordable housing is anything but affodable. Take shared ownership which is classed as affordable housing. Half of a lot of a money is still a lot of a money and a mortgage deposit is often unobtainable for those that need affordable housing. What happened to social housing? 

[marshman]

Brooms have made great play of the fact that the buyers are just not there.

Strange then that the builders of other quality brands seem to be finding life a little easier! I think for example that Haines seem to be managing quite well.

More to the point, my suspicions are that the current owners were never interested in the business of boat builders and there are plenty of signs that they have systematically dismantled it bit by bit until there is nothing there except the ultimate prize - the location.

As PW would say, another Pegasus Yachts....!!!

[JohnK]

Valid point, bit of a gamble for those leaving I'm afraid. Not a good situation to be in.

In a way it could be seen as fair.
The latest starters are probably the youngest, might have a young family but they can make the break first and have the first shot at jobs.