m agazine Clipper Cordova 60

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Grant O’Connor’
5 years ago
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1 m agazine Clipper Cordova 60

2 Local Hero From the Clipper brand comes the Cordova 60, a flybridge trawler named after an Alaskan island but designed and built for local conditions by Clipper s Australian owners. words: Kevan Wolfe 2 ocean ocean 3

The galley is on the same level as the saloon with no step up, creating an easy flow. The warm ambience of the main saloon is enhanced by Burmese teak and subtle burl inserts between the windows.

It s an era that has been brought about partly by the high price of fuel and partly by the desire to cruise comfortably at an economical speed.

With the return of pilothouse cruisers comes some tried and tested traditions, but the modern pilothouse cruiser is far from the sedate old lady of yesteryear that puttered along at 10 knots all day.

3 The galley is on the same level as the saloon with no step up, creating an easy flow. The warm ambience of the main saloon is enhanced by Burmese teak and subtle burl inserts between the windows. The cosy master stateoom. 4 ocean When we tested the Clipper Europa 52 about 12 months ago, I wrote at the time that we were seeing a new era emerging with the return of pilothouse cruisers. It s an era that has been brought about partly by the high price of fuel and partly by the desire to cruise comfortably at an economical speed. Judging by the number of pilothouse motoryachts on show at this year s Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, that era is well and truly here. With the return of pilothouse cruisers comes some tried and tested traditions, but the modern pilothouse cruiser is far from the sedate old lady of yesteryear that puttered along at 10 knots all day. Today s displacement pilothouse with modern hull designs and engine technology can show a turn of speed, if required, that is almost as quick as many planning vessels. Handy to have when there s a need to beat a looming storm home. Of all the brands on the market the Clipper name is probably one of the best known with the traditional Clipper 34 being very popular with the cruising fraternity on Sydney waterways in the 70s and 80s. Last year the Europa 52 was released and now in 2009 the Cordova 60 has been introduced. The model has been named after an island off Alaska. Although the models may carry northern hemisphere names a 54 designated a Hudson Bay is due next year the Clipper brand is still wholly Australian owned. The boats are now manufactured in China at two state-of-theart shipyards, however Clipper still owns the moulds and all the tooling. As Clipper MD, Darren Berry, says we have taken all the benefits of the Chinese shipyards and added the components much of it used in superyachts. In addition, there is an engineer and a carpenter from the UK, both Clipper employees, full time in the factories supervising and generally keeping an eye on the production of each boat. Although the 60 was designed by Canadian naval architect Trevor Bolt, who also designed the 52, the emphasis has been on creating a boat for Australian conditions and not the other way around as is often the case with imported vessels. Even so, the first hull went to Norway, two and three have come to Australia, hull four is off to Europe and hull five is scheduled for Singapore. The 60 was four years in the planning. We worked very hard at it, said Darren. Even when the plug was being built we were making subtle changes. We wanted a modern trawler that was easy to move around on and suited to Australian conditions, he said. Each model s hull is completely new as well, we don t take an existing hull and lengthen it. There is only so much can be done with a trawler design, especially in the interior and accommodation. The difference between most trawler designs is generally very subtle, such as in the tooling. On the Clipper this can be seen in the flowing superstructure moulds and even in the seats in the main cabin, everything has been tooled. There is not a hard surface anywhere. We have spent a lot on tooling, but that s the price we have to pay for quality, said Darren. The interior design of a trawler depends on whether the owner wants a galley up or a galley down configuration, which dictates the layout of the main saloon. The vessel had the yacht-style galley down on the same level as the saloon. Mark Campion played a big part in the design of the saloon. It s finished in golden Burmese teak with subtle burl inserts between the large picture windows. This is complemented by the teak table with an inlaid compass rose in the centre, an entertainment centre, leather lounge and a couple of freestanding lounge chairs. The cabin floor is finished in teak and holly, which extends to the pilothouse. Although, this boat had optional carpet in the saloon, which effectively hid some top craftsmanship. The galley is U-shaped with all the right appliances, good solid cupboards and drawers and an overhead that is set in from the edge of the counter, there is no chance of accidentally banging heads when walking past. It s one step up to the traditional pilothouse with the mandatory lounge and table at the back. The driver gets a top of the line Crown seat in front of a compact console with a full Raymarine package, which includes the new G17 plotter onto which the 48 nautical mile radar can be overlaid. The wood rim and spoke steering wheel is a work of art. There must be The wood rim and spoke steering wheel is a work of art. There must be an unwritten competition between the various yards in China to see which one can produce the best looking steering wheel. This one would have taken many hours to build. ocean 5

6 ocean The traditional pilothouse features a beautiful wooden helm wheel. an unwritten competition between the various yards in China to see which one can produce the best looking steering wheel.

A mimic showing the status of the boat s systems is overhead with other switches and gauges showing fuel and water tank contents and the controls for the Wesmar stabilisers.

This makes moving forward to the Portuguese bridge in a seaway both easy and safe. Double doors lead out onto the foredeck where we find the usual seats and a sunlounge.

When I remarked that it would be a lot of work to keep it looking good, Darren laughed and said that the finish was an oil he had sourced in Germany.

Again it s the subtle differences that distinguish one trawler design from the next.

The bathroom, with overhead mirror, which is now becoming standard on all trawler designs, features a big walk-in shower and granite bench tops and the hanging locker comes with a shoe rack.

4 6 ocean The traditional pilothouse features a beautiful wooden helm wheel. an unwritten competition between the various yards in China to see which one can produce the best looking steering wheel. This one would have taken many hours to build. Off to one side is a real chart table with pop up lights either side and underneath a full-size chart draw. A mimic showing the status of the boat s systems is overhead with other switches and gauges showing fuel and water tank contents and the controls for the Wesmar stabilisers. On either side of the pilothouse are two serious Panagraph sea doors leading out onto the wide side decks with high bulwarks. This makes moving forward to the Portuguese bridge in a seaway both easy and safe. Double doors lead out onto the foredeck where we find the usual seats and a sunlounge. The bulwark teak capping is worth mentioning here. The finish looks like varnish. When I remarked that it would be a lot of work to keep it looking good, Darren laughed and said that the finish was an oil he had sourced in Germany. He wasn t about to tell me the name of it though, he was keeping that to himself. Access to the sleeping accommodation is via a curved companionway beside the helm station. Again it s the subtle differences that distinguish one trawler design from the next. In the middle of the teak-lined, full beam cabin is a king-size island bed and off to one side is a vanity table for her. The bathroom, with overhead mirror, which is now becoming standard on all trawler designs, features a big walk-in shower and granite bench tops and the hanging locker comes with a shoe rack. There is the usual two-bunk cabin and up front a VIP cabin. We like to think that the owner will take this boat to sea and not just sit in the marina, said Darren, So we have installed safety covers to protect the ports up front in a seaway. Up top the flybridge is enclosed with Strataglass clears with a lounge on either side finished in Sunbrella fabric, and each with a teak table. As most people gravitate to the flybridge on a good day, Clipper have installed two Crown chairs at the helm console, one for the driver and the other for a companion. The console houses a pair of Raymarine E120 screens as well as the Wesmar stabiliser and hydraulic bow and stern thruster controls. There s a full wet bar with a barbecue, sink, fridge and icemaker. There is a lot of room up here on the hardtop that extends over the big cockpit. Access to the engine room is from the cockpit through the optional crew quarters. The engine room houses the twin Cummins QSM11, 670hp diesels, it s neat with the engines set well down in the hull giving the shafts an angle of just 10 degrees. The boat has a big girl feel but is light on the steering and easy to handle with the Wesmar stabilisers reducing 90 per cent of the pitch. This is no lightweight boat, the hull is a true semi-displacement design with a high chine that works at around 10 knots and a low chine that comes into operation at 18 to 20 knots. There s a big keel running down the centreline, this protects the running gear and in a following sea keeps the boat straight. Although, when manoeuvring the big keel tends to slow the boat s reaction to the helm and control levers. The 25 horsepower hydraulic Wesmar bow and stern thrusters take care of that. A short burst soon has the boat heading where the skipper wants it. The Clipper loves cruising at 18 knots and will run at 23 knots Wide walkways and the spacious aft deck create the feeling of classic trawler livability. if needed. Drop the speed to 10 knots and it will cruise all day with the QSM 11s ticking over at 1,070 rpm and using about eight US gallons an hour. According to Darren Berry we will be seeing a lot more of the Clipper Clipper Motoryachts China Trevor Bolt Mark Campion m 16.35m 5.12m 1.358m 26.8 tonnes (approx) Hand laid fiberglass Hand laid FRP using core cell sandwich construction 2 x Cummins QSM 11 diesels 670hp each Hung Sueng 800mm x 810mm 23kts 12-18kts 4300ltr, optional 5800ltr 1500ltr 416ltr Wesmar 25hp hydraulic bow and stern Onan 21kVA Raymarine 6 optional Antique white DSM gelcoat Aurora with 15hp Mercury $1.89m as tested driveaway from $1.7m stable. A new 45 and a new 48 are due for release later this year. Technical specifications BUILDER COUNTRY OF BUILD DESIGNER O For further information Tel: Brett Thurley (07) , brett@clippermotoryachts.com.au or visit INTERIOR DESIGNER YEAR OF BUILD LOA LWL BEAM DRAFT DISPLACEMENT HULL CONSTRUCTION SUPERSTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION ENGINES OUTPUT PROPELLERS SPEED (MAX) SPEED (CRUISE) FUEL CAPACITY FRESHWATER CAPACITY GREYWATER CAPACITY BOW THRUSTERS GENERATORS (MAIN) NAVIGATION ELECTRONICS OWNER AND GUESTS (BERTHS) CREW PAINT TENDERS PRICE ocean 7

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