Paul Thomas
Martin Broom, chairman of Broom Boats, at the London Boat Show in 2010
Paul Thomas remembers brilliant Brooms, builders of special yachts and motor boats and his friendship with founder Martin Broom MBE
Boats have been much of my life… the apples of my eye. Here in Norfolk, over four decades I owned a wonderful sailing yacht, then also three motor boats we took abroad as well as around the UK – all created by members of the Broom family, Britain’s oldest boat-builder, 112 years of it.
I started in boats 70 years ago - at the age of 11 on the Norfolk Broads, in a holiday hire boat.
Back in the day you had Jack Powles, Herbert Woods, Martham s - they were the kings of the hire fleets, and they developed some amazing build techniques because they had to build boats fast and cheap to get them out and bringing in the money. Their techniques are unique to Norfolk. I used to take historic boats apart on the river Thames, and I could tell they were built in Norfolk.
The Noisy Goose, a renovated 1962 wooden Broads cruiser being relaunched at Wayford
- Credit: Denise Bradley
After Noisy Goose was hoisted back into the water at Wayford Bridge near Stalham, Mr Paterson now values her at around £45,000.
Retorno para fase de transição anima comerciantes de Mogi das Cruzes globo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from globo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Published:
12:00 PM March 10, 2021
Herbert Woods is now renting out its standard day-boats to local single household families or support bubbles
- Credit: Visual Devotion Ltd
As open-top day boat hire resumes on the Broads, one company has moved to reassure the public there will be no influx of tourists on its watch.
The prime minister s lockdown roadmap said day boat hire for a local, single household or bubble could resume on March 8, with this being extended to six people or two households from March 29.
However, as fears grow over a potential visitor storm , Herbert Woods in Potter Heigham - one of the only Broads businesses to take up the offer - stressed this would not be the case.
Broads locals fear tourist influx as boat companies reopen edp24.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from edp24.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.