Traditional Broads motor cruisers

Why large wooden traditional cruisers such as the 43ft Silver Jubilee class are Clive and his wife's favourite holiday charter vessels

- Clive Marsh

Every few years my wife, Brenda, and I hire a boat on the Norfolk Broads for a rest and some good walks.

Over the years we've hired many types of boats from traditional Broads sailing cruisers to modern, comfortable motor cruisers but our favourite for the last four occasions has been the Silver Jubilee class, large wooden traditional cruisers built in the late 1960s to early 1970s by Martham Boats. These fine vessels are 43ft long with an 11ft beam and are constructed of mahogany onto oak frames. With an amidships bridge there is accommodation forward and aft with two heads and a shower. The Silver Jubilee 1 model has nine berths and is very comfortable for just the two of us. We have one end of the boat each and meet on the central bridge deck for the occasional conference. I have always admired large traditional motor cruisers and hiring one fully maintained is a sensible option for people with limited time to spend on maintenance.

Wide side decks

One particularly useful feature of these boats is their wide side decks. A circuit of the deck is over 100ft and this is useful for exercise when not ashore. It is also useful for laying out and bringing the fore and aft mooring ropes to the central bridge deck so that when coming alongside it's easy to take the ropes and step ashore for tying up (be careful not to tread on ropes on deck since they act like rollers).

I usually find it easier to manage the boat single-handed this way than it is to co-ordinate a crew. My wife is more than competent to motor or sail a boat but prefers to be uninterrupted when enjoying her embroidery and stitching. This suits me because I enjoy messing about in boats and the good thing about a 43-footer is there's plenty of room for both of us not to get in each other's way. Gone are the days when we used to enjoy scrambling about in a 22ft lift top.