USED BOAT: HAINES 320
Why this quintessential aft cabin cruiser makes such a great secondhand buy
Haines Marine is one of those companies that you’d like to buy a boat from just because of who and what they are. A family run business based in Great Yarmouth in Norfolk and about to celebrate its 40th anniversary, it was set up by Bob and Mary Haines in 1980 and is now run by their son Justin (although Bob and Mary remain involved). The 18 staff turn out between 12 and 16 hand-built boats annually (depending on size and spec) from a range of four inland boats from 26ft to 42ft and three coastal/ offshore cruisers from 32ft to 40ft. It’s the kind of place you half expect to find Jack Rolfe from 1980s sitcom Howards’ Way ambling through the yard muttering “they’re not building bloody plastic boats in my yard, and that’s final”.
It’s all a far cry from the mass production yards churning out boats by the hundreds. When Haines build you a boat they really are building you a boat. Want that drinks locker to have an extra gin bottle shaped cut out? No problem. Obviously, buying a used Haines doesn’t give you quite the same flexibility but you do still benefit from the same love and attention that went into building it when new and you can always ask Haines to make a few retro-fit changes if necessary.
The 320 you see here is absolutely stock in trade for the builder. Launched to the world at the London Boat Show in 2003, it’s the quintessential British inland aft cabin cruiser, something that’s most evident when you take a peak beneath the waterline. Designed by Andrew Wolstenholme, it’s a displacement (rather than planing) hull designed specifically for low speed river running. A long keel starts at the base of the forefoot, deepening all the way aft until it truncates a little ahead
of the transom. It encapsulates the prop shaft and is deeper than the propeller it swings, meaning that even if you touch the bottom on a shallow reach, the prop will come to no harm. In fact a skeg connects the base of the keel to the bottom of the large rudder (designed for effective low speed manoeuvrability) aft of the prop, pushing any river debris down and clear of the spinning blades. Most boats got a bow thruster, a few (like this one) added a stern thruster too for ease of docking.
Above the waterline is equally traditional, with topsides finished in white or deep glossy navy blue. Step aboard amidships (there are steps mouded into the hull on both sides and a section of the high deck rails open to make access easy) and you’ll find practical side decks almost a foot wide leading from the flat foredeck round the coachroof to a couple of steps each side that lead up to the raised aft deck. Those steps keep the side decks low, making it an easier boat to embark and disembark, something you typically do far more often when inland cruising (where there are lots of waterside pubs with moorings).
That raised aft deck is a necessity of the aft cabin layout of course, and runs the full beam of the vessel. But it comes with some significant advantages, not least the view from the helm that’s fitted to the port side of this area.
Standing or seated, it gives a commanding vista. And unlike a typical flybridge, high windscreens and high GRP coamings mean it’s not too exposed, especially with the canopies in place.
There’s seating for about six to eight up here, thanks to a pair of swivel helm seats and a wide aft bench seat. One potentially useful option is a hinged windscreen. Rarely fitted to Thames cruisers, it was a popular option for boats on the Norfolk Broads, where bridges are often low. It means the whole screen can pivot up and over 180 degrees on hinges at the aft ends of the side screens, reducing air draft to just over 8ft and allowing it sneak under those low bridges.
SENSIBLE STUFF
All in all it’s a very sensible set up, a word that crops up frequently in conversation with Martin Thomas, a boat handling instructor on the River Thames and the owner of the boat you see here. It’s his third river boat and follows previous stints with a Freeman 23 and Seamaster 813.
“We’ve kept the boat at Thames and Kennet Marina and have cruised extensively along the river down to Windsor in one direction and up to Oxford in the other as well a huge amount of day boating and overnighting. It’s a very safe, easy boat to handle, both from a helmsman’s perspective and from the crew point of view, thansk to those sensible decks. Ours is fitted with bow and stern thrusters which, whilst not essential, are certainly helpful”.
Martin’s boat is fitted with a single Nanni 5.280 HE diesel engine. Producing 62hp from its 2.8 litres of five naturally aspirated cylinders, it gives the boat a top speed of about 8 knots, meaning that at typical river speeds it’s very unstressed. On the non-tidal Thames the limit is about 4 knots, at which speed the engine is barely above tick-over at around 1,000rpm.
“We also offered 85hp and 115hp Nanni engines” says Justin Haines. “They didn’t make the boat much faster, maybe a knot more for the 85hp and perhaps a knot and a half for the 115hp. The advantage of the larger engines was more about achieving the efficient hull speed of 8 knots at a lower RPM, which could be useful in tidal areas where you might be pushing a bit of tide for long periods. However the majority went out with the 62hp, which suits the boat very well”. Martin reserves particular praise for the interior. “It’s a very comfortable boat, but look behind the scenes and you’ll find it’s extremely well engineered and the quality is excellent with a high level of craftsmanship. The amount of space is also remarkable, it feels more like a 36ft boat than a 32 footer inside”.
It’s a point echoed by Gary Hammond, who bought his Haines 320 from Haines dealer Val Wyatt on the River Thames. “Our first boat was a Freeman 27, which we bought as a taster to see whether we liked inland cruising. But its age and size meant that it didn’t quite have the home comforts. After realising that inland cruising was something we really enjoyed and wanted to do more of, we began looking for a larger boat”.
In fact, now he’s retired, the river has become a big part of Gary’s life. He’s a voluntary lock keeper at the Hambleden Lock and he clocks up to 350 hours a year in his Haines.
“The 320 ticks all the boxes. Because it’s an aft cabin layout the accommodation runs the whole length of the boat”.
Indeed, the interior is pretty spectacular for a 32ft boat. With the helm reasonably sheltered on the aft deck there’s no need for a spacesapping internal helm station, meaning a
generous saloon with plenty of comfortable seating, and an abundance of light and ventilation too, courtesy of large windows with opening sections either side and a big glass roof panel that opens to spill plenty of fresh air as well as light into the saloon.
On the lower deck forward you’ll find a well equipped galley opposite the day heads and ahead of that, a vee berthed forward cabin. But it’s aft of the saloon where the big gains are found, that raised aft deck creating a master suite with a double berth against one side, plenty of storage and an en suite. Most were fitted out in cherry wood, with a lighter oak finish a rarer but appealing alternative. Either way the quality is exemplary.
But best of all, it’s still a very capable boat rather than a floating apartment. “One of the first things we noticed is the lack of engine noise compared with our previous boat” says Gary. “Because the engine is beneath the saloon floor and we’re back and raised well above it on the aft deck, it’s almost silent. In the Freeman most of what you heard underway was engine noise. On this boat it’s the swish of water past the hull. It’s incredibly economical too.”
Haines Marine built 30 of this model before ceasing production in 2008. But interestingly, the 320 aft cabin is back in the range. Launched two years ago the new 320 is a more modern looking boat with bonded rather than framed windows and improved access up from the bathing platform in the form of steps rather than a ladder. But fundamentally it’s the same winning aft cabin configuration with two separate cabins split by the saloon and galley, hand built by a small family business to your exact specification in a boat yard in Norfolk. Next month: Hardy 36 Commodore.